The Danger Mouse Nero d'Avola
⏳ Drinking Window
2022 - 2026
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Tomato-based pasta dishes, roasted lamb chops, eggplant parmigiana
✨ Technical Specifications
Hailing from the sun-drenched slopes of McLaren Vale, d'Arenberg's 'The Danger Mouse' is a vibrant, characterful expression of Nero d'Avola, a Sicilian native that has found a highly compatible second home in South Australia's Mediterranean climate. True to the estate's eccentric naming conventions, this wine showcases the playful, energetic side of alternative varieties. The grapes are handled with traditional, hands-on techniques, including gentle foot-treading and basket pressing. Fermented in open-top fermenters and aged in seasoned French oak, the winemaking process focuses on preserving the grape's natural acidity and bright, juicy red fruit profile, resulting in a wine filled with notes of dark cherry, plum, and subtle gamey spice.
🍾 About the Producer
Established in 1912 by Joseph Osborn, d'Arenberg stands as an iconic pillar of McLaren Vale viticulture, stewarded today by fourth-generation chief winemaker Chester Osborn. The estate spans undulating coastal landscapes influenced by the moderating maritime winds of the Gulf St Vincent, resting upon complex, ancient geologies ranging from calcareous Terra Rossa to sandy loam and weathered limestone. Viticulture is rigorous and certified organic and biodynamic across all estate-owned and leased vineyards. While renowned for formidable Rhone-style reds, d'Arenberg's white winemaking upholds identical artisanal rigor: gentle whole-bunch basket pressing ensures minimal phenolics and purity of expression. From the racy, textural The Money Spider Roussanne and crisp The Dry Dam Riesling to the lusciously layered botrytised expressions The Noble Semillon and The Noble Botryotinia Fuckeliana, the wines epitomize balance, crystalline minerality, and vibrant natural acidity.
🍇 Grapes
Nero d'Avola
🍷 ABV
14.0% - 14.5%