2007 Copain Pinot Noir "En Haut" Kiser

Community Tasting Notes

Community Tasting Notes (83) Avg Score: 91.9 points

  • Not a good showing. Disjointed with flowery oak notes dominating on the nose, and stewed fruit flavors. Not corked, but could be an off bottle. That said, this was purchased direct from the winery and held in a cold cellar, untouched, since release, so storage should not be an issue. Only got worse with air.

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  • I think I caught my last bottle in a bit of a dumb phase. This has come out the other side and is quite different. Vibrant translucent red. Lush nose of strawberries. Starts out lean on the palate but becomes deeper, lusher with air. Minerals, strawberries and cherries. Fine tannins, bright acidity, good balance. Finishes long, subtle and spicy. Has a Burgundian feel. Excellent and at peak. I'd drink over the next 3 years or so. I recommend a gentle decant about an hour before service.

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  • Not quite at the level of the bottle I drank a year ago, but still quite fine. Clear translucent red color with no fading at the edges. Faintly earthy nose with violets. Lovely subtle red fruit, ripe cherries and strawberries. Round tannins, excellent acidity and balance. Peppery on the midpalate. Finishes long with sharp strawberry fruit and a hint of aromatic herbs. Precise and delicate across the palate. This is probably not going to get better but can be drunk over the next 3 years or so without worrying about fading.

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  • Completely disintegrated cork, with the Ah-so. Expectations were not running high given the cork, slightly brown color, and whiff of brett on the nose. Previous bottles have also always underwhelmed compared to the ‘07 En Bas. While still not as good as En Bas, it’s still very tasty, tannins resolved, still full of dark cherry fruit, a bit of decomposing leaf matter, a streak of acid, and some chalky mineral. Tannins fully resolved. Not gonna improve, but seriously gluggable.

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  • Alas, a bit bretty. Underneath, it’s full of vibrant tart cherry, soil and mineral. Just a bit of secondary flavors starting to show. Sappy, Long and resonant on the finish. Pity about the brett. Not enough to dump, but enough to be a major deduction, like a fall off the balance beam in an otherwise solid routine.

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  • What a lovely wine this has become. Beautiful cherry red in color. Lovely nose of lavender and raspberries. A beautiful mix of red and dark fruits on the palate. Elegant and vibrant, raspberry, blueberry, spice. Bright raspberry/strawberry notes on the mid-palate. Smooth tannins, fabulous balance. Finishes long with red fruits and spice. Fabulous wine, at peak. I think it should hold at this level for 5 years or so and drink well for another 5 years beyond that.

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  • Dark but clear garnet color.

    Subtle but lovely nose of violets, some forest floor, just a hint of pine and dried herbs.

    Really nice mid weight palate. Very much on the red fruit end of the spectrum, especially raspberries. The fruit is quite crunchy. Quite weightless with good length.

    Seems to be at a very good place. I know there have been some comments of this being on the downslope, but not this bottle. In just a lovely place right down. Maybe finding another plentitude, or just a great bottle.

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  • Cork crumbled when extracted. Riper and more black fruited (black cherry, plum) than I was expecting. Still manages to be lithe, with some nice herbs de Provence, sandalwood, earth and wet rock giving it depth. Juicy acid and transparent clean finish give it energy. Mostly integrated tannins and drinking well now, although I suspect it will continue to hold strong for a while.

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  • Stony complex nose showing cranberry and sweet black cherry. Strong acidic core underneath more cranberry. Nicely even. Picks up an earthy note with air. Finish is grippy if a bit tart. Pretty damn nice if you like classically style wines. I don't see the fruit concentration for improvement. I'd drink up.

