Tasted with 2 other older Copain Syrahs. Soft, clean red fruit aromas. The palate is bright and fresh with red fruits, lovely stuff. Cherries, currants, even a hint of crushed basil. Brilliant acidity, polished tannins, great balance. Finishes long and lively with spicy, peppery notes. A refreshing mouthfeel across the palate. First rate stuff. Count on it drinking well for 3 to 5 years more (at least). 14.5% ABV.
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From mag. Poured for my daughter’s party and it was being poured from as we got ready to leave. I did get a glass and it is surely of the old era Copain, with a darker fruit, a roasted red cherry quality and some bitter chocolate. Didn’t sense any of the whole cluster nor booze that I put in my note from 2015 so perhaps the wine is evolving. It also seemed to still have a good energy, some lift so I don’t think it is fading either. Overall, I used to enjoy more this style but if I have to choose now what I want to drink, would gladly take Brosseau or Hawks Butte over this.
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Not even close to other Thompson Syrahs I’ve had. It has an odd tart acidity that throws it off balance. Very oaky. Great nose though. Give me a Jaffurs’ Thompson any day over these.
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P&P. Though I scored it the same as my last bottle, this was a more complete and highly enjoyable experience. Specifically, this avoided the drying sensation, allowing the boysenberry fruit to shine from the warm 07 vintage. Furthermore, good complexity and layers, classic SBC olive and briary notes. Just down to 2 x 07 James Berrys and a lone 07 HB from Copain. All have been fun (HB is terrific) and give me warm and nostalgic feelings as they slide down the gullet.
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This is fairly plush and fruit-driven on the palate, with a concentrated core of sweet berries, spice and pepper; This is a well-made syrah, although lacks some of the elegance and savory characteristics that I now prefer in my syrah
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Decanted 1hr. starts off as expected, dark fruits and intense black olive. tightened up or perhaps the fruit is drying as the tannins became more prominent and sharp. oak is fully integrated. at maturity. drink now and over the next 2 to 5 years.
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I've opened many of these since 09. The last one I had was in 2012 and I barely got a glass. So, it's been a few years since I have sat with a glass of this wine. Out of curiosity, I grabbed this off WineBid during this past summer, figuring tonight was a good night for it with a cool Fall chill in the air. Opened 2 hrs ago, this came off a little funky, bloody, sweet and chocolate-like. With air, this did change. It now shows some white floral and a touch of booze. It pours dark. Lots of black olive, fleshy dark berry, chocolate and tar, along with some herbals from the whole cluster and a little bit of finishing minerality and light tannin. This is a big wine, with flesh, CA power and whole cluster all jumbled together. It suits the mood but it's a bit much for me, given the ripeness and weight that comes through the wine. I'll bet some will dig this, but I'd rather drink a Copain Hawks Butte these days, with lower alc and better finesse. This is old school Copain syrah, one that I used to like but not so much anymore.
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Comes on soft and lush, with a bit of delicious juice and tarragon and but as it swirls around the mid-palate, it somehow draws together into a nice snap of acid and concentration just before smoothing out into a nice drawn out finish.
It's almost like watching a movie in which a glass of wine spills and breaks, but in reverse -- the drops gathering together into rivulets, shards leaping back together and fusing, and right at the end, the whole glass leaps up back to the table and some six-year-old with a toy rifle runs offscreen backwards.
Decanted for an hour. Nice dark Syrah fruit that was deep, rich with a smooth finish. Medium spice and still a bit compact in the mid palate. Went great with stuffed Turkey. This will improve in the short term and gain a point or two by 2017.
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W lasagna. Excellent wine, with lots going for it. Good dark color, great smokey meaty nose, on palate the same with fruit. Good wine with some life left although tannins were a bit dry. Needs half hour of air.
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Quick TN. Popped and poured. Palate mainly of ripe blackberries and a hint of black pepper as well as grilled meat. The nose had a grilled meat component also along with mildly stewed fruit. My first of 3 bottles.
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Nose: There is a real nice dark red fruit core with black fruits, black cherries, some liqueur, spices, and some blueberry compote. While it favors more fruit on the nose, it's well balanced with nice complexity to the tones.
Taste: Full bodied with medium/low acidity and sneaky tannins. There is a good plushness to the feel with blueberry compote, black cherries, peppercorns, spices, and a slight bit of oak on the back end.
Overall: This is still very youthful. It certainly shows a riper side to it, but the fruit is balanced and is well held together.
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This bottle was better integrated than the previous bottle. Will try to stay away until 2014. Dark fruits and whole cluster to add some pepper/spice. Enough acidity to not worry at all about keeping the remaining bottles on their sides.
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Well, that was it for my last bottle. I took this to a company holiday dinner and in a rush, did not have time to decant it. When I arrived and asked the server to open it, I tried to get a decanter but they didn't have an extra one. Funny, this was at McCormick and Schmick's, which is a large steak/fish house here in the OC and it seemed like they had only one for the whole place? Anyway, the wine was tight as hell and with a larger party at the table, it went into a bunch of glasses and that was that! Certainly needed air. Could sense the whole cluster and structure, the dark fruit but I finished my glass like everyone else, enjoyed it for what it was and went onto the next bottle!!!!!
