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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 91 pts. and median of 92 pts. in 113 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by GrapeScott on 5/18/2021 & rated 91 points: Has a big, rich, meaty blackberry nose, with an opaque purple color. Drank over several nights, this held up well on day 2, so for my bottles at least, this still has plenty of life left in it. Made in an a somewhat Parkerized burly style, before Wells dialed things back beginning in '06, with a bit more vanilla oak than I like to see. Despite my preference for Old World syrah, this still hits a sweet spot for me, as it draws from many of these benchmark wines: the floral lift of Cote Rotie, the burliness of Hermitage, and the rusticity of Cornas. Oil-cured olive, dried beef, Herbes de Provence and brambly blue-blackberry fruit on the palate. Finishes with a bit of tartness and some fine-grained tannins. These older Copain syrahs are aging quite well, definitely better than the pinots. (717 views) | | | Tasted by Badfish on 1/5/2021: Dark inky purple core turning to ruby at the rim. The nose is similarly sinister with heady aromas of blackberry compote, charred meat, violets, forest floor, and lavender. The palate is rich, dense, and complex with dark berry fruit, soft sweet tannins, and earthy spicy undertones. This wine has aged beautifully and it still has tons of substance left, don't hesitate to age it for another ten years. (690 views) | | | Tasted by Jdwinedrinker on 1/12/2020: I had low expectations given some of the notes here.... but this is actually a nice wine, drinking well. Blackberry fruit with vanilla/oak (though not too heavy). Tannin largely gone. (780 views) | | | Tasted by Charlie C on 5/1/2019 & rated 79 points: I most recently tasted this wine in June of last year and, although it was still good, I suggested that it should be drunk up. This was my last bottle and that was a correct assessment. A faint cherry nose. The palate starts out strong with dark cherry notes but rapidly deteriorates to a cherry cough syrup/menthol taste. Soft tannins, good acidity, but a bit of heat is showing (14.1% ABV if you're interested). Short finish. This wine has definitely seen better days. (905 views) | | | Tasted by Charlie C on 6/13/2018 & rated 88 points: Tonight with bone-in pork chops. The nose is a bit shy at first but eventually shows some dark fruits and a bit of iodine. The fruit is plush on the palate, plums and a bit of beef blood, some pepper. The tannins are fully resolved but still lending structure. Nice acidity and decent balance. The overall impression is a luxurious texture. The finish is moderately long and shows a bit darker fruit than the rest of the palate. Bottom line: this was probably a bit better three or four years ago, but it is quite nice right now. Drink 'em if you got 'em. (1088 views) | | | Tasted by JKelly05 on 4/3/2018: Needs a decant 1+hrs.
Musty and oxidative notes blow off and dark meaty syrah comes through.
Bacon fat, charcuterie, white pepper, olives..yumm...A manly wine not for the faint of palate... (932 views) | | | Tasted by Vinomnivore on 5/22/2017 & rated 89 points: Blackberry and tea. (1233 views) | | | Tasted by redpine42 on 5/6/2017 & rated 92 points: Bacon fat. Love this style of Syrah. (1088 views) | | | Tasted by Vinomnivore on 4/18/2017 & rated 91 points: Very enjoyable wine still showing well at this age. Initially the nose is the most captivating part of the wine-black olive tapenade, violet, rosemary/sage. Nice black fruit, herb flavors with a still robust tannic finish balanced by acid. I would drink now before the fruit fades further. (1027 views) | | | Tasted by goodvitis.com on 3/5/2017 & rated 91 points: The nose offers dramatic hickory smoke, olive tapenade, bacon fat and cherries while the full bodied palate extends sweet cherries and strawberries to go with smoked ham and black pepper. Dense with juicy acidity, it is nicely integrated. With air it took on a bit of a Robitussin or stewed fruit flavor, best consumed as a pop and pour. (946 views) | | | Tasted by JKelly05 on 12/26/2016: Drank amongst early 2000 radio coteau Sarah's. this was the star. Dark fruits, earth, game flavors (1056 views) | | | Tasted by buckeye76 on 10/6/2016 & rated 92 points: PLUMS AND SPICE IN THE NOSE WITH BLACK CHERRIES AND SOME EARTHINESS IN THE FLAVOR. MEDIUM TO LONG FINISH (720 views) | | | Tasted by Knicksfan on 4/21/2015 & rated 89 points: Still a lovely if not exciting syrah. (1601 views) | | | Tasted by redz on 11/3/2014 & rated 89 points: a little frumpy, heavy chocolate flavors. few hours decant and lamb helps! (1741 views) | | | Tasted by WetRock on 10/31/2014: Tarry nose. Dense and heavy still but the fruit seems reserved or not expressive. That nice acidity I usually notice from the Hawkes Butte bottling never made itself present. It seems like every time I have one I have a different experience from the last. Doesn't seem to show a decade on it at all. Air did not help it as it was consistent over two nights. (1719 views) | | | Tasted by alanr on 8/13/2013 & rated 89 points: Very dark, opaque garnet, no sign of age in the color; quite an interesting nose, with deep fruit compote, underbrush, hint of dried herbs; nicely