2024 d'Arenberg The Noble Fuckeliana Botryotinia Half Bottle 375ml, McLaren Vale

Please note that this wine is offered in a 375mL format (half bottle)

Some might raise their eyebrows when they see the name of this delicious sweet wine, but Botryotinia Fuckeliana is, in fact, the Latin name for the Noble Rot fungus responsible for some of the most coveted wines in the world: from German Trockenbeerenauslese to Hungary’s legendary Tokaji Aszú wines, not to mention the famous estates of Barsac and Sauternes.

The Noble Rot fungus weakens grape skins causing water to evaporate and concentrating flavours while the shrivelled grapes continue to mature and sweeten.

The famous fungus was named in honour of Karl Fuckel (1821-1876), a German mycologist who worked as a pharmacist and in the latter part of his life lived off his vineyard near Oestrich in the Rheingau wine region.

More about this wine

This wine is a 58/34/7 blend of Mclaren Vale Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Viognier, simply basket pressed and allowed really a long fermentation to give us this intensely sweet nectar.

This would be among the richest sweet wines of Australia, with 276g/L residual sugar. The aromas are a heady swirl of candied fruit, with the powerful, voluptuous palate offering extremely dense and viscous fruit flavours. It is rich, sweet and with remarkably long-lasting flavours and notable tingle of acidity that miraculously manages to cut through the unctuous layers of fruit.

Serve as a dessert in its own right or alternatively pair with sweet and sharp fruit desserts or really with pungent blue cheese.

About this producer

The 1912 established d'Arenberg remains a family business, with fourth-generation Chester Osborn crafting bold, characterful wine with winemaker Jack Walton that continuing the family legacy of pushing the boundaries of the region.

The estate vineyards are substantial, with the family owning or leasing roughly 200 hectares in McLaren Vale, in addition to sourcing grapes from contract growers in the Adelaide Hils and the Fleurieu. Their own vineyards are certified organic and biodynamic, making family one of the largest biodynamic farmers in Australia.

The range of wines on offer is notable, with the winery vinifying nearly forty varieties in most seasons. The work at the winery remains highly traditional and labour-intensive despite their large scale, with all white and red wines pressed with gentle basket presses, and the red ferments foot-trodden by cellar hands in the original open concrete fermenters. The red wines are bottled without fining or filtration.