Wow, this is drinking good right now (Sadly it was my last bottle.) After 13 years of bottle age this is singing - great aromatics, texture, integration, and finish. Syrah needs age! Bravo to Copain and SBC Syrah!
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Reserved, classy nose of smoke, olive tapenade, strawberries, cinnamon and nutmeg. Full bodied with big acidity it offers flavors of olive juice, pork fat, cherries, and raspberries. This impressive effort offers a seamless and dense profile that avoids any excess.
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Winter in Wineland; 1/14/2017-1/20/2017 (Sonoma & Napa): Interesting to get to try a wine with a bit more age. This was poured from magnum. It's very sweet blackberries. More fruity than the 2014 Les Voisins Syrah we'd had right before and a bit more in the sweet vein as well. Still interesting.
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w cheesesouffle (yummy). This was pretty decent given our earlier experience. Nice color, good typical syrah nose. On palate good fruit, strength and spices. Dark fruit, maybe a bit dry on the finish. Later on this got better 1.5 hrs. Had more body and got very inetersting on palate. Drink now because of the dryness.
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w bean/pork stew. This was fizzy on the palate. Didnot get better. Will let it wait a few hours. Would have been good combo. Had the 2010 hawks butte as replacement and that was good.
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I'm finding that I need to be in the mood for a syrah and I'm just not in that mood very often any more. popped and poured. probably needed more time but still a decent syrah. Lots of pepper, raw meat and spicy black fruit. Of the 2 we tasted last night this was the better. Will try it again tonight to see if it improves with time opened.
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Boysenberry, fennel on the nose. Juicy, broad palate, with activity all over my mouth. This is definitely a big wine, but it's quite approachable in my opinion. I think this is probably peaking, but I enjoy it a lot right now. I don't get the over-extracted notes that others have remarked on, nor am I disturbed by the alcohol levels. That said, I'm not that familiar with the Copain lineup or style (though I hope to change that soon), and maybe this wine is atypical.
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Little disappointed for Copain. This is a single vineyard designate, seemed both heavily extracted and green at the same time. I will agree with the cedar comment but just up front then nice fruit but little terroir and then some green pepper in the finish.
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Decanted for 2hrs to start. Smoky, dark fruit with noticeable heat. Came across a bit extracted. Let it sit for a few days, which put it in a better place, but still a bit over the top for me. Less balanced than my prior bottle, one to go.
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P&P. A strong dose of olive and ripe blackberry on the both nose and palate indicates a warmer vintage with stem inclusion; first few sips were good, dense rich, hedonistic Syrah. Then, some rather pronounced signs of alcohol started to surface, especially on the finish, which had me wondering if I may need another bottle. I stuck with it, and the heat did subside some, but so did the fruit, this went on a like game of cat and mouse. At the end, the experience was ok to decent, but this 06 is a shadow of the 05 or where I think the 07 will be with a few more years under her belt.
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Black / purplish hue. Smokey Bacon, tar, dried blueberries and roasted coffee bean. Slight notes of cream and cedar round out the nose. Full bodied mouthfeel, rich with pencil shavings and blueberries. Silk laden tannin, medium acid profile. Medium / Long finish, smooth and relatively balanced with a slight peak of alcohol on the finish. Paired very well with sauteed sausages & baked beans.
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PnP. Deep violet. Nose of meaty black fruit with some peppery spice. Palate features chewy dark fruit with firm tannins and acidic bite. Etoh present but not a feature. Penetrates and has some depth, hint of complexity. A little unfocussed and disjointed, but clearly with the stuffing to develop and smooth out. I actually find the elements, chewy and rough-edged as they are, pleasing even now.
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On one hand, this is a good example of Syrah profile with black fruit, meat and smoke. But it takes the meat and smoke to bloody and blackened. This was just so over the top for me that I wondered if the bottle had gone bad and had some sort of Syrah funk. Bottom line: really, really not for me
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Dark fruit and smoke on the nose...decanted and drank over an evening. Lots of dark berry and a bit of minerality or cola on the palete. A llittle on the sweet/syrupy side but not to its detrement. Another very solid effort from Copain...a very underrated producer!
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Dark creamy fruit. Spice, pepper and smoked bacon. Somewhat sweet and dense. Could do with more structure and fresness as it gets i little tirering after a glas or two, but otherwise a solid Cali Syrah
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Needed about 2 hours of aeration to open up. Nose of dark fruits and olives. A hint of menthol on the palate. Also a certain stemminess, which manifested itself in the form of some relatively hard tannins.
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Dark berry, spicy, herbs., nice tannins... sorry...took no notes,so these comments really suck. But this is very nice. Needs several hours of decanting. Great on day 2.