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  • On Christmas Eve I wanted a bottle with an emotional connection so picked this one, bought from the wine on a quick tasting trip after completing my last round of chemo over 8 years ago. Objectively speaking, the wine was very good but not great. Definitely not a sappy-sweet style of Cali pinot; rather Burgundian in styling (NSG perhaps). Tart red fruits and acid on the attack and mid-palate with some fresh herbal notes chiming in on the finish. Absolutely none of the cherry cola sweetness emblematic of too many Cali pinots. Needs food; but even with food this seemed a little less complex than I had hoped for at 10 years of age. A glass saved til day 2 showed some noticeable VA but was still enjoyable.

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  • In contrast to other reviewers I found this still early in its drinking window. Tasty but one-dimensional, this improved quite a bit with exposure to air. Still a dark color, no bricking and tight on the nose. If I had more I would drink over the next 2-5 years, maybe longer depending upon its evolution.

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  • Fading fast. Drink up.

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  • Tasted as part of a Kiser En Haut vertical we did with Wells @ the winery. 13.5% ABV. I was the outlier at the table, as I mentioned a raisined quality that I was finding in the aromatic, yet others did not. This perception of ripeness was something I had found in my past couple of bottles, influencing me to drink my final bottle a year or so ago. This is the ripest expression of En Haut from the vertical--plush, smooth and some notes of cedar that suggest the aging curve is starting. From my standpoint, especially for those who are drinking CA PN in the lower register of ABV and higher acidity, if I am describing the style you prefer, then drink your remaining 2007 EH. I believe it is moving past its drink window.

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  • 1 hr decant, instead of waiting the year I thought a month ago I decided to have my last bottle of this. Actually glad I did as this was advanced into the tertiary stage of development, desiccated fruit, pomegranite/cranberry but more brownish with sweet finish. Wait no more, interesting but may not be to everyones liking.

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  • One hour decant, this showed spicy dark red fruits with excellent energy. Shows no signs of fading; good overall balance and ample tannins remain. I have one more and will probably wait a year. I was surprised to see my last bottle before this was 3 years ago.

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  • As delicious as the last bottle with similar tasting notes. Likely the first bottle of the 3 was simply off.

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  • Pleasantly surprised! Much more energetic and youthful compared to the previous bottle with none of the tired raisin notes. Was the previous bottle just off or in an awkward phase? One more bottle to find out!

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  • This is my last 750 of 07 EH. I've been tracking my own notes and those of others and so my hunch was it's time to wave it goodbye. Just opened, an immediate impression. Starting to show some secondary impressions, of light browning around the edge of the glass, as well as some earthier tones in the palate. The acidity on this bottle, at least right now, seems better than the very recent bottles, coming off with some energy and tartness. At about 68f too, I don't sense any of the over-ripe tones that I and others have commented on with past bottles. Actually, this is drinking pretty studly for the moment and I'm adding a chill and then taking to a mid-afternoon BBQ when I will taste again and circle back to add some final impressions for a wine that has always been close to my wine drinking heart......we finished this with dinner. It actually held up pretty well. I do suggest a little bit more of a chill on this to help reign in whatever vintage ripeness you might want to dial back or tamp down. It continues to drink well but I remain of the view that it won't age much longer.

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  • Though I haven't had this since 09, I was curious with the recent trend of notes on CT describing a raisin quality and that it shuld be drunk up pretty soon. Sad to say, that is exactly the impression I came away with. Certainly a quality wine, and went well with a grass fed NY, dark fruits and spices abound. But as time progressed, that super ripe trait be came more and more prominent, and I just don't see this direction changing. Drink up.

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  • Tasted blind.

    Slightly cloudy color.

    High toned nose with cinnamon and fresh flowers.

    Super tart and full at the same time. Mix of broad red and black fruits. Feels the most mature of these wines.

    Rivers-Marie? But none of the signature orange peel. It was Copain Kiser: Drink up. Some at the table thought maybe it was flawed, but nothing obvious i detected.

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  • Perfect cork. Beautiful ruby red color. This does have ripeness to the fruit and, for me, the ripe character shows more strongly on the nose. Aroma is ripe, sweet, and fairly dark. Palate is bright and full with plenty of fresh acidity and fine grained tannins. This was very good with food and the finish lingers for a while. Excellent.

