A slight shift in the varieties that make up this brick like, yet handsome release. No longer do we see the aromatic and dusty Cabernet Franc listed on the label.”Galvo” is Australian slang for galvanised iron: the building material of almost every shed in Australia.

d’Arenberg, The Galvo Garage, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, McLaren Vale, 2013

Almost impenetrable colour and aroma. Dense, blue stone with herby black fruit, dark soil/earth, tobacco ash, toasted oak, woody spice. Blunt force wine: fruit solid as a steel bar and tannins like water crystals absorbing the moisture. The Merlot gives a mid palate plummy, raspberry lift before the cabernet cassis heart while the petit verdot gives a purple floral coda. For the now: this absolutely needs foods with proteins (game: Kangaroo or Venison), else medium term cellaring.

RRP: $29
Alc: 14.4%

Wine sample courtesy of d’Arenberg