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Pop and pour, which is likely a disservice for this wine. Pepper, dark fruit, some stemmy qualities still woven into the palate, along with a briny quality. Doesn't show the opulence I was expecting but the bottle is decanting, we'll see how that evolves it....I had a another taste of this the following day and it seemed still quite sauvage, some stemmy content and a bloody smell. Interesting wine for the place it is in but my last one.
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Pop, pour and followed over two nights. Most enjoyable right out of the gate, beefy, meaty, funky nose that eventually mellowed. Always seems a bit shy and awkward, never really being as enjoyable wine as I think it might be. Texturally, this is what i look for in a syrah. Lost interest on the second night.
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This note was from memory, as I didn't take anything formal. I really liked this wine last night, mainly for the structure and future the wine can hold. The only nit I had was some heat, which I have commented on in past notes.
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Spice, plum and a hint of briar on the nose. Dense, focused and very well balanced, a bit of pepper on the finish. Young yet. A big, structured wine, with some life ahead of it.
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Opened for an hour before drinking. Nice nose of roasted game, sea salt with some grapefruit. A tad too much heat on the nose but chilling the wine a bit solved that problem. Finish was strong and bright. A wine to enjoy with grilled meat.
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Coffee notes on a relatively quiet nose. Blue fruits with some bacon and tar. Feels primary. Chunky, chewy tannins with a degree of brightness to the acidity. No heat that I noticed. Texturally this is a delight. NNot all that exciting of a bottle, but maybe some room to evolve IMHO. My first Copain in the newer style and I like the direction very much.
Large round nose, slightly tannic but very berry mouth, nice extended length. The pieces are all there, and the wine is built well and it seems like it'll go places, but having said all of that, it's really tasty now. Will its future self be as nice as its present, boisterous self?
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Im going to buck the CT trend here slightly, as the showing last night displayed none of the heat, excessive ripeness, etc that other recent notes have eluted to. Popped and poured, this was whole cluster city, and I loved it. The nose and the palate had tracked each other well, offering a ripe, but structured array of blackberry, pressed olive skins, roasted corn, and a deft touch of new wood. The stems added an additional exotic tint of indian spice and patchouli. The finish lingered and was fresh, creating the need to shove more homemade chicken fajitas in my gullet. Still should go for a few more years yet.
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Deep purple. On opening, this was noticeably brawny. Very meaty and plenty of heat. Very good, but a bit more in your face than other Copain syrahs I have had (and generally loved), particularly the noticeable heat. After decanting overnight, it paired smashingly with a venison goulash and garlic spinach. Plenty of dried black fruit, with sour cherry, spice and a roasted element. Bright acidity for a big syrah and very present tannins. I am looking fowrard to popping another bottle in a6 to 12 months to see if this coheres a bit more.
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The bottle we had with the Copain offline just before XMAS was disappointing, as it seemed to several of us the wine was hot and pretty one dimensioned. I wanted to retry the wine again tonight, in a different setting with it standing alone. Very dark, stemmy note with pure white flower, bacon fat and ripe fruit. One the palate, still comes off as kind of flat, very plump with smooth edges and the finish drops off quite a bit, with some acidity but needs more, along with melted licorice. There is some heat with the bouquet but this is not the treble volume it was two weeks ago at the offline. Instead, more unctuous tasting tonight and given the perceived ripeness, I would suggest drinking mid-term, between now and end of 2010 to mid-2011. Better tonight than two weeks ago but well below the 2005 and certainly below the 2007, which is sensational...as a closing note, I finished the other 1/2 of the bottle tonight. I'd sum this wine up as full bodied, with forward and plush textures, lavender, white flower and a big dollop of fruit. However, the heat signature is less prominent tonight so for sure decant. Just note that is a big bones wine for Copain.
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Copain Offline @ Fratello's In The South OC (Fratello's Laguna Niguel): In viewing the recent set of CT notes as I post, I would have to agree with the comments about "primary" and even the one about heat. Even my own note from earlier this year was not as enthusastic as I often am when I open Copain. This 2006 is a bit disappointing, which was arrayed in the same dinner with the 2005 and 2007 Thompsons. This 2006 shows as one dimensional, lacking complexity, with some heat. Coffee and blueberry, and a maple note. Just lacks the Copain elegance. I have 2 left in the cellar and plan to open another one in the next couple months to re-rest the note here.
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Dark opaque red. Nose of raspberry, cherry, and fig along with a little oak and some alcohol. The palate shows lively acidity and firm tannin. Dry tannic finish. Good length on the finish with some dark fruits in addition to the tannin. Still primary, give this a few more years but it drinks well enough now if decanted for a couple hours.