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  • 4 months since the last bottle. I felt like that bottle was showing some age, with the riper tones of the vintage overtaking the structure that while previous years was present, was starting to fade in this last bottle. And with pjhr's recent note and his comments, I wanted to check in again. This bottle was flying solo, no other wine to compete with tonight. Opened about 30 mins ago, I got right to it. Floral and some riper-tinged fruit, and as pjhr mentioned, I too find a shading of raisin. The core of the wine drinks fairly saturated, with a mix of blackberry and raspberry, showing some nice finishing astringence, which surprised me given the absence of it in the last bottle we had.....later with dinner, and the wine around room temp (68f), it showed to me better than the bottle this past summer. Not as 'aged' as that one, but continued to exhibit the riper vintage qualities with light structure. I still believe this bottle is ready to go, unless you want to age your CA PN and see where it heads. Personally, in a more forward vintage like this one, and given the progression of this wine (as opposed to the 2007 En Bas, which to me is aging much better), I would drink this 2007 En Haut over the next 1-2 years.

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  • Riper and darker fruit than the 07 En Bas with less vibrant finish. Tasty pinot with PnP, but lost some of its freshness with more air as hints of raisin and ultra ripe notes appear. Will drink the remaining bottles over the short term.

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  • It gets high marks from me for the wonderfully fragrant nose, full of dark cherries and spices, but the flavor was just all right. In the past I remember a somewhat linear, smooth taste of mineral and cherries, but today this is a bit more clunky and dare I say disjointed. Still good but not as amazing as previous bottles.

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  • After tasting a bottle a few weeks earlier that seemed more advanced than would be anticipated, I quickly pulled a bottle from my own three-bottle stash to check for myself. At pop/pour it was ready, and it was a wonderful complement to the eclectic South American tapas menu at Pueblo in Costa Mesa. No hint of accelerated advancement on this one. Racy and zesty dark cherry/raspberry fruit, albeit more subdued and less dense/blue-fruited than my last taste in 2010. The wildness of the young version has been replaced with a balanced and cerebral structure, and a hint of chalk, rocks and earth. Although on high alert, I detect none of the markers from the bottle a few weeks back that showed an alarming hint of advancement. Seems to be ready to drink and enjoy now or over the next few years. I'll likely keep a bottle around to see what happens, since the 2007 vintage, and to some degree the en Haut, may have the density and structure that could facilitate improvement. I'll only gamble with one bottle, since it drank so well now.

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  • Copain In The Backyard On A Summer Evening (My House In The South OC): Opened yesterday, drank over the course of dinner with a handful of other Kiser bottlings, including the 07 En Bas. Initially, this was tight and I had it too cool so as it set and warmed, it fleshed out. This was when the blue tones really emerged, a bit jammy actually with good intensity in the finish. Retasted again the following day. Still showing some intensity in the finish and I sense a bit of aging starting in the wine too, with a bit of the tone that the 06 Kiser En Haut was showing (we tasted both at this same setting). And, the ripeness of the vintage is just seasoning the wine too, as a little raisin pops into the fruit. If my sense is correct, I bet this wine starts to get on with the aging curve now so my recommendation would be to start drinking this now (unless you like aged tones in your pinots, which I don't).

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  • Last tasted this in 2010 when it was purple, wild and unruly, with a chalky spine that was deserving of it's namesake. It was tough to mentally and sensually connect the two as the same wine. This later version was a dark crimson red with a slight hint of advancement in both color and palate. It hadn't aged nearly as much as a 2006 en Haut sitting next to it, but more than I would have anticipated. Think 2000 Kobe Bryant versus 2010 Kobe Bryant--both great players, the former due to energetic athleticism and the latter due to wisdom and experience (Spurs fans can sub Tim Duncan, except Tim has always been much wiser, even in his youth). I digress, but a second 2007 en Haut drank a few weeks later was more age appropriate and superior. I would recommend to check on your bottles now, but to leave one/some for the future.

