Country: Australia Region: McLaren Vale Varietal: Shiraz, Viognier Vintage: 2016 Colour: Red Style: Dry Producer: D'Arenberg Estate Description:The vineyards and bushland that surround the D’Arenberg winery are home to the native Australian bird, the Kookaburra, famous for its distinctive laughing call. Much to the amusement of the family, Chester Osborn’s daughters, Alicia and Ruby, named two wild Kookaburras who regularly visited their house the “Laughing Magpies”. The Magpie plumage is black with a stripe of white feathers and bears no resemblance to its famous cousin, but to this day the name has stuck. The Osborn’s thought the name was a good choice for McLaren Vale’s first ever shiraz viognier blend combining the (black) shiraz and its white partner, viognier. Tasting Note: A rather dark appearance with a vivid purple hue suggesting a complex dry red. The nose is particularly intense, with peppery spice, hints of fragrant flower and perfume aromas, plus nectarines, apricots, ginger and herbs from the small parcel of viognier that the Shiraz is co-fermented with. On the palate the Shiraz is more dominant. There is some sweeter fruit characters like blackberry, blueberry and boysenberry. The palate is rich and generous and soft silky tannins.