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100% whole cluster...fairly big bold nose...black fruit, baking spice, baked plum...on palate there's some woody barrel tannins, but well integrated...somewhat chalky...touch of bacon fat on nose and palate...long finish....
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Aggressive and highly concentrated. With ample time (at least 2 hours) out of the bottle, the bristling edges soften and, dare I say, the finish becomes smooth. But, there remains a lingering, stewed, burnt aftertaste. One wonders: why wind a wine up so much? This is not a wine of simple pleasure. Instead, it's an engineering puzzle.
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Popped and waited 30 mins. Nose of blueberry, blackberry and raw pastry dough. Solid core of dark fruit and liquid rock, with salty black olive finish. A real mouthful. Medium soft tannins tell me that this could continue to evolve over the next 1-3 years, but no reason not to enjoy now.
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Decanted 90 minutes. Classic Copain nose of blackberries and fresh baked pastry in the decanter, though in the glass with swirling a touch of olive and stem inclusion where noticed as well. I think this has softened a tad when I last had it in 2010. While this will always be a fruit centered, wine, I like how it is now showing more of black cherry vs. black and blueberry, the olive / saline components have retreated to a minor back ground player, and as always, just a small suggestion of new oak. Liquefied stones are a palate constant; the finish is medium with good lift at the very end. Again, I think this warm 07 vintage, on a warm site such as the Thompson vineyard will always evolve around its dark core of fruit. It should fun to see where this goes, but I don’t see it needing to be aged further, unless academic interest takes precedent vs. hedonistic enjoyment.
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A little less than a year since my last bottle. It's warmer climate driven, with that expression showing in the texture and the dark fruit flavors. Generous and pure with flavors of plum and blackberry, with a liquified rock note. Within the mid palate and finish there is tar and some burnt ember/charcoal. In the finish, some light licorice along with a soil note. On the con side, this time I got a bit of heat, though. I wrote this note at room temp, the aspect of light heat I had not picked up before so if you drink the wine, if any heat is bothersome to you, just put a light chill on the wine. It drinks fine at room temp and the heat, well it's a small quibble but I offer it for transparency. On the 3rd day tasting the wine, finishing it now, there is still some structure here, and lots of flavor. The flavors, as I noted earlier, are not cool climate but there is real nice intensity, dark with a juicy edge, lots of tar and good amount of glycerine. I had intened last night drinking the wine to offer a shorter drinking window but in hindsight, I think this wine has some space to go and will drink fine now, provided you can enjoy some structure, some lift of tannin in the expression of chalk. It will go through 2016 for optimum drinking is my best guess. As a side note, I take a liking to Isaac's comment about the North Coast and I especially have grown fond of the cooler Copain sites, like Brosseau and Halcon. I will always have a fondness for the southern sites but I too have grown a cooler climate heart!
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Sonoma Wine Tasting & San Francisco - March 2012; 3/22/2012-3/27/2012: I liked this wine, but it seemed a bit big for Copain. Dark purple in the glass. Aromas of boysenberry, blueberry and creamy milk chocolate. The palate is plummy and dark as hell, with brooding blue fruit and dense tannins. It's delicious, but this reminds me why my palate has shifted to North Coast syrah over the past few years.
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I think others have documented this wine quite accurately. Blue/purple fruit, linear with minimal complexity, a nice simple drink, soft tannin and medium(+) richness. Drink up! 14.5%.
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Not as open as the other 07 Copain Syrahs, but I haven't had one in about a year. I definitely think it's either somewhat shut down, or just needs more time. Not touching the other 2 for at least 2 years. Some nice savory and clean roasted meat notes, and very dark tar & cassis. Not as "big" as the rest of the 07 lineup.
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Decanted for 30 min. Did not get the complexity others got. On the nose, fairly shut down--just a hint of pepper and some black fruit. On the palate, again, good fruit profile, but few secondary characteristics. Not quite balanced--the acidity was a touch over-the-top. I don't know if this is shut down or if I'm drinking it too early, but I wasn't wowed by this one (even though I am a big fan of Copain syrahs).
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Opened last night, finished about 1/3rd so it's had time to soften since and round out. Note here was written without food, so clean palate, no others complementary flavors! The first thing I sought to find was alcohol, as past Thompson bottlings from the earlier era showed some of that, such as the 04 and 05. This 07 is clean as a whistle in that respect, listed at 14.5%. I have this at room temp, a cool 65, but there's no signature of it. Color? Dark, which should be Thompson and also speaks to the color profile of all the 07 Copain syrahs for that matter, something I dig (amongst a few other markers) for their 07s. Texturally, this is suave and full bodied but it's got a real clean polish to it. Woven into the texture, there is a saline element, maybe more akin to call it a brined or salted meat. There is the mineral infusion, what in some of the Copain 07 syrahs I have wrote previously as a liquified rock. Goofy perhaps, but in my view there are tacticle expressions that engender a word-like response, this is my result. The edges have the same chalky element that I have wrote about before on this bottle, although it is softer now with the added bottle age. Dark fruit, dark bitter chocolate, charcoal, some tapenade (presumed from the whole cluster aspect) and some finishing sage/rosemary like notes. I'll concur some with my Mr Dildine and express that this is a larger framed wine but I'd not go so far to say this is older-era in Copain expression. What instead I see is a wine that has some measured throttle but terrific balance and expression of the fruit. In that respect, it's for me more new era, which is kind of where I see the Copain syrahs really turning the corner in a strong way, versus the 2006 and prior vintages. Ageworthy? Hmm, I'd say yes but the larger frame of fruit here says ok to go now, as I don't find some of the large structure that past bottles have showed me. So, drink window of now (with decant) through 2014.