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  • Ditto last note

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  • G5 - Blind 2007 California Producers (Seiber Cellars): Blind. I guessed Kosta Brown and every one of the Copainhead got the producer correct. The reason I guessed KB was the nose, I got a bit of maple syrup or molasses and then the mouthfeel has a bit of creaminess to it. Got some mild stem at the finish. This was 3 others WOTN, fair enough.

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  • October Bookclub--2007 CA Vintage (tasted blind) (Counselor's Crib): Very surprised as to how more open this wine was this time. In comparison to the bottle I raved about a few months back, that bottles seemed to exhibit more slate and structure than the one tasted last night. Even tasted blind, this wine really says Copain and was evident to me because it has that AV signature. Red apple skin, beautifully balanced, suave with a sweet core of red and blue fruit with a lightly creamy finish. Super, the WOTN for me.

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  • When Wells came down to the OC last year, we drank this wine from magnum and I could sense clearly at that time this wine was made for the cellar and would age well into something I believe would be grand, iconic for him. I do believe in his work to date that this may be his finest pinot he's ever made. I revere the sibling to this wine, which is the lower plot Kiser "En Bas', and that stands as one of the best wines I have enjoyed in my years drinking. So, to think that the entire vineyard top to bottom could deliver together, it's a lovely thought. We opened this y/day (thank you Leslie) and I kept about 1/3rd of the bottle in the fridge overnight under cork. Retasting today at ideal temp with a burg stem. Even today, the structure is still apparent, the undercurrent of river rock/mineral. The fruit? A juicy black cherry, bing cherry and blueberry but that total sum is a more rustic, pure blend with a shading of earth woven through it. Starting to develop just a tuch of truffle in the finish, too. We're getting close to 7 years from vintage and I still believe that at 10 years out, this will be starting to peak and will live another 5 more. Can we drink CA pinot at 15 years from vintage and find something of great caliber. Here, we will.

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  • Night 2, still all together, has not faded despite having been open in the bottle for an hour last night. If anything it has mellowed a bit and seems softer. I prefer this slightly over the En Bas…this seems to have a bit more acidity and freshness.

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  • Still love this wine. Unbelievable acidity, but well balanced, fruit still very primary and bright reds. Its been open an hour in the glass now and getting better every minute. Long life ahead of it because of the balance and still bright fruit.

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  • This wine is drinking beautifully; a little darker both in color and body than the cooler clime might lead you to expect. The wine is solid, structured but clear and refined with good earth and some deeper forrest floor hues.

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  • Beautiful pinot. Great bright fruit, great acidity, very energetic, very good finish. Has a long life ahead of it.

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  • Excellent structure; high acid balanced by bright red fruits and subtle spice. Did not change much over an hour plus; should age well.

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  • red fruit, spice (is that cinnamon?), perfect balance and a finish that goes on and on. Bravo!

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  • Copain Dinner; 8/4/2013-8/6/2013 (FMIII in the OC): 2007 was ripe for this bottling as well, definitely compared to the 09 and 10. Darkest color of the three too. Raspberry nose and palate with a touch of chambord. Very good complexity and excellent finish. Don't know if there were any whole cluster in this but there's a woody stem note across the palate.

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  • Copain Dinner @ The House With Wells Guthrie: Was tasted last night within a flight that included the 2009 and 2010. As with the recent bottle I had, this one too is tight. Blueberry, raspberry and similar to the 2007 En Bas, this En Haut has the same spicy core. And, a really longggg finish. Rocky, more coiled than the En Bas, too. This needs 2-3 more years before being ready and will go for 10 more years after that. Right now, all about upside and future potential....belt it for the ride!

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  • Moderate body, but the intense focus of flavors lead to a very light and spacious palette. Agree with herbal flavors and cranberry,violets with lots of acidity that tastes less of citrus than the acidity of very delicate pickles. Long finish.

