Saturday, June 11, 2016

d'Arenberg Cabernet Sauvignon The Coppermine Road 2002

 d'Arenberg South Australia McLaren Vale Cabernet Sauvignon The Coppermine Road 2002

Saturday evening dinner at home watching Copa America Soccer on TV, Linda prepared grilled steak and baked potatoes with peas and corn. I pulled from the cellar an older big Cabernet that I felt was ready to drink or needing to be consumed, and one of which I had multiple bottles - hence this d'Arenberg Coppermine Road Cabernet Sauvignon 2002. This also was selected since we drank an older similar aged d'Arenberg shiraz last weekend for our special dinner. We have several vintages of this wine including a couple older single bottles, yet, I don't recall drinking this label before so tonight's tasting was a new discovery adventure.

The Coppermine Road by d'Arenberg is named for the road that runs parallel to the winery's top Cabernet vineyard which sourced the fruit for this vintage release. The 2002 Cabernet season was a warm vintage which resulted in this super ripe concentrated fruit. 

d'Arenberg were riding high during this period, as noted on the supplemental labels (shown left), they had just been awarded Australia’s Winery Of The Year, and the Most Successful Winery in 2003


Dark blackish garnet colored, full bodied with classic 'legs' coating the sides of the glass. Upon opening, aromas of black fruits filled the room. On tasting they were accented by ripe raisin and floral violets. Slightly musty, concentrated, firm structured firm black fruits were accented by tobacco, leathery creosote, raisin eucalyptus notes with mouth puckering tongue coating tannins on the ripe black cherry fruit laced finish.

After dinner I tasted this with moderately dark, then dark chocolates and the darker the better to complement the raisin laced earthy black fruits. 

RM 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/notes.asp?iWine=17760

http://www.darenberg.com.au/

Allegrini Palazzo della Torre 2011

Allegrini Palazzo della Torre 2011 

Traveling, I picked up this everyday wine for carry out dinner back at the hotel. This provides great QPR - quality price ratio, affordable for every day drinking, but well rounded for many occasions. Would be suitable for parties where you need to serve many and not break the bank, and provide a easy drinking wine that will appeal to many. A great pizza wine.

This wine is produced using an innovative Ripasso method. The grapes Corvina Veronese (70%), Rondinella (25%), and Sangiovese (5%) are from the Palazzo della Torre vineyard in the town of Fumane near Verona. They are harvested and then vinified in two different methods: 70% of the grapes are vinified immediately after the harvest, the remaining percentage is dried until the end of December to a raisin characteristic. At this point, the wine ferments again with the dried grapes.

While not complex, this is nicely balanced for smooth easy sipping, supple with deep ruby red in colour, a berry perfume, ripe black berry and black cherry fruits with an underlying tone of leather, mocha, hints of vanilla and oak with modest finish.

RM 88 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1785136