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I'm a fan of this great Santa Barbara vineyard and a big fan of Copain. This brings back the old style, pre 2006 or so brawny Copain syrahs. While I'm absolutely onboard with the new direction, these were sure good.
Note consistent with past tasting.
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14.5% alcohol. Dark, dense and deep purple red. Extremely expressive mainly black fruit aromas. Blackberry, plums, pepper, a little smoke and forrest on the palate. Concentrated and intense, but light on its feet with great balance. Long lasting aftertaste.
Wells no longer produces from this excellent vineyard and I'll miss it.
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Opened this up and had a glass. It seemed closed and tight upon opening. Trying to show my new found discipline to let the wine breath for awhile, I let the rest sit over night. The next day it was showing better, but still needs bottle time.(this will be my next challenge, to let bottles stay in my cooler until they are ready. Ya, you heard me right, Robo). On the nose there was stems and black fruit with some red fruit. On the palate stems, fruit, and chalk. Still seems subdued and waiting to evolve, but all the components are there for it to evolve in a solid, balanced direction. Many times on wines sourced from Thompsons, I get a little tobacco and then some moca/ unsweetened chocolate on the finish. At this point, I was not getting any of that yet. Would love to see where this goes in 3 to 5 years as I think all things are in place for it to hit a great spot.
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Open 24 hours. Last night, I splash decanted the wine and then funnelled it back to the bottle to take to dinner. The balance of the wine was left to slow ox under the open cork until now. Last night, the wine did not wow me, as it seemed to show much more stem notes than past bottles, as well as the former purity I had cited in the previous bottles. Tonight, I am enjoying the wine on its own, with no food (yet) and no other competing wines alongside it. Pours very dark, hint of stems and smoke, and dark fruit in the aromatics. On the palate, liquid chalk, lots of charcoal, deep dark fruit (more black with mixed in red) and a very silky palate presence that closes with some menthol, light chalk and melted licorice. This is much better tonight and the lesson here is decant the wine, let it aerate before enjoying and forming an impression. The silky palate, the purity of the fruit again stands tall. I have 4 bottles left, will drink the next one at the end of this year to let the wine further settle and mellow some more but I am very comfortable saying the wine drinks fine now, provided the bit of menthol and light chalk is ok with you.
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In my opinion this wine needs another 3-5 years. You can sense the purity underneath this tannic monster. Wells is making my favorite Syrah right now. Complex with the stem inclusion. Beautiful fruit that is so damn pure. He truly has a talent and knack for getting the most out of the vineyard and letting the terrior speak for itself. Beautiful representation of Thompson with much, much upside. Kudos.
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Decanted for 90 min. and consumed over 6 hrs. Nose shows nice mix of earthy dark fruit and smoke. Initially the palate is very tight and tannic. I got the feeling that with a glass or two I could could work through the structure, but on this night that wasn't going to happen. It's all there for the taking, tart dark fruit, charcoal, wet earth, warm licorice, but completely enveloped in sharp drying tannins. I would hold these for another year and probably won't open another till early '12.
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Nearly a year since I tried this wine and arguably, even at that time it could be said the wine was young. What is apparent to me here, with great clarity, is that this is a wine of tremendous purity, balance, color and craft, even as a 2007. The sick thing about this bottling is that I have had it open a mere 120 mins and it drinks with such class it's just scary. Crushed rocks, pure black and blue fruit that comes across so even and smooth, without any raisin, any sweet or overripe flavors. This kind of fruit purity is stunning, just dark and nearly black. The finish shows iron, light black olive tapenade, some espresso and perfect acidity. And as for the price of this wine, for around 40 bucks, it can outclass stuff 1.5-2X this price. As I have said a number of times this year about the 2007 Copain syrahs, the James Berry, the Hawks Butte and once again this Thompson, truly outstanding wines. Just outstanding. And before I forget, a comment about aging potential. Some in CT have commented the wine is not ready to drink or needs to age longer. For the bottle here, I did not decant the wine--a simple pull and pour, and while there is some nice dusty tannin and crushed rocks here, the wine IMO can be consumed now just fine but the structural notes I offer here suggest the wine can pace right along for 3-5 more years. Purity that hurts!.............as a side note, I enjoyed another glass tonight, which reflected similar to yesterday, with the addition of some melted licorice, scorched earth/charcoal and some nice red edges to the fruit, along with some added weight and structure and a long finish and if you wait a full 2 days to try this, you'll ultimately find that structure and tension that should keep this wine for a long time.
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This is young, oh so very young, but I liked it. There is a lot of potential in this bottle. It seems to stem from the more elegant side of California winemaking, but compared to its brethren from the Northern Rhone, there is no doubting where this is from. There is a lot of stuffing in this wine, and for the time being, the structure and tannins seems to overpower a lot of the nuance... but it's in there along with some beautiful fruit. There's a ton of flavor impact and a nice lingering finish... I think in 4-5 years this will be in a tremendous place. This is what California wine should strive to be: well made, elegant, expressive, unmanipulated but not hiding its origins or trying to pretend it's from somewhere else. Don't drink now though, unless you want to show someone what a young wine that's not ready to drink tastes like.