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  • Medium dark ruby red, with extremely expressive red fruit aromatics. On the palate, raspberry and black cherry with cinnamon spice overtones. Long, deep, round and at the same time light and edgy.

    This wine is evolving beautifully and should continue to improve for 5-8 years. A remarkable wine crafted by Wells Guthrie.

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  • Very nice bottle of wine.

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  • My kind of pinot...lean and mean....

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  • Not decanted.

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  • Ditto last two notes....can't keep my hands off it....

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  • Still younger than I'd like. I enjoyed this more a couple of years ago and I suspect I'll enjoy my last bottle in a few years from now. Very nice wine.

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  • Opened and poured, this wine is in a great place at this time. Mature notes are starting to appear on the bouquet and palate with youthfulness still evident throughout. This wine may have the components to continue to improve or the next year or two.

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  • Quite possibly the best American pinot noir I have had. Delicious and plush but balanced in its youth, this wine has blossomed nicely. Has Copain's signature flavor profile for the house style since '06, with juicy pomegranate and cranberry flavors, floral aromas and silky Chambolle-like mouthfeel. Required drinking for serious pinot fans. 94-95

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  • Opened for 2.5hrs wine was great. Very expressive nose and long finish.

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  • Opening a bit...but still not ready.

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  • Obviously too young.I did not decant, but consumed slowly over an evening. One dimensional right now with ripe cherry and a little menthol. My wife says, "it has no feet" (nice terroir description). I think it will show more sense of place as it ages. Right now it was very disappointing since I had very high expectations. I will hold the other one in my cellar foe 6-8 years before even considering.

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  • A ton of shitty 07 OR Pinots (Patricia Green Cellars, Newburg OR): nose: the nose was completely brutalized by oak. Like, it was nothing but oak and some wood spice tones

    taste: full bodied and overdone with black cherries and a whole lot of oak

    overall: meh. Just way too much oak and really it was nothing but oak

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  • DAWGS August 2011 - Wines That Go With American Italian Food (Aboca's Italian, Richardson, TX): WIML91-92+/-?

    Tasted non blind at a wine dinner.

    Garnet to dark garnet color in the glass, clear looking throughout. Nose of berries, balsamic, perfume and talc. Flavors of black berries, black cherries and black raspberries. Medium acidity, medium tannins, medium body. Drink or hold.

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  • DAWGS July 2011 Wine Dinner (Aboca's Italian Grill- Richardson, TX): Tasted non blind at a wine dinner. Nose of red fruit, floral notes, raspberry. Palate is similar with a hint of citrus in the middle. Consistent finish that is fairly long with rubber at the very end. Very tannic at this stage and I had a hard time fully assessing. I would hold for 2-3 years at least. No rating this time but I expect this to evolve into the 92-94 range. Certainly toward the elegant end of the Pinot spectrum.

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  • This is going to be one incredible pinot, but it's now in it's infantile stages, which is unusual for Ca pinots. This is way more Burgundian than most I have tasted from the new world, except maybe for Beaux Freres when they are very young. All the elements are there, but even today, a day after opening, it's still reluctant to give up it's true flavors. Very well balanced, just in need of some time to come together. 11 bottles left, so I can experiment as time goes by.

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  • Dark red/black raspberries and brown spices are awash on both the nose and palate. I’m becoming a big fan of this vineyard, thanks to Wells’ efforts. The fruit, acid and tannins are all in alignment working together to extend the finish. This is really quite delicious and, after our tasting there last week and now this bottle, I’m deciding that I need to start buying more Copain.

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  • Nice funk with slight floral note on the nose. Sour cherry, cranberry and rocks on the palate. Huge acidity for aging, nice drink now, probably better with a little more age.

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  • This is such a focused and mineral driven wine. It has great aromas that are sweet and subtle red fruits; I used "lavendar" as a descriptor in the past and I still think it fits with the smell as well as with the flavor of the wine. On the palate is cherry along with some floral components that evolves into a nice meaty flavor that is somehow restrained. I can't imagine a more balanced wine at this stage in development. I have little experience with aged wine, but I'm leaving 5 points on the score in case this one actually improves with age.

