d'Arenberg The Custodian Grenache 1999

This vintage produced lifted, fragrant red wines. Our very old, gnarled grenache vines have produced very intense varietal flavors due to the extremely low yields.

As a young wine, d'Arenberg's Custodian Grenache shows a dark ruby purple hued color and distinctive rich ripe lifted plum, cherry and deep blackcurrant aromas on the top of lighter lolly-like violet, musk and raspberry smells, the essences of grenache. Touches of white pepper, tobacco, cinnamon and spice follow onto the medium to full bodied juicy palate. The rich plum and sweet blackberry fruit flavors are lifted by gentle vanillin and coffee-mocha oak derived flavors and crunchy fine-grained fruit and oak tannins.

After some bottle ageing the color becomes a graduated glowing red-brown and the young fruit scented aromas and flavors gradually transform into velvety rich, spicy, strawberry jam, creamy chocolate, earthy and smoky edged aromas. This integration and complexity develops on the palate too, where the young tannin slowly falls away to reveal a seamless, soft sweet rolling middle palate mulberry and prune like fruit with tertiary biscuit, coffee and chewy old leather flavors before a long, soft, dry mouth filling fine acid finish.