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Popped and poured. Perhaps decanting would have helped, but at present, this wine is very tight and not ready to put out. Darker in color, and denser in texture than the 06, this dark hole of a Syrah has collapsed in on itself, sucking in all matter of expressiveness and personality in its primordial core. Ok, Im being a bit over the top and having some fun, but there is excellent, excellent material here, I can see less wood influence than previous vintages, and just a raw, pulpy wine that is begging to be put down for 5 years (or more) to really see its day in the sun. Easy 2 to 4 points for improvement later.
Nose: Cedar, creamy blueberries, Chinese 5 spice. Palate: Dusty blueberries and soy sauce on the attack. Fine grained tannins turn into drying tannins on the mid-palate. Hints of licorice are detectable as well. Finish is pretty tannic and dry.
Overall, the tannins give this wine a lot of character at this time, though I see these tannins integrating and elevating this wine to another level texturally. The flavor is California syrah all the way - big fruit, creamy, and rich. Really primary overall. Give this some time.
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Impromptu Copains at Fratello's (Fratello's San Clemente): Rich yet tight nose with a coffee note. Wide and juicy, balanced with a big finish. Dark, primary and mouth coating with lots of red berries and late acting tannin. A bit of a clumsy kid with loads of potential. Very promising. I like what Wells does with this vineyard.
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Copain Offline @ Fratello's In The South OC (Fratello's Laguna Niguel): My 3rd bottle this year, and as of right now, I own all the TNs in CT so these are certainly early impressions within the community. As with the bottle 2 weeks ago, this 2007 is humming. Broken rocks in the bouquet, even and balanced on the palate with black fruit, minerals and a purity like I found when I first tried it this past June with Wells @ the winery. It does add weight as the wine warms but it holds together and drinks like Thompson should, but with the added touch of Wells to add the structure and complexity. Excellent.........and following back up on this wine which is now fully decanted overnight, pure blue and black fruit, married with charcoal, crushed rocks and healthy acidity. Neither gloppy nor fat......like with the other 2007 Copains, just full of pure driven flavor and structure. Damn good and years ahead of it, which I will enjoy.
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Have not tasted this since June, roughly 6 months. The color is extremely dark, to Wells' point that he can still achieve lots of color and extraction witout overworking the wines. Hint of face powder, spice, white flower and like the 2006, the bacon fat note. Palate-wise, even with a splash decant last night and then sitting in the bottle for over 24 hours, still pretty wrapped up. Concentrated core of pure dark fruit, of blackberries with an earthy edge. Then, as it continues to finish, a current of liquid minerality threads through--this is a beautiful note as it supports the wine and realls adds a rustic touch to the pure fruit. Finally, the minerality joins with some tar and that earthiness that I mentioned seems to even show a truffle-like character, like a mushroom. This wine continues to evolve and should turn out to me a unique marriage of what is a warmer source for Wells, tied with his new style that is a more reigned in, as much as it can be for this vineyard. Once again, excellent.
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14.5% alcohol. Yes, a big wine with rich and dark fruit but like with the Harrision-Clarke bottling, there is no sweetness here, just pure fruit. My notes have the word "bucket" underlined, to express a bucket of blue and black fruit. Also has an earthy push. Pure and tarry with a dark bittersweet chocolate. With all the lineage to Copain Thompson and my past comments about it, this for me is the best Thompson yet and the 4 bottles I bought last month on faith, the faith paid off.
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1/3/2023 - Uncle John wrote: 87 Points
Beautiful Syrah still drinking well. 🍷😋
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5/24/2020 - Charlie C Likes this wine: 94 Points
Tasted with 2 other older Copain Syrahs. Soft, clean red fruit aromas. The palate is bright and fresh with red fruits, lovely stuff. Cherries, currants, even a hint of crushed basil. Brilliant acidity, polished tannins, great balance. Finishes long and lively with spicy, peppery notes. A refreshing mouthfeel across the palate. First rate stuff. Count on it drinking well for 3 to 5 years more (at least). 14.5% ABV.
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9/15/2018 - Frank Murray III wrote:
From mag. Poured for my daughter’s party and it was being poured from as we got ready to leave. I did get a glass and it is surely of the old era Copain, with a darker fruit, a roasted red cherry quality and some bitter chocolate. Didn’t sense any of the whole cluster nor booze that I put in my note from 2015 so perhaps the wine is evolving. It also seemed to still have a good energy, some lift so I don’t think it is fading either. Overall, I used to enjoy more this style but if I have to choose now what I want to drink, would gladly take Brosseau or Hawks Butte over this.
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5/18/2018 - Mootsie Does not like this wine: 85 Points
Not even close to other Thompson Syrahs I’ve had. It has an odd tart acidity that throws it off balance. Very oaky. Great nose though. Give me a Jaffurs’ Thompson any day over these.
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4/22/2017 - Dale M wrote: 92 Points
P&P. Though I scored it the same as my last bottle, this was a more complete and highly enjoyable experience. Specifically, this avoided the drying sensation, allowing the boysenberry fruit to shine from the warm 07 vintage. Furthermore, good complexity and layers, classic SBC olive and briary notes. Just down to 2 x 07 James Berrys and a lone 07 HB from Copain. All have been fun (HB is terrific) and give me warm and nostalgic feelings as they slide down the gullet.