    Consistent with earlier notes.

    Consumed with appetizers at The Strip Club steakhouse.

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  • Best showing yet for this wine. This bottle seems more detailed and expressive with more complexity on the bouquet and palate. Previous bottles showed well; however, on this occasions the provides a more complete experience.

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  • Decanted 1 hour.

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  • Showing well already, this wine was reasonably approachable although not at its peak yet, in my opinion. A bit more toward the purple-fruited end of the spectrum than I expected. Has the recognizable cranberry/pomegranate kind of acidity of recent Copain pinots, together with judicious oak that makes this a silky, creamy wine. Good intensity of flavor and the high quality of the fruit makes this a very plush and pleasing wine; there's a recognizable thread that runs through this wine and the 06 Kiser En Haut I tasted earlier in the year. Excellent stuff, shows a recognizably unique Copain style - definitely California, but on the cool climate side, yet different from other producers like Rhys who are playing in the same area of the ripeness spectrum. 93 now, but will get better, will try to hold on to my remaining bottle until 2013 or so.

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  • Similar to a previous bottle. This begins with pretty, nuanced aromatics that become darker with airing. The palate shows a similar evolution.

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  • Spices, bright crunchy cranberry fruit, loads of high toned minerality, piercing acidity. This is very intense. Excellent.

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  • Even medium color. Some cola and cinnamon spice upfront with a light whiff of earth later. Beautiful light, airy weight, red fruit, gentle tannins. Truly one of the better California Pinots I've experienced. This was more Volnay in style than the Pousse d'Or tasted next to it.

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  • Nose: Cedar, some sappiness, cherries, lavender, a bit of heat, strawberries, hint of sarsaparilla. Palate: Sweet and tart cherries and raspberries, sarsaparilla, and a hint of tar on the attack. Drying tannins on the mid-palate along with excellent acidity. Tart cherries, strawberries, lavender, crushed gravel linger on the finish. This is a very, very nice pinot that I feel needs a couple more years of bottle age. At this time, the balance is what stands out the most but I see the other elements taking this pinot up another notch with some cellar time.

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  • Drank side by side with the 2007 En Bas. A simple two wine flight to contrast the wines. You know, this En Haut is a beautiful wine. More suave and lithe than the En Bas, which is more rugged and wrapped up right now. This En Haut shows florals, mineral and crushed rocks. Raspberry, apple, pure and focused with a nice swath of river rock texture on the finish, which is long and delicious. The praise that this wine gets is well deserved. I have 2 bottles left, will enjoy the next one in 2011.

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  • Tasted at the Copain Winery. Although I enjoyed all the wines at Copain, the Kiser stood out. It doesn't try to knock you out with too much fruit, but instead is a smooth Burgundian style Pinot that has hints of cherry cola and lavendar. A really stunning wine, and my favorite wine overall from the 7 wineries visited this week in Napa, Santa Cruz and Sonoma.

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  • Opened at cellar temperature. Left to aerate for 1hr. A very dark ruby color, almost opaque. The nose is still quite restrained but reveals ripe, sappy red fruits with some light touches of oak spice and lavender. In the mouth there almost seems to be a pause before there is rush of cranberries that seems to coat the mouth like a very light syrup. The tannins are very fine and gently coating and the acidity leads to a precise and juicy finish. Edit #1: 3-4 hours later, the wine has really opened up with more fruits appearing on the nose, and the mouth progression more fleshy and seamless. Edit #2: It held up incredibly well Day 2.

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  • This wine was opened and poured. This is a darker, more brooding style of Pinot. The bouquet shows black cherry, blueberry, spice and earth notes. The aromatics tend toward the richer, darker spectrum as opposed to brighter red fruit and floral elements. The color is follow the trend displaying a dark ruby color that is youthful. The medium/full bodied palate requires time to show its best. It begins closed and somewhat backwards but airing bring out black fruits and better balance. The tannins make their presence known of the medium length finish. This will require a few years of bottle age to show its best.