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More heat on it at first than I remembered from tasting at the winery. Lots of black fruit with a nice touch of tapanade and a general roundness. Good acid. Perhaps needs more time
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my only notes from this first bottle were vague and just reminders for me to compare to my barrel tasting notes for this same wine. it's mellowed out a lot- I still think I'll let it sit for a while and re-taste in another 6mos (if I'm patient). The green bell pepper, black olive and other vegetal notes I had during barrel tasting weren't the first things I noticed this time- there are still some hints of it though which is great. I decanted for at least an hour and thought the overall structure was quite complex, but had great balance. It had a lot of elements going for it. Very silk. Glad it came together.
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No notes taken but I really enjoyed it. Lots of dark fruit but not in a concentrated style. Fairly smooth and easy to drink. Very primary and perhaps need more aging to really impress me. However, it is very enjoyable.
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Getting some secondary fermentation that previous tasters have mentioned. Young. Needs more time to come together. A little primitive but still nice character to it.
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I'm a Big fan of Copain Syrah. Everyone I've tried has been very good. To me they are some of the most interesting wines made in the USA. They are always highly expressive and concentrated but are balanced by very good tannins and acidity. The 2006 Thompson Vineyard Syrah is pitch black. On the nose spicy, exotic, incense, licorice, white pepper, Charcoal, stems and bacon.. It has concentrated rich, deep black fruit flavors but is so well balanced that it doesn't feel too dense or jammy at all.. Glides. Has some bitterness at the end that needs to be integrated but I can see this aging very well. Very young and need a couple of years to hit it's stride
Had the 2004 Betts & Scholl Hermitage last night and I like the Copain better. The Copain is a richer style but has the backbone that the Betts & Scholl lacked and is just more interesting. I'm definitely shifting towards the french styled Syrah's and away from the jammy in your face American and Australian ones but the Copain Syrah's still work for me.
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Blackberry fruit dominates the nose, with exotic spice notes, flowers, herbal/mint notes, and grilled meat. Awesome nose. In the mouth: cassis, blackberry, some blueberry, and melted licorice and grilled herbs. Some of the exotic spices return on the long finish.
J. pointed out that the wine was "fizzy" After she pointed that out, I could perceive it with some effort, but it was so slight that, for me, it didn't get much in the way of what I thought was an exceptionally intriguing and enjoyable wine. However, on Day 2, the carbonation was no longer detectable, but in its place was a slight yeasty beeriness.
I'd be inclined to give this bottle a 92 were it not for the re-fermentation defect. But it was still a very nice bottle, and I'd have to recommend it. Other bottles are likely to show better than this one.
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Had next to the James Berry over 3 days. On the first night I found the aromas to be very rustic. Earthy, dusty and a bit weird. The weirdness sorted out later in the evening. As expected the wine did not show much on the palate early in the evening. Plush mouth feel and a strong tannic finish. Totally unresolved. Big tannin. On the third day the aromatics were balanced and expressive. And the palate was awake and alive. Flashy and medium bodied. Lots of berry fruit. Nice tannins on the finish.
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Best bottle of the evening. Will post notes tomorrow
A little late but here's what I recall: decanted for an hour, then put back in bottle and left open for 8 hours before drinking.
Wine was very smooth and silky with a beautiful nose, pallet and long finish. This wine evolved on the pallet and was very interesting even the following day after being put under a vacuum seal for the night.
Highly recommend.
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OC Offline With John and Kimberly Cabot (Fratello's Laguna Niguel): Last had a bottle of this maybe a month back, I liked it then. This one, same again. Flowery nose with menthol aromatics. Zingy, dark, lots of stemmy notes so it needs to rest but once the stems settle out, oughta be real nice. Of note, the last bottle I had reallt smoothed out with 2 days of air.
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A liquid pork chop. Gobs of meat fat covered in blackberry sauce, with a nice overlay of charcoal. Thick, rich and creamy with enough zing to cleanse the palate. Very round with narry a tannin in sight. I like the incense and fruit in other Copains better - this one is for the carnivores. Nonetheless, another impressive case study for Well's range. I am beginning to think this guy doesn't have a house style, he's all over the place, but he does them all well, very well. He's got something for every Syrah lover.
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Open for 2 hours now. Stemmy, florals and bacon fat. Like a broken record it seems with the Copain and all of these components are favorites so no problem there. Lots of dark blue fruit, some more herbals, a sprinkle of cocoa powder, some minerals, shake it all up and wham, another nice Copain syrah. Yes young, with lots of whole cluster signature on it still so we'll so how the overnight bottle time treats it. After two full days open, finishing the wine tonight....edges of fruit fruit are now part of the flavors, along with charcoal, with the tannins pretty much smoothed out. If you want to enjoy this wine now, a 2 day decant will do the trick.
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No formal notes, but this achieves at the level of the 06 Harrison Clarke in that it carries lots of flavor without density. This Thompson has a blacker fruit profile as well an intriguing incense character that I picked out when I was drinking it and am again reminded of by TWA note. Drank great after opening, and the tannic grip that emerged after some air was never all that intrusive. I'm a big fan of these Copain Syrahs in terms of style and QPR. The Thompson bottling was excellent in 05 as well.