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11/4/2016 - eluebchow wrote: 88 Points
This is fairly plush and fruit-driven on the palate, with a concentrated core of sweet berries, spice and pepper; This is a well-made syrah, although lacks some of the elegance and savory characteristics that I now prefer in my syrah
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3/6/2016 - Dale M wrote: 92 Points
Decanted 1hr. starts off as expected, dark fruits and intense black olive. tightened up or perhaps the fruit is drying as the tannins became more prominent and sharp. oak is fully integrated. at maturity. drink now and over the next 2 to 5 years.
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11/6/2015 - Frank Murray III wrote:
I've opened many of these since 09. The last one I had was in 2012 and I barely got a glass. So, it's been a few years since I have sat with a glass of this wine. Out of curiosity, I grabbed this off WineBid during this past summer, figuring tonight was a good night for it with a cool Fall chill in the air. Opened 2 hrs ago, this came off a little funky, bloody, sweet and chocolate-like. With air, this did change. It now shows some white floral and a touch of booze. It pours dark. Lots of black olive, fleshy dark berry, chocolate and tar, along with some herbals from the whole cluster and a little bit of finishing minerality and light tannin. This is a big wine, with flesh, CA power and whole cluster all jumbled together. It suits the mood but it's a bit much for me, given the ripeness and weight that comes through the wine. I'll bet some will dig this, but I'd rather drink a Copain Hawks Butte these days, with lower alc and better finesse. This is old school Copain syrah, one that I used to like but not so much anymore.
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9/3/2015 - Floyd77 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Burned toast. Dried toast. Good structure.
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12/30/2014 - bemeyer wrote:
nice balance and heavy berry flavor. Will sofen with some time in the celaar. Drink next bottle no sonner than 18 months
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11/25/2014 - sachsen Likes this wine: 92 Points
Still needed considerable amount of air to open up.
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10/4/2014 - alpha_ori Likes this wine: 93 Points
Comes on soft and lush, with a bit of delicious juice and tarragon and but as it swirls around the mid-palate, it somehow draws together into a nice snap of acid and concentration just before smoothing out into a nice drawn out finish.
It's almost like watching a movie in which a glass of wine spills and breaks, but in reverse -- the drops gathering together into rivulets, shards leaping back together and fusing, and right at the end, the whole glass leaps up back to the table and some six-year-old with a toy rifle runs offscreen backwards.
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10/4/2014 - Uncle John wrote: 91 Points
Decanted for an hour. Nice dark Syrah fruit that was deep, rich with a smooth finish. Medium spice and still a bit compact in the mid palate. Went great with stuffed Turkey. This will improve in the short term and gain a point or two by 2017.
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6/20/2014 - MichielV wrote: 91 Points
W lasagna. Excellent wine, with lots going for it. Good dark color, great smokey meaty nose, on palate the same with fruit. Good wine with some life left although tannins were a bit dry. Needs half hour of air.
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4/23/2014 - Edclr Likes this wine: 90 Points
Still too young. Lots of spice, but in a sort of dumb stage right now. Needs another 3 years or so.
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2/2/2014 - JFish wrote:
Quick TN. Popped and poured. Palate mainly of ripe blackberries and a hint of black pepper as well as grilled meat. The nose had a grilled meat component also along with mildly stewed fruit. My first of 3 bottles.
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9/21/2013 - KeithAkers wrote: 90 Points
Nose: There is a real nice dark red fruit core with black fruits, black cherries, some liqueur, spices, and some blueberry compote. While it favors more fruit on the nose, it's well balanced with nice complexity to the tones.
Taste: Full bodied with medium/low acidity and sneaky tannins. There is a good plushness to the feel with blueberry compote, black cherries, peppercorns, spices, and a slight bit of oak on the back end.
Overall: This is still very youthful. It certainly shows a riper side to it, but the fruit is balanced and is well held together.
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6/2/2013 - ToddS Likes this wine:
This bottle was better integrated than the previous bottle. Will try to stay away until 2014. Dark fruits and whole cluster to add some pepper/spice. Enough acidity to not worry at all about keeping the remaining bottles on their sides.
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4/15/2013 - ToddS Likes this wine:
Gary's is better. More complexity, broader flavors. Not bad, just not as good.
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4/1/2013 - pjhr wrote: 92 Points
Similar tasting notes to previous bottle, but better integrated.
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1/19/2013 - Edclr wrote:
NOt sure where this is going. Way too young today.
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12/15/2012 - Frank Murray III Likes this wine:
Well, that was it for my last bottle. I took this to a company holiday dinner and in a rush, did not have time to decant it. When I arrived and asked the server to open it, I tried to get a decanter but they didn't have an extra one. Funny, this was at McCormick and Schmick's, which is a large steak/fish house here in the OC and it seemed like they had only one for the whole place? Anyway, the wine was tight as hell and with a larger party at the table, it went into a bunch of glasses and that was that! Certainly needed air. Could sense the whole cluster and structure, the dark fruit but I finished my glass like everyone else, enjoyed it for what it was and went onto the next bottle!!!!!
