Winemaker Notes
Vintage 2005 could be summarized as a vintage that ripened without interruptions. The resulting wines are tight with amazing red fruit fragrance and lovely acidity. Crops yields were above averagealthough slightly under the 2004 vintage.
The 2005 Coppermine Road, one of d'Arenberg's flagship icon reds, is a complex and full bodied wine dominated by red fruits, blueberry, cranberry, cedary cinnamon spice and earth. Vibrant aromas of cassis, blackcurrant, and plum harmonize with the well structured palate. With bottle age, this wine will gain more complex characters of chocolate, truffle, cigar box and earth but maintain its seamless rolling finish.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2005 The Coppermine Road Cabernet Sauvignon is purple/black in color. It offers aromas of pain grille, pencil lead, licorice, black currant, and blackberry liqueur. This leads to a flamboyant Cabernet with gobs of ripe fruit and notes of chocolate emerging. The wine has well-concealed tannins, excellent balance, and a 60-second finish. It will benefit from 5-7 years of cellaring and will drink well through 2025.
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
Known for opulent red wines with intense power and concentration, McLaren Vale is home to perhaps the most “classic” style of Australian Shiraz. Vinified on its own or in Rhône Blends, these hot-climate wines are deeply colored and high in extract with signature hints of dark chocolate and licorice. Cabernet Sauvignon is also produced in a similar style.
Whites, often made from Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc tend to be opulent and full of tropical, stone and citrus fruit.