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Tasted at the winery. Plum, blackberry, and peppercorns on the nose followed by an earthy palate of stems, damp soil, and peat. Chalky finish on the rustic wine.
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Unfortunately....a heat damaged bottle. Still somewhat enjoyable as I caught it early but not nearly as dense or as concentrated as another bottle I have tried.
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Decanted 2 hours. Beautiful magenta color. Subdued nose of blueberry and floral notes-this blossomed nicely with further air time and swirling. Blackberries, spice, and a little pepper on the tongue, mouth coating grippy tannins, and a long smooth finish. We drank this bottle over three nights-it held up very well, we even had to give it some air time on the last night for it to open up: IMO, give this a few more years cellar time.
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Decanted 1 hr. Classic Copain magenta in color. Very tight on the nose, which needed aggressive swirling to yield some syrah-esque characteristics of smoky blackberry and pepper. A bit of chewy, tannic bite is the first impression on the tongue, but once past that, an awesome presentation of ripe, Santa Barbara black fruits, oh so smoky, and superb balance and restraint. Long finish that unfolds slowly, but fills all corners of the mouth. My guess is for a very long life based upon the tannic structure, depth of fruit, and sound acidity. The 05 Thompson was my favorite of the bunch for that vintage, and indeed this 06 version might even surpass that great effort
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Very inky black in color. Great richness and depth. Great flavors of BBQ, smoked meat, dark fruit. Needs at least a few years to shed some of it's grip. May improve with cellar aging but very nice at the moment.
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4/21/2020 - rogerr Likes this wine: 94 Points
Wow, this is drinking good right now (Sadly it was my last bottle.) After 13 years of bottle age this is singing - great aromatics, texture, integration, and finish. Syrah needs age! Bravo to Copain and SBC Syrah!
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8/15/2019 - hiker_guy Likes this wine:
Last one. Been 6 years since the last and this one could have gone another decade. Still lots of fruit, pepper galore, nicely balanced.
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4/18/2019 - 1961Vintage wrote: 93 Points
Still drinking well. Love these Copain Syrahs.
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12/31/2018 - 1961Vintage wrote: 93 Points
Really enjoying the single vineyard Copains. Smooth and elegant!
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9/16/2017 - redpine42 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Nice big fruit. Finish is little weak.
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3/5/2017 - goodvitis.com Likes this wine: 93 Points
Reserved, classy nose of smoke, olive tapenade, strawberries, cinnamon and nutmeg. Full bodied with big acidity it offers flavors of olive juice, pork fat, cherries, and raspberries. This impressive effort offers a seamless and dense profile that avoids any excess.
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1/15/2017 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
Winter in Wineland; 1/14/2017-1/20/2017 (Sonoma & Napa): Interesting to get to try a wine with a bit more age. This was poured from magnum. It's very sweet blackberries. More fruity than the 2014 Les Voisins Syrah we'd had right before and a bit more in the sweet vein as well. Still interesting.
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2/14/2016 - rogerr Likes this wine: 92 Points
Drinking well now.
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11/15/2015 - MichielV wrote: 89 Points
Similar note to last time. Drink up. Better when two yrs younger
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6/18/2015 - MichielV wrote: 90 Points
w cheesesouffle (yummy). This was pretty decent given our earlier experience. Nice color, good typical syrah nose. On palate good fruit, strength and spices. Dark fruit, maybe a bit dry on the finish. Later on this got better 1.5 hrs. Had more body and got very inetersting on palate. Drink now because of the dryness.
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3/6/2015 - MichielV wrote: 86 Points
w bean/pork stew. This was fizzy on the palate. Didnot get better. Will let it wait a few hours. Would have been good combo. Had the 2010 hawks butte as replacement and that was good.
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6/20/2013 - rogerr wrote: 90 Points
Found it to be green, tannic, and rough. Not sure if it needs more time or if it will ever soften up.
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5/10/2013 - hiker_guy wrote:
I'm finding that I need to be in the mood for a syrah and I'm just not in that mood very often any more.
popped and poured. probably needed more time but still a decent syrah. Lots of pepper, raw meat and spicy black fruit. Of the 2 we tasted last night this was the better. Will try it again tonight to see if it improves with time opened.
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4/4/2013 - norsktorsk wrote: flawed
This bottle is off. Not TCA. Cork was dry and brittle.
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4/4/2013 - norsktorsk wrote:
This bottle is off. Not TCA. Cork was dry and brittle.
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12/28/2012 - alpha_ori Likes this wine: 93 Points
Boysenberry, fennel on the nose. Juicy, broad palate, with activity all over my mouth. This is definitely a big wine, but it's quite approachable in my opinion. I think this is probably peaking, but I enjoy it a lot right now. I don't get the over-extracted notes that others have remarked on, nor am I disturbed by the alcohol levels. That said, I'm not that familiar with the Copain lineup or style (though I hope to change that soon), and maybe this wine is atypical.