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12/12/2012 - bigskymind wrote: 91 Points
100% whole cluster...fairly big bold nose...black fruit, baking spice, baked plum...on palate there's some woody barrel tannins, but well integrated...somewhat chalky...touch of bacon fat on nose and palate...long finish....
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11/26/2012 - pjhr wrote: 91 Points
Tasty blackberry and peppercorn aromas and flavors with hint of olives with moderate tannins on the finish.
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11/7/2012 - oeno1820 wrote: 91 Points
Aggressive and highly concentrated. With ample time (at least 2 hours) out of the bottle, the bristling edges soften and, dare I say, the finish becomes smooth. But, there remains a lingering, stewed, burnt aftertaste. One wonders: why wind a wine up so much? This is not a wine of simple pleasure. Instead, it's an engineering puzzle.
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9/2/2012 - BBencz wrote: 92 Points
Popped and waited 30 mins. Nose of blueberry, blackberry and raw pastry dough. Solid core of dark fruit and liquid rock, with salty black olive finish. A real mouthful. Medium soft tannins tell me that this could continue to evolve over the next 1-3 years, but no reason not to enjoy now.
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8/26/2012 - Dale M wrote: 91 Points
Decanted 90 minutes. Classic Copain nose of blackberries and fresh baked pastry in the decanter, though in the glass with swirling a touch of olive and stem inclusion where noticed as well. I think this has softened a tad when I last had it in 2010. While this will always be a fruit centered, wine, I like how it is now showing more of black cherry vs. black and blueberry, the olive / saline components have retreated to a minor back ground player, and as always, just a small suggestion of new oak. Liquefied stones are a palate constant; the finish is medium with good lift at the very end. Again, I think this warm 07 vintage, on a warm site such as the Thompson vineyard will always evolve around its dark core of fruit. It should fun to see where this goes, but I don’t see it needing to be aged further, unless academic interest takes precedent vs. hedonistic enjoyment.
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7/23/2012 - Frank Murray III wrote:
A little less than a year since my last bottle. It's warmer climate driven, with that expression showing in the texture and the dark fruit flavors. Generous and pure with flavors of plum and blackberry, with a liquified rock note. Within the mid palate and finish there is tar and some burnt ember/charcoal. In the finish, some light licorice along with a soil note. On the con side, this time I got a bit of heat, though. I wrote this note at room temp, the aspect of light heat I had not picked up before so if you drink the wine, if any heat is bothersome to you, just put a light chill on the wine. It drinks fine at room temp and the heat, well it's a small quibble but I offer it for transparency. On the 3rd day tasting the wine, finishing it now, there is still some structure here, and lots of flavor. The flavors, as I noted earlier, are not cool climate but there is real nice intensity, dark with a juicy edge, lots of tar and good amount of glycerine. I had intened last night drinking the wine to offer a shorter drinking window but in hindsight, I think this wine has some space to go and will drink fine now, provided you can enjoy some structure, some lift of tannin in the expression of chalk. It will go through 2016 for optimum drinking is my best guess. As a side note, I take a liking to Isaac's comment about the North Coast and I especially have grown fond of the cooler Copain sites, like Brosseau and Halcon. I will always have a fondness for the southern sites but I too have grown a cooler climate heart!
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3/25/2012 - isaacjamesbaker wrote: 89 Points
Sonoma Wine Tasting & San Francisco - March 2012; 3/22/2012-3/27/2012: I liked this wine, but it seemed a bit big for Copain. Dark purple in the glass. Aromas of boysenberry, blueberry and creamy milk chocolate. The palate is plummy and dark as hell, with brooding blue fruit and dense tannins. It's delicious, but this reminds me why my palate has shifted to North Coast syrah over the past few years.
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3/11/2012 - alr6767 wrote: 88 Points
I think others have documented this wine quite accurately. Blue/purple fruit, linear with minimal complexity, a nice simple drink, soft tannin and medium(+) richness. Drink up! 14.5%.
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1/25/2012 - branman1986 wrote: 89 Points
Not as open as the other 07 Copain Syrahs, but I haven't had one in about a year. I definitely think it's either somewhat shut down, or just needs more time. Not touching the other 2 for at least 2 years. Some nice savory and clean roasted meat notes, and very dark tar & cassis. Not as "big" as the rest of the 07 lineup.
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1/23/2012 - rockguit wrote: 89 Points
Decanted for 30 min. Did not get the complexity others got. On the nose, fairly shut down--just a hint of pepper and some black fruit. On the palate, again, good fruit profile, but few secondary characteristics. Not quite balanced--the acidity was a touch over-the-top. I don't know if this is shut down or if I'm drinking it too early, but I wasn't wowed by this one (even though I am a big fan of Copain syrahs).
