McLaren Vale wine producer d’Arenberg has released the Daddy Long Legs Extra Rare fortified wine, which is now retailing as Australia’s most expensive NV wine.
The Daddy Long Legs has been crafted in a solera of old wines, which date back to 1928 and this process has been a part of Chief Winemaker Chester Osborn’s life since he took over the role in 1984.
He told TheShout: “Back in 1983 when I finished Roseworthy College where I studied winemaking, I had 15 barrels of the port that I kept separate from the normal solero system I was doing and I topped them up with their own wine for 35 years and there is only two barrels left – the angels have got it all – and so we thought we would sell what we have left – and when it’s gone it’s gone.”
With an average wine age of over 50 years, only two barrels remain, with 50 bottles available in the first release of this wine.
In describing the process of making this wine, d’Arenberg said: “To ensure sweetness and alcohol mingle harmoniously, fermentation was stopped by adding grape spirit, creating a balanced wine of great concentration, to be pressed and aged in casks.
“The barrel shed that houses these casks is inhabited by hundreds of Daddy Long Leg spiders, who have kept a watchful eye over this wine for decades.”
The wine is Grenache dominant with Shiraz and Mataro and is presented in an octagonal box, with the bottle resting on eight legs.
The Daddy Long Legs is available exclusively at d’Arenberg’s cellar door and the wine retails at $500 for a 100ml bottle.
Speaking about the big price tag, Osborn told TheShout: “This is seriously old wine, and it’s seriously rare. People love rare, and wealthy people like something that no one else has.”