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  • Very floral with lots of spice. A powerful wine that was almost too tannic and tart at first but evolved nicely over three days. Hold or decant for several hours.

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  • Cellar Rats do 2007 Anderson Valley Pinot Noir: Corked. Heartbreaking.

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  • Copain Dinner With Wells Guthrie In The OC (Studio Restaurant @ The Montage, Laguna Beach, CA): Tasted along side the 2006 Kiser. As much as I preferred the 2006 Monument Tree, and while I liked the 2006 Kiser En Haut, this 2007 EH sings even better. The nose reminded me of an asian 5-spice and a hint of cologne. Still tight in the palate with a core that shows all red apple and mineral, which I really enjoy on my pinot noir it seems more and more. And, uniquely to me as I experienced it, while the aromatics might portend a wine that is going to show ripe and very forward, the palate doesn't mirror this guess. Instead, enough crisp red apple and raspberry flavors to really define this wine. Very good, and really not fully in a prime window. Of note, like all the wines we had during this Copain dinner, it was not decanted beforehand and was poured to glass at 6PM and this note I wrote at about 8PM.

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  • Bright, intense fruit dominates this wine, yet it is well balanced with great depth, structure, acid, and concentration. Tremendous sap on the palate with an undercurrent of earthiness. Excellent.

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  • Polished, deep ruby hue. High tension, almost razor sharp. Crushed cranberry, with earth, spice and brambles. Medium to full bodied, fragrant and lithe. Complex, but very precocious rather than graceful.

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  • Opened, aerated, and decanted for an hour before drinking. A very clean and complex Pinot with bright fruit balanced with baking spices and just a hint of vanillin. Tasted after the Alesia, everyone noticed the slightly fuller body, but noted that it was still very elegant and showed lots of different flavors.

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  • Amazing purity and depth of fruit. I popped and poured this and its great right out of the gate. I have no idea how long this will last or when the "optimal" drinking window is, but its damn good now.

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  • Decanted 4 hrs. The initial pour into the decanter probably gave the most descriptive account of the nose, as pure notes of fresh berry and spices worked their aromas up the decanter. However, the wine quickly shot down, and even extended time in the Burg stems never reanimated the nose back to its original form. A much darker color than I expected, (perhaps this was a warmer vintage?) or at least from my limited experiences with Copain pinots; but this trait was only in the appearance as even in the first sip one could conclude this was a gentle, finesse oriented specimen, and not prone to aping a Syrah or Bordeaux varietal. This really was opened way too soon to provide any complexity details, other than it was graceful and very easy to drink. No doubt this needs time to bring out complexity and nuance, and I’ll be happy to extend that invitation. Scoring based upon potential and the producers reputation. As a quick aside, I forgot that this was $65, and to be perfectly honest, I think I could find a good 5-8 OR pinots that would be on par with this wine if served blind, that would be in the $30 to $45 range. Something to consider.

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  • Tasting Group Dinner w/ Alan Rath - Pinot (Craftsman, Minneapolis): Moderately sweet, expressive raspberry/cherry fruit, smoke, and spice, with nice underlying structure. The fruit is gorgeously pure, and deftly framed by acidity and oak. Tasty and only hinting at future development. Really impressive. One of the best Cali PNs I've had in a long time.

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  • Sweet, plush, delicious. Plenty of acidity here - will have a long life. Delicious now. 94+

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  • Barrel sample. Purple/red color. Beautiful, brooding nose of black cherry, blackberry, flowers, earth, and light oak. On the palate, so youthful but already completely balanced. Plenty of primary fruit, along with layers of complexity that became even more defined with air. Long finish showing tannic flex. It is going to be a heck of a lot of fun watching the 2006 and 2007 of this wine develop over the years and argue about which is better. NR (barrel tasting).

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