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9/15/2012 - Rick 4 Wine wrote: 87 Points
Little disappointed for Copain. This is a single vineyard designate, seemed both heavily extracted and green at the same time. I will agree with the cedar comment but just up front then nice fruit but little terroir and then some green pepper in the finish.
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5/30/2012 - norsktorsk wrote: 88 Points
This was interesting. cedar bark shavings. rich. not my style.
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5/12/2012 - AccaDacca wrote: 88 Points
Decanted for 2hrs to start. Smoky, dark fruit with noticeable heat. Came across a bit extracted. Let it sit for a few days, which put it in a better place, but still a bit over the top for me. Less balanced than my prior bottle, one to go.
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4/25/2012 - 2loyal wrote: 90 Points
Deep, dark purple in color, but surprisingly nuanced on the palate. Screams for a cassoulet (or similar comfort food).
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3/31/2012 - Dale M wrote: 89 Points
P&P. A strong dose of olive and ripe blackberry on the both nose and palate indicates a warmer vintage with stem inclusion; first few sips were good, dense rich, hedonistic Syrah. Then, some rather pronounced signs of alcohol started to surface, especially on the finish, which had me wondering if I may need another bottle. I stuck with it, and the heat did subside some, but so did the fruit, this went on a like game of cat and mouse. At the end, the experience was ok to decent, but this 06 is a shadow of the 05 or where I think the 07 will be with a few more years under her belt.
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3/19/2012 - Chateau Cabron wrote:
Black / purplish hue. Smokey Bacon, tar, dried blueberries and roasted coffee bean. Slight notes of cream and cedar round out the nose. Full bodied mouthfeel, rich with pencil shavings and blueberries. Silk laden tannin, medium acid profile. Medium / Long finish, smooth and relatively balanced with a slight peak of alcohol on the finish. Paired very well with sauteed sausages & baked beans.
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3/16/2012 - thomaskeil wrote: 89 Points
PnP. Deep violet. Nose of meaty black fruit with some peppery spice. Palate features chewy dark fruit with firm tannins and acidic bite. Etoh present but not a feature. Penetrates and has some depth, hint of complexity. A little unfocussed and disjointed, but clearly with the stuffing to develop and smooth out. I actually find the elements, chewy and rough-edged as they are, pleasing even now.
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2/28/2012 - underwds wrote:
On one hand, this is a good example of Syrah profile with black fruit, meat and smoke. But it takes the meat and smoke to bloody and blackened. This was just so over the top for me that I wondered if the bottle had gone bad and had some sort of Syrah funk. Bottom line: really, really not for me
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2/19/2012 - Tom Warden wrote: 91 Points
Dark fruit and smoke on the nose...decanted and drank over an evening. Lots of dark berry and a bit of minerality or cola on the palete. A llittle on the sweet/syrupy side but not to its detrement. Another very solid effort from Copain...a very underrated producer!
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2/6/2012 - ToddS wrote:
2 bottles. Both were flawed. If I had more I certainly wouldn't trust them to improve.
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2/4/2012 - ToddS wrote:
Almost as if it were carbonated. Not a good thing....
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1/20/2012 - jimmythesaint wrote:
Decanted, drank and enjoyed.
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1/9/2012 - boodra wrote: 87 Points
Dark creamy fruit. Spice, pepper and smoked bacon. Somewhat sweet and dense. Could do with more structure and fresness as it gets i little tirering after a glas or two, but otherwise a solid Cali Syrah
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12/25/2011 - HenryW wrote: 90 Points
Needed about 2 hours of aeration to open up. Nose of dark fruits and olives. A hint of menthol on the palate. Also a certain stemminess, which manifested itself in the form of some relatively hard tannins.
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12/11/2011 - Haggis wrote: 91 Points
Dark berry, spicy, herbs., nice tannins... sorry...took no notes,so these comments really suck. But this is very nice. Needs several hours of decanting. Great on day 2.
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11/19/2011 - Frank Murray III wrote:
Pop and pour, which is likely a disservice for this wine. Pepper, dark fruit, some stemmy qualities still woven into the palate, along with a briny quality. Doesn't show the opulence I was expecting but the bottle is decanting, we'll see how that evolves it....I had a another taste of this the following day and it seemed still quite sauvage, some stemmy content and a bloody smell. Interesting wine for the place it is in but my last one.
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11/11/2011 - MikeC362 wrote: flawed
Spritzy bottle. Off... Poured down the drain
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10/22/2011 - tim_c wrote: 87 Points
Pop, pour and followed over two nights. Most enjoyable right out of the gate, beefy, meaty, funky nose that eventually mellowed. Always seems a bit shy and awkward, never really being as enjoyable wine as I think it might be. Texturally, this is what i look for in a syrah. Lost interest on the second night.
