Deep garnet colored, the 2004 The Laughing Magpie Shiraz has developed an evolved nose showing notes of dried fruit, earth, leather, soy and black tea with nuances of menthol and cinnamon stick. Full bodied and generously fruited in the mouth, it is nicely poised with a medium level of fine grained tannins and refreshing acid, finishing long and spicy. Drinking very well now, it should continue to cellar to 2017+. The d’Arenberg winery is 100 years old with a fourth generation Osbourne in charge today of this now considerable operation. Graduated from Roseworthy College in 1983, Chester was expected by his father to change things when he took over the family business. Instead he went back to tradition rather than modernizing. In the d’Arenberg vineyards there is no cultivating, fertilizing or herbicides used – Chester compares these artificial means to growing plants hydroponically. Looking to continually improve the root systems of his vines, he rarely irrigates. Average yields are 1.7 tons per acre. “2011 was actually a great year for us,” Chester informed me. “We didn’t have any problems with rot.”Importer: Old Bridge Cellars, Napa, CA, www.oldbridgecellars.com