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12/9/2011 - Frank Murray III wrote:
Opened last night, finished about 1/3rd so it's had time to soften since and round out. Note here was written without food, so clean palate, no others complementary flavors! The first thing I sought to find was alcohol, as past Thompson bottlings from the earlier era showed some of that, such as the 04 and 05. This 07 is clean as a whistle in that respect, listed at 14.5%. I have this at room temp, a cool 65, but there's no signature of it. Color? Dark, which should be Thompson and also speaks to the color profile of all the 07 Copain syrahs for that matter, something I dig (amongst a few other markers) for their 07s. Texturally, this is suave and full bodied but it's got a real clean polish to it. Woven into the texture, there is a saline element, maybe more akin to call it a brined or salted meat. There is the mineral infusion, what in some of the Copain 07 syrahs I have wrote previously as a liquified rock. Goofy perhaps, but in my view there are tacticle expressions that engender a word-like response, this is my result. The edges have the same chalky element that I have wrote about before on this bottle, although it is softer now with the added bottle age. Dark fruit, dark bitter chocolate, charcoal, some tapenade (presumed from the whole cluster aspect) and some finishing sage/rosemary like notes. I'll concur some with my Mr Dildine and express that this is a larger framed wine but I'd not go so far to say this is older-era in Copain expression. What instead I see is a wine that has some measured throttle but terrific balance and expression of the fruit. In that respect, it's for me more new era, which is kind of where I see the Copain syrahs really turning the corner in a strong way, versus the 2006 and prior vintages. Ageworthy? Hmm, I'd say yes but the larger frame of fruit here says ok to go now, as I don't find some of the large structure that past bottles have showed me. So, drink window of now (with decant) through 2014.
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11/26/2011 - Mike Dildine wrote: 91 Points
A very nice wine - big and rich in the "old" Copain style.
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10/16/2011 - Mike Dildine wrote: 93 Points
I'm a fan of this great Santa Barbara vineyard and a big fan of Copain. This brings back the old style, pre 2006 or so brawny Copain syrahs. While I'm absolutely onboard with the new direction, these were sure good.
Note consistent with past tasting.
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8/27/2011 - Mike Dildine wrote: 93 Points
14.5% alcohol. Dark, dense and deep purple red. Extremely expressive mainly black fruit aromas. Blackberry, plums, pepper, a little smoke and forrest on the palate. Concentrated and intense, but light on its feet with great balance. Long lasting aftertaste.
Wells no longer produces from this excellent vineyard and I'll miss it.
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5/7/2011 - SPK wrote:
Opened this up and had a glass. It seemed closed and tight upon opening. Trying to show my new found discipline to let the wine breath for awhile, I let the rest sit over night. The next day it was showing better, but still needs bottle time.(this will be my next challenge, to let bottles stay in my cooler until they are ready. Ya, you heard me right, Robo). On the nose there was stems and black fruit with some red fruit. On the palate stems, fruit, and chalk. Still seems subdued and waiting to evolve, but all the components are there for it to evolve in a solid, balanced direction. Many times on wines sourced from Thompsons, I get a little tobacco and then some moca/ unsweetened chocolate on the finish. At this point, I was not getting any of that yet. Would love to see where this goes in 3 to 5 years as I think all things are in place for it to hit a great spot.
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2/6/2011 - Frank Murray III wrote:
Open 24 hours. Last night, I splash decanted the wine and then funnelled it back to the bottle to take to dinner. The balance of the wine was left to slow ox under the open cork until now. Last night, the wine did not wow me, as it seemed to show much more stem notes than past bottles, as well as the former purity I had cited in the previous bottles. Tonight, I am enjoying the wine on its own, with no food (yet) and no other competing wines alongside it. Pours very dark, hint of stems and smoke, and dark fruit in the aromatics. On the palate, liquid chalk, lots of charcoal, deep dark fruit (more black with mixed in red) and a very silky palate presence that closes with some menthol, light chalk and melted licorice. This is much better tonight and the lesson here is decant the wine, let it aerate before enjoying and forming an impression. The silky palate, the purity of the fruit again stands tall. I have 4 bottles left, will drink the next one at the end of this year to let the wine further settle and mellow some more but I am very comfortable saying the wine drinks fine now, provided the bit of menthol and light chalk is ok with you.
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11/27/2010 - emdub wrote: 90 Points
In my opinion this wine needs another 3-5 years. You can sense the purity underneath this tannic monster. Wells is making my favorite Syrah right now. Complex with the stem inclusion. Beautiful fruit that is so damn pure. He truly has a talent and knack for getting the most out of the vineyard and letting the terrior speak for itself. Beautiful representation of Thompson with much, much upside. Kudos.
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11/20/2010 - glaze3 wrote:
Decanted for 90 min. and consumed over 6 hrs. Nose shows nice mix of earthy dark fruit and smoke. Initially the palate is very tight and tannic. I got the feeling that with a glass or two I could could work through the structure, but on this night that wasn't going to happen. It's all there for the taking, tart dark fruit, charcoal, wet earth, warm licorice, but completely enveloped in sharp drying tannins. I would hold these for another year and probably won't open another till early '12.
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11/15/2010 - Frank Murray III wrote:
Nearly a year since I tried this wine and arguably, even at that time it could be said the wine was young. What is apparent to me here, with great clarity, is that this is a wine of tremendous purity, balance, color and craft, even as a 2007. The sick thing about this bottling is that I have had it open a mere 120 mins and it drinks with such class it's just scary. Crushed rocks, pure black and blue fruit that comes across so even and smooth, without any raisin, any sweet or overripe flavors. This kind of fruit purity is stunning, just dark and nearly black. The finish shows iron, light black olive tapenade, some espresso and perfect acidity. And as for the price of this wine, for around 40 bucks, it can outclass stuff 1.5-2X this price. As I have said a number of times this year about the 2007 Copain syrahs, the James Berry, the Hawks Butte and once again this Thompson, truly outstanding wines. Just outstanding. And before I forget, a comment about aging potential. Some in CT have commented the wine is not ready to drink or needs to age longer. For the bottle here, I did not decant the wine--a simple pull and pour, and while there is some nice dusty tannin and crushed rocks here, the wine IMO can be consumed now just fine but the structural notes I offer here suggest the wine can pace right along for 3-5 more years. Purity that hurts!.............as a side note, I enjoyed another glass tonight, which reflected similar to yesterday, with the addition of some melted licorice, scorched earth/charcoal and some nice red edges to the fruit, along with some added weight and structure and a long finish and if you wait a full 2 days to try this, you'll ultimately find that structure and tension that should keep this wine for a long time.