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9/29/2011 - AccaDacca wrote: 90 Points
Peppery with some fruit and olives. Beautiful deep red color. Terrific with brisket.
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9/28/2011 - pjhr wrote: flawed
Not up to the previous bottle with a hint of cork.
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6/12/2011 - eltejano wrote:
no big changes from my last note but I think I needed to decant this more than an hour- or use a bigger decanter.
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6/1/2011 - pjhr wrote: 92 Points
Similar tasting notes to previous bottle.
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5/15/2011 - Frank Murray III wrote:
This note was from memory, as I didn't take anything formal. I really liked this wine last night, mainly for the structure and future the wine can hold. The only nit I had was some heat, which I have commented on in past notes.
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5/15/2011 - Sellar Rat wrote: 92 Points
Spice, plum and a hint of briar on the nose. Dense, focused and very well balanced, a bit of pepper on the finish. Young yet. A big, structured wine, with some life ahead of it.
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2/22/2011 - jimmythesaint wrote: 90 Points
Opened for an hour before drinking. Nice nose of roasted game, sea salt with some grapefruit. A tad too much heat on the nose but chilling the wine a bit solved that problem. Finish was strong and bright. A wine to enjoy with grilled meat.
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2/18/2011 - tim_c wrote: 87 Points
Coffee notes on a relatively quiet nose. Blue fruits with some bacon and tar. Feels primary. Chunky, chewy tannins with a degree of brightness to the acidity. No heat that I noticed. Texturally this is a delight. NNot all that exciting of a bottle, but maybe some room to evolve IMHO. My first Copain in the newer style and I like the direction very much.
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2/1/2011 - pjhr wrote: 92 Points
Delicious blackberry and peppercorn aromas and flavors with hints of stem inclusion and a tasty finish. Drinking well now.
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1/19/2011 - jbaron wrote: 91 Points
Large round nose, slightly tannic but very berry mouth, nice extended length. The pieces are all there, and the wine is built well and it seems like it'll go places, but having said all of that, it's really tasty now. Will its future self be as nice as its present, boisterous self?
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8/8/2010 - Uglypinga wrote: flawed
Spritzy bottle. off
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7/10/2010 - rjonwine@gmail.com wrote: 93 Points
Swine & Wine 2.0 Wines (Chez J.R. and Renee, San Jose, CA): Opaque black red violet color; tart black fruit, olive, green peppercorn nose; tight, tart black fruit green peppercorn, olive palate; medium-plus finish
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6/13/2010 - Dale M wrote: 93 Points
Im going to buck the CT trend here slightly, as the showing last night displayed none of the heat, excessive ripeness, etc that other recent notes have eluted to. Popped and poured, this was whole cluster city, and I loved it. The nose and the palate had tracked each other well, offering a ripe, but structured array of blackberry, pressed olive skins, roasted corn, and a deft touch of new wood. The stems added an additional exotic tint of indian spice and patchouli. The finish lingered and was fresh, creating the need to shove more homemade chicken fajitas in my gullet. Still should go for a few more years yet.
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5/24/2010 - wabi47 wrote: 88 Points
medium bodied with plum, earth, peppery finish; sl odd metallic mid palate took 30min to wear off, then very serviceable.
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5/12/2010 - HenryW wrote: 86 Points
Enticing syrah nose of lavendar and purple fruit with just a hint of brett. The palate, however, is disappointing mainly due to a harsh tannic finish.
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1/8/2010 - waragi wrote:
Deep purple. On opening, this was noticeably brawny. Very meaty and plenty of heat. Very good, but a bit more in your face than other Copain syrahs I have had (and generally loved), particularly the noticeable heat. After decanting overnight, it paired smashingly with a venison goulash and garlic spinach. Plenty of dried black fruit, with sour cherry, spice and a roasted element. Bright acidity for a big syrah and very present tannins.
I am looking fowrard to popping another bottle in a6 to 12 months to see if this coheres a bit more.
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1/1/2010 - Frank Murray III wrote:
The bottle we had with the Copain offline just before XMAS was disappointing, as it seemed to several of us the wine was hot and pretty one dimensioned. I wanted to retry the wine again tonight, in a different setting with it standing alone. Very dark, stemmy note with pure white flower, bacon fat and ripe fruit. One the palate, still comes off as kind of flat, very plump with smooth edges and the finish drops off quite a bit, with some acidity but needs more, along with melted licorice. There is some heat with the bouquet but this is not the treble volume it was two weeks ago at the offline. Instead, more unctuous tasting tonight and given the perceived ripeness, I would suggest drinking mid-term, between now and end of 2010 to mid-2011. Better tonight than two weeks ago but well below the 2005 and certainly below the 2007, which is sensational...as a closing note, I finished the other 1/2 of the bottle tonight. I'd sum this wine up as full bodied, with forward and plush textures, lavender, white flower and a big dollop of fruit. However, the heat signature is less prominent tonight so for sure decant. Just note that is a big bones wine for Copain.
