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d'Arenberg Ironstone Pressings
The Ironstone Pressings is d’Arenberg’s premium "Rhone" blend and a member of the ‘Icon’ team. The name derives from the lumps of Ironstone which litter the old vineyards at d’Arenberg. Ironstone is decomposed laterite granite and is a rusty red-brown colour. Many of the larger pieces of ironstone were cleared from the land late last century and indeed some of d’Arenberg’s buildings and local houses are built from this stone.
Blends of these three varieties have been bottled and labelled under the d’Arenberg red stripe label since the late 1950’s, and in 1988 we released the first of this high-powered blend. The first few releases relied heavily on pressings (the juice from basket pressing the grape skins through the old ‘Coq’ and ‘Bromley & Tregoning’ presses), but the wine has evolved into one boasting the very best Grenache, Shiraz and Mourvedre with minimal pressings.
Rigorous barrel selection ensures that only the best wine goes into the Ironstone Pressings.
We blend these three varieties together because simply, it works. Concentrated Grenache gives lift and sweetness of fruit, the Shiraz we use contributes strong structure and spice without being too rich and the Mourvedre adds perfume, complexity and late tannins. This blend of varieties is interesting as it shows a wide spectrum of flavours as well as a seamless palate.
If you wanted to wax lyrical, you could possibly see The Ironstone Pressings as a human body - the Grenache adding the ‘blood (sweetness)’, the Shiraz the flesh and the Mourvedre the bones. Not a bad analogy for such a wine.
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d'Arenberg Ironstone Pressings
