d’Arenberg, McLaren Vale (Australia) Shiraz – Viognier 2014

 Wines from d’Arenberg always offer up a lot of fun, starting with their quirky names and interesting labels.  But make no mistake:  This is a top-shelf winery that excels at every price level in the portfolio.  This nicely mature current release shows plenty of punch to identify it as an Aussie Shiraz, but time in bottle plus a little dollop of Viognier add real complexity and class, with almost no overt wood.  Very polished tannins lend enough grip to the finish to enable this to work well with a rack of Australian lamb, but it is so versatile that it would also pair very nicely with pork, duck or veal.