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12/23/2009 - WetRock wrote:
Impromptu Copains at Fratello's (Fratello's San Clemente): Ripe fat nose with a good bit of rubber. Very short, thick and fat with rubber flavors.
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12/23/2009 - Frank Murray III wrote:
Copain Offline @ Fratello's In The South OC (Fratello's Laguna Niguel): In viewing the recent set of CT notes as I post, I would have to agree with the comments about "primary" and even the one about heat. Even my own note from earlier this year was not as enthusastic as I often am when I open Copain. This 2006 is a bit disappointing, which was arrayed in the same dinner with the 2005 and 2007 Thompsons. This 2006 shows as one dimensional, lacking complexity, with some heat. Coffee and blueberry, and a maple note. Just lacks the Copain elegance. I have 2 left in the cellar and plan to open another one in the next couple months to re-rest the note here.
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10/19/2009 - kris.h wrote: 90 Points
Dark opaque red. Nose of raspberry, cherry, and fig along with a little oak and some alcohol. The palate shows lively acidity and firm tannin. Dry tannic finish. Good length on the finish with some dark fruits in addition to the tannin. Still primary, give this a few more years but it drinks well enough now if decanted for a couple hours.
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10/5/2009 - championship_bottle wrote:
More heat on it at first than I remembered from tasting at the winery. Lots of black fruit with a nice touch of tapanade and a general roundness. Good acid. Perhaps needs more time
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9/17/2009 - eltejano wrote: 92 Points
my only notes from this first bottle were vague and just reminders for me to compare to my barrel tasting notes for this same wine. it's mellowed out a lot- I still think I'll let it sit for a while and re-taste in another 6mos (if I'm patient). The green bell pepper, black olive and other vegetal notes I had during barrel tasting weren't the first things I noticed this time- there are still some hints of it though which is great. I decanted for at least an hour and thought the overall structure was quite complex, but had great balance. It had a lot of elements going for it. Very silk. Glad it came together.
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9/11/2009 - canan wrote:
No notes taken but I really enjoyed it. Lots of dark fruit but not in a concentrated style. Fairly smooth and easy to drink. Very primary and perhaps need more aging to really impress me. However, it is very enjoyable.
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9/3/2009 - beachnic wrote: 91 Points
Getting some secondary fermentation that previous tasters have mentioned. Young. Needs more time to come together. A little primitive but still nice character to it.
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6/4/2009 - beachnic wrote: 92 Points
I'm a Big fan of Copain Syrah. Everyone I've tried has been very good. To me they are some of the most interesting wines made in the USA. They are always highly expressive and concentrated but are balanced by very good tannins and acidity. The 2006 Thompson Vineyard Syrah is pitch black. On the nose spicy, exotic, incense, licorice, white pepper, Charcoal, stems and bacon.. It has concentrated rich, deep black fruit flavors but is so well balanced that it doesn't feel too dense or jammy at all.. Glides. Has some bitterness at the end that needs to be integrated but I can see this aging very well. Very young and need a couple of years to hit it's stride
Had the 2004 Betts & Scholl Hermitage last night and I like the Copain better. The Copain is a richer style but has the backbone that the Betts & Scholl lacked and is just more interesting. I'm definitely shifting towards the french styled Syrah's and away from the jammy in your face American and Australian ones but the Copain Syrah's still work for me.
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6/3/2009 - pgm wrote: 90 Points
Blackberry fruit dominates the nose, with exotic spice notes, flowers, herbal/mint notes, and grilled meat. Awesome nose. In the mouth: cassis, blackberry, some blueberry, and melted licorice and grilled herbs. Some of the exotic spices return on the long finish.
J. pointed out that the wine was "fizzy" After she pointed that out, I could perceive it with some effort, but it was so slight that, for me, it didn't get much in the way of what I thought was an exceptionally intriguing and enjoyable wine. However, on Day 2, the carbonation was no longer detectable, but in its place was a slight yeasty beeriness.
I'd be inclined to give this bottle a 92 were it not for the re-fermentation defect. But it was still a very nice bottle, and I'd have to recommend it. Other bottles are likely to show better than this one.
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4/27/2009 - jasonh wrote: 91 Points
Had next to the James Berry over 3 days.
On the first night I found the aromas to be very rustic. Earthy, dusty and a bit weird. The weirdness sorted out later in the evening. As expected the wine did not show much on the palate early in the evening. Plush mouth feel and a strong tannic finish. Totally unresolved. Big tannin. On the third day the aromatics were balanced and expressive. And the palate was awake and alive. Flashy and medium bodied. Lots of berry fruit. Nice tannins on the finish.