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9/19/2010 - Chris Newport wrote:
This is young, oh so very young, but I liked it. There is a lot of potential in this bottle. It seems to stem from the more elegant side of California winemaking, but compared to its brethren from the Northern Rhone, there is no doubting where this is from. There is a lot of stuffing in this wine, and for the time being, the structure and tannins seems to overpower a lot of the nuance... but it's in there along with some beautiful fruit. There's a ton of flavor impact and a nice lingering finish... I think in 4-5 years this will be in a tremendous place. This is what California wine should strive to be: well made, elegant, expressive, unmanipulated but not hiding its origins or trying to pretend it's from somewhere else. Don't drink now though, unless you want to show someone what a young wine that's not ready to drink tastes like.
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9/14/2010 - alanr Likes this wine: 91 Points
Copain open house, Sept. 2010 (Copain winery): Very nice dark black fruits, quite tannic right now. Needs time.
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6/13/2010 - Dale M wrote: 91 Points
Popped and poured. Perhaps decanting would have helped, but at present, this wine is very tight and not ready to put out. Darker in color, and denser in texture than the 06, this dark hole of a Syrah has collapsed in on itself, sucking in all matter of expressiveness and personality in its primordial core. Ok, Im being a bit over the top and having some fun, but there is excellent, excellent material here, I can see less wood influence than previous vintages, and just a raw, pulpy wine that is begging to be put down for 5 years (or more) to really see its day in the sun. Easy 2 to 4 points for improvement later.
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6/10/2010 - gunpwdr wrote: 87 Points
Nose: Cedar, creamy blueberries, Chinese 5 spice. Palate: Dusty blueberries and soy sauce on the attack. Fine grained tannins turn into drying tannins on the mid-palate. Hints of licorice are detectable as well. Finish is pretty tannic and dry.
Overall, the tannins give this wine a lot of character at this time, though I see these tannins integrating and elevating this wine to another level texturally. The flavor is California syrah all the way - big fruit, creamy, and rich. Really primary overall. Give this some time.
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12/23/2009 - WetRock wrote:
Impromptu Copains at Fratello's (Fratello's San Clemente): Rich yet tight nose with a coffee note. Wide and juicy, balanced with a big finish. Dark, primary and mouth coating with lots of red berries and late acting tannin. A bit of a clumsy kid with loads of potential. Very promising. I like what Wells does with this vineyard.
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12/23/2009 - Frank Murray III wrote:
Copain Offline @ Fratello's In The South OC (Fratello's Laguna Niguel): My 3rd bottle this year, and as of right now, I own all the TNs in CT so these are certainly early impressions within the community. As with the bottle 2 weeks ago, this 2007 is humming. Broken rocks in the bouquet, even and balanced on the palate with black fruit, minerals and a purity like I found when I first tried it this past June with Wells @ the winery. It does add weight as the wine warms but it holds together and drinks like Thompson should, but with the added touch of Wells to add the structure and complexity. Excellent.........and following back up on this wine which is now fully decanted overnight, pure blue and black fruit, married with charcoal, crushed rocks and healthy acidity. Neither gloppy nor fat......like with the other 2007 Copains, just full of pure driven flavor and structure. Damn good and years ahead of it, which I will enjoy.
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12/12/2009 - Frank Murray III wrote:
Have not tasted this since June, roughly 6 months. The color is extremely dark, to Wells' point that he can still achieve lots of color and extraction witout overworking the wines. Hint of face powder, spice, white flower and like the 2006, the bacon fat note. Palate-wise, even with a splash decant last night and then sitting in the bottle for over 24 hours, still pretty wrapped up. Concentrated core of pure dark fruit, of blackberries with an earthy edge. Then, as it continues to finish, a current of liquid minerality threads through--this is a beautiful note as it supports the wine and realls adds a rustic touch to the pure fruit. Finally, the minerality joins with some tar and that earthiness that I mentioned seems to even show a truffle-like character, like a mushroom. This wine continues to evolve and should turn out to me a unique marriage of what is a warmer source for Wells, tied with his new style that is a more reigned in, as much as it can be for this vineyard. Once again, excellent.
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6/7/2009 - Frank Murray III wrote:
14.5% alcohol. Yes, a big wine with rich and dark fruit but like with the Harrision-Clarke bottling, there is no sweetness here, just pure fruit. My notes have the word "bucket" underlined, to express a bucket of blue and black fruit. Also has an earthy push. Pure and tarry with a dark bittersweet chocolate. With all the lineage to Copain Thompson and my past comments about it, this for me is the best Thompson yet and the 4 bottles I bought last month on faith, the faith paid off.
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