d’Arenberg The Money Spider Organic Roussanne 2019 McLaren Vale, South Australia 75cl

d’Arenberg was founded in 1912 by Joseph Osborn and is one of McLaren Vale’s landmark estates, today led by fourth-generation winemaker Chester Osborn. The house is known for characterful, individual wines, and its estate vineyards are certified organic and biodynamic through NASAA.

The Money Spider takes its name from the tiny spiders that covered the first Roussanne crop back in 2000. Chester Osborn chose to spare them, following the old belief that kindness to the creatures brings luck, and the wine has carried the name ever since. It is pure Roussanne, a white Rhone grape that remains uncommon in Australia.

This is the 2019, grown under organic farming in the warm but sea-cooled McLaren Vale. Roussanne here gives a richer, more textural white than the region’s better-known reds might suggest, and the vintage delivered ripe fruit with the aromatic detail the variety is prized for.

Expect a cascade of peach, honeydew melon and papaya, with a tangy hit of pickled ginger beneath a cloud of fragrant white blossom. The palate is textural and exotic, savoury rather than sweet. Serve it with roast pork, spiced Asian dishes or soft, creamy cheeses.

For the curious drinker who likes white Rhone varieties or simply something off the beaten track, this certified-organic Roussanne is a distinctive, characterful white from one of Australia’s most individual producers.