Description
“d’Arenberg is one of the most significant wineries in McLaren Vale with over 103 years of history to its name. Started by Joseph Osborn in 1912 when he purchased 25 hectares in the hills just north of the townships of Gloucester and Bellevue, now known as McLaren Vale, it later passed to Joseph’s son Frank who left medical school to join the family business and increase the size of the vineyard to 78 hectares.
In 1943 Frank’s son Francis d’Arenberg Osborn universally known as “d’Arry”, returned from school, age 16, to help his ill father run the business, eventually assuming full management in 1957. In 1959 d’Arry decided to launch his own label d’Arenberg, named in honour of his mother, Frances Helena d’Arenberg. It was a small and humble start but the wines gained immediate cult status amongst imbibers and judges and by the 1970’s d’Arenberg wines had become very fashionable, having gained a significant national and international profile in less than 20 years. D’Arry is now 88 years old and still very much an every day presence at the vineyards..
Enter the fourth generation, d’Arry’s son Chester d’Arenberg Osborn. From a very early age Chester was focused on continuing his family’s winemaking tradition. While growing up on the family property he helped his father d’Arry in both the vineyards and the cellar floor during school semester breaks and Christmas holidays. The winemaking processes of the past have been maintained, capturing the unique small-batch character of the wines and the true flavour of the McLaren Vale region. All grapes, red and white, are basket-pressed. The reds are still traditionally fermented with the grape skins (caps) submerged in open wax-lined concrete fermenters utilising the age-old technique of foot-treading.”