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4/23/2009 - peternelson wrote: 90 Points
Winery: Bacon fat! big, fat big gooey, concentrated huge; big t’s; nice, well made, but too much
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4/9/2009 - Hazeo wrote: flawed
Very much corked.
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3/14/2009 - hiker_guy wrote:
Best bottle of the evening. Will post notes tomorrow
A little late but here's what I recall:
decanted for an hour, then put back in bottle and left open for 8 hours before drinking.
Wine was very smooth and silky with a beautiful nose, pallet and long finish. This wine evolved on the pallet and was very interesting even the following day after being put under a vacuum seal for the night.
Highly recommend.
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1/9/2009 - Frank Murray III wrote:
OC Offline With John and Kimberly Cabot (Fratello's Laguna Niguel): Last had a bottle of this maybe a month back, I liked it then. This one, same again. Flowery nose with menthol aromatics. Zingy, dark, lots of stemmy notes so it needs to rest but once the stems settle out, oughta be real nice. Of note, the last bottle I had reallt smoothed out with 2 days of air.
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12/29/2008 - redpine42 wrote: 90 Points
Nice bacon fat, not very much else going on at this time.
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12/24/2008 - Jody Smith wrote: 91 Points
A liquid pork chop. Gobs of meat fat covered in blackberry sauce, with a nice overlay of charcoal. Thick, rich and creamy with enough zing to cleanse the palate. Very round with narry a tannin in sight. I like the incense and fruit in other Copains better - this one is for the carnivores. Nonetheless, another impressive case study for Well's range. I am beginning to think this guy doesn't have a house style, he's all over the place, but he does them all well, very well. He's got something for every Syrah lover.
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12/19/2008 - Frank Murray III wrote:
Open for 2 hours now. Stemmy, florals and bacon fat. Like a broken record it seems with the Copain and all of these components are favorites so no problem there. Lots of dark blue fruit, some more herbals, a sprinkle of cocoa powder, some minerals, shake it all up and wham, another nice Copain syrah. Yes young, with lots of whole cluster signature on it still so we'll so how the overnight bottle time treats it. After two full days open, finishing the wine tonight....edges of fruit fruit are now part of the flavors, along with charcoal, with the tannins pretty much smoothed out. If you want to enjoy this wine now, a 2 day decant will do the trick.
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10/12/2008 - silton wrote: 92 Points
No formal notes, but this achieves at the level of the 06 Harrison Clarke in that it carries lots of flavor without density. This Thompson has a blacker fruit profile as well an intriguing incense character that I picked out when I was drinking it and am again reminded of by TWA note. Drank great after opening, and the tannic grip that emerged after some air was never all that intrusive. I'm a big fan of these Copain Syrahs in terms of style and QPR. The Thompson bottling was excellent in 05 as well.
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9/6/2008 - wabi47 wrote: 92 Points
dark with good earth and dark fruit nose; dense smooth dark fruit easily stands up to the tannins; some pepper; built to last and would hold.
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8/31/2008 - Paul Lin wrote: 87 Points
Tasted at the winery. Plum, blackberry, and peppercorns on the nose followed by an earthy palate of stems, damp soil, and peat. Chalky finish on the rustic wine.
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8/26/2008 - thenapalist wrote: flawed
Unfortunately....a heat damaged bottle. Still somewhat enjoyable as I caught it early but not nearly as dense or as concentrated as another bottle I have tried.
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7/13/2008 - green-steve wrote: 92 Points
Decanted 2 hours. Beautiful magenta color. Subdued nose of blueberry and floral notes-this blossomed nicely with further air time and swirling. Blackberries, spice, and a little pepper on the tongue, mouth coating grippy tannins, and a long smooth finish. We drank this bottle over three nights-it held up very well, we even had to give it some air time on the last night for it to open up: IMO, give this a few more years cellar time.
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6/16/2008 - Dale M wrote: 93 Points
Decanted 1 hr. Classic Copain magenta in color. Very tight on the nose, which needed aggressive swirling to yield some syrah-esque characteristics of smoky blackberry and pepper. A bit of chewy, tannic bite is the first impression on the tongue, but once past that, an awesome presentation of ripe, Santa Barbara black fruits, oh so smoky, and superb balance and restraint. Long finish that unfolds slowly, but fills all corners of the mouth. My guess is for a very long life based upon the tannic structure, depth of fruit, and sound acidity. The 05 Thompson was my favorite of the bunch for that vintage, and indeed this 06 version might even surpass that great effort
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6/13/2008 - thenapalist wrote: 93 Points
Very inky black in color. Great richness and depth. Great flavors of BBQ, smoked meat, dark fruit. Needs at least a few years to shed some of it's grip. May improve with cellar aging but very nice at the moment.
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