Wine of the Week: Stump Jump Cabernet Sauvignon
Las Vegas Review-Journal
December 4, 2014
by Gil Lempert-Schwartz
In the glass: Stump Jump Cabernet Sauvignon is a deeply opaque inky-red color with streaks of crimson and garnet going out into a deep garnet-red rim definition with big-time viscosity showing in the bowl of the glass.
On the nose: It has big opulent forward and very concentrated black fruit, black cherries, creamy cassis with vanilla notes and some boysenberry phenolics over herbs de Provence, warm black currant juice, mocha, earthy minerals and faint traces of oak.
On the palate: It is an immensely rich and opulent full-bodied wine with loads of pure black currant fruit rounded with concentrated, but too not extracted, marionberry fruit; crushed black plums; that distinctive and classic cassis again; and tasty juicy sort of earth-driven characteristics. The midpalate is well-balanced with forward, subtle tannins and interestingly mellow undertones with crushed star anise and phenolic compounds as well as black currant liqueur on the firm finish.
Odds and ends: This wine is an old favorite. I first discovered the great wines of d’Arenberg when I lived in Hong Kong and they started appearing on the lists of top restaurants, with their distinctive names such as The Laughing Magpie, The Dead Arm and, in this case, The Stump Jump. The highly regarded d’Arenberg winery — owned by the Osborn family under the able guidance of Francis “d’Arry” and his son Chester Osborn — is in the hills north of McLaren Vale, 25 miles south of Adelaide.
The Osborn vineyards, which produce d’Arenberg, were first planted in the 1890s and now total about 150 acres of vines. The name “Stump Jump” relates to the significant South Australian invention — the Stump Jump plow. This plow became a popular piece of machinery for plowing fields because of its ability to ride over stumps and gnarled eucalyptus tree roots and snags, saving valuable time and resources by not stopping the draft horse.
The Stump Jump is a beautiful pure ripe cabernet sauvignon wine, from vines that hail from Bordeaux, France, where this is a staple grape variety.
This is a superb choice for grilling dinners this time of the year, when you love a good hearty glass of full-bodied red with that medium-rare steak.
This wine has high ratings from both Wine Spectator and Wine Advocate. And, at less than $10, it’s a tremendous value for money. Drink it now through 2017.