intense, ripe, deep, dark raspberry fruit, shows some sweetness of the vintage, but with good balance, nice acidity, still some chalky, grippy tannins. This is in the mold of the pre-2007 Copain shift, riper and more voluptuous, but an excellent example of California syrah, quite drinkable now if you can tolerate some tannins, but probably needs another 5 years to start showing more complexity. I would give this a drinking window of 2015-2025. (2848 views) | | | Tasted by thomaskeil on 4/6/2013 & rated 92 points: PnP. (Better later, so decant advised) Reddish violet. Nose has oozy blackberry, some blueberry, cracked pepper, meat/iron and stone. Palate features the viscous-leaning dark fruit, but there is a terrific cut that gives a gritty texture and some mineral acidity; yet it retains a silky/thick sensation that surprisingly satisfies. Similar to, but decidedly better put together than the '04 Thompson from earlier in the week. In fine shape, no hurry. (2620 views) | | | Tasted by w00dee on 2/24/2013 & rated 91 points: love this wine but think its seen better days (2246 views) | | | Tasted by oenophilemoose on 1/25/2013 & rated 84 points: Again, I have to go against the grain. Decanted and consumed over 3 hours, heavy dark ripe fruit that just didn't create an exceptional experience. Don't know if this is a typical Copain wine, but will probably avoid the label with so many other excellent choices at this price point. (2832 views) | | | Tasted by KeithAkers on 1/5/2013 & rated 80 points: Bring a big cali syrah (My place, Chicago IL): nose: Very rich and forward nose with gloppy tones of dark red fruits, spice tones, black fruits and some blue fruits. There is some depth to this but it's also too rich with some oak as well.
taste: Full bodied with no real tannins. The tones of blue fruits, black fruits, spices and black cherries and some liqueur tones are in the over ripe category.
overall: I've definitely liked the more dialed back copains. I caught this earlier in the night and it was still resembling something. I didn't take notes later, but it became more gloppy and chunky than smoothing out. (2630 views) | | | Tasted by tooch on 1/5/2013 & rated 78 points: An Evening of Californian Syrah (Keith's House): Lots of dark fruit, mocha and scorched earth. Characterized primarily with juicy, dark fruit with a hefty dose of mocha. Thick and viscous, I wasn't enthused by the lack of elegance. Love their new style of wines, but some of the older bottlings are outside my comfort zone. (2134 views) | | | Tasted by davidspieker on 6/13/2012 & rated 91 points: Dark inky color. Subtile aromas of must, olives and meat. Well integrated and evolving through a lengthy finish. Dark cherry, olive, and meat flavors are very smooth with fully body. (1720 views) | | | Tasted by Screameagle on 4/21/2012 & rated 92 points: A really nice bottle that is drinking young after a p&p. I'm going to decant my last bottle for at least an hour. A very nice wine but not a qpr thats for sure. (1860 views) | | | Tasted by dekay on 4/20/2012 & rated 90 points: Very similar to the bottle from a year ago, but softer in all dimensions, suggesting it is on the downside of its window. Light vanilla and fruit on the nose, with a hint of spice. Not quite as full and lighter acidity, but still has dusty tannins. Moderate finish 90, but fading. (1498 views) | | | Tasted by psrv on 1/8/2012 & rated 94 points: PnP. Wonderful aromas and flavors of plums, black cherries, meat, leather, and smoke, framed by beautiful minerals and acidity. Complex, velvety, and smooth, with a long finish. Delicious. (2162 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| Copain Producer website
Producer Location (Google Maps)Syrah Varietal article (Wikipedia) | (Wines Northwest)
Note that some producers in the Northern Rhone distinguish between simply Syrah and "Serine", the latter described as ‘an ancient clone of Syrah, the berries of which are more oval-shaped and less deeply pigmented than Syrah’ by producer Tardieu-Laurent. USAAmerican wine has been produced since the 1500s, with the first widespread production beginning in New Mexico in 1628. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 84% of all U.S. wine. The continent of North America is home to several native species of grape, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis vulpina, but the wine-making industry is based almost entirely on the cultivation of the European Vitis vinifera, which was introduced by European settlers. With more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) under vine, the United States is the fourth-largest wine producing country in the world, after Italy, Spain, and France.California2021 vintage: "Unlike almost all other areas of the state, the Russian River Valley had higher than normal crops in 2021, which has made for a wine of greater generosity and fruit forwardness than some of its stablemates." - Morgan Twain-Peterson North CoastThe North Coast American Viticultural Area (AVA) in California, covering more than three million acres, includes Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino and Lake counties, and portions of Marin and Solano counties. (see The Wine Institute for more information) |
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