Copain Barrel Tasting
Copain Winery, Russian River
Tasted Sunday, March 2, 2008 by rjonwine@gmail.com with 511 views
Introduction
When I attended the Copain open house in March, Wells recognized me from the Squires Board and invited me back to the barrel room for a barrel tasting with him of the extraordinary Pinot and Syrah juice he has from the '07 vintage. I think Wells is doing some remarkable things with Pinot, especially with the restrained, earlier picked approach he's used in the last couple vintages. And I've been a fan of his Syrahs and those continue to impress as well.
Wells Guthrie:
Wells's enthusiasm for what he has in barrel from '07 is truly infectious. These Pinots are among the best I've ever tried from barrel, and promise to produce stunning results, with great complexity, acidity and refinement. Much as Wells clearly adores Burgundy and dotes on his Pinots, the Syrahs are every bit as stunning, with amazing juice now in barrel that shows all the complexity of top examples from the Northern Rhone. This tasting with Wells was a highlight of my wine year--both a great personal treat and an advance peek at what will undoubtedly be one of the greatest California Pinot and Syrah vintages in the hands of one of our finest craftsmen of those varietals.
Flight 1 - 2007 Pinot Noir Barrel samplings (7 Notes)
These are listed in the order in which we tasted. Nothing was more than 13.8% alcohol.
Flight 2 - 2007 Syrah Barrel samplings (6 Notes)
Wells is treating this fruit very gently, just pumping the juice over, not punching through to get any further physical extraction. He's using lightly toasted Hermitage barrels.
Copain barrel room:
Flight 3 - Copain new releases in bottle (5 Notes)
Copain's new winemaking facility:
Closing
Looking toward Rochioli from Copain's new site:
2007 Copain Pinot Noir Cerise Vineyard 89 Points
USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley
Barrel sample – bright cherry red; big rhubarb pie, cherry and allspice nose; big, ripe cherry, allspice, a little diffuse at this stage; medium finish 89-91 pts
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2007 Copain Pinot Noir Wentzel Vineyard 91 Points
USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley
Barrel sample (this is a new vineyard for Copain; this barrel had just finish malolactic fermentation) – good color; spicy black cherry nose; tasty, tart, spicy cherry palate 91-94 pts.
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2007 Copain Pinot Noir Baker Ranch 91 Points
USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley
Barrel sample - great spicy tart cherry, with good weight 91-93 pts.
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2007 Copain Pinot Noir Monument Tree 91 Points
USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley
Barrel sample - (50% whole cluster; Wells said the stems were very ripe in 2007, the ripest he'd seen since '99; Dijon clones 115 and 777) – most Burgundy-like on nose, with a touch of greenness; good grip and depth 91-94 pts.
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2007 Copain Pinot Noir "En Haut" Kiser 93 Points
USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley
Barrel sample - (this part of the vineyard rests on schist rock, at 1,000 feet above sea level; there are 4 clones; 13.2% alcohol) – sexy ripe raspberry nose; very tasty, tart cherry and strawberry with depth and great acidity 93-95 pts.
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2007 Copain Pinot Noir "En Bas" Kiser 93 Points
USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley
Barrel sample - (Dijon 115) – very dark red violet color; dark roasted cherry with a sense of soy sauce on the nose; dense, pain grille, wonderful palate with rose hips; long finish 93-96 pts.
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2007 Copain Pinot Noir Clos Pepe Vineyard 92 Points
USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills
Barrel sample (13.6% alcohol) – deep, sexy, cherry nose; deep, rich, tart cherry, with complexity; medium-plus finish 92-94 pts.
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