12/7/2021 - jdiv Likes this wine:

Decanted 1 hour+, and this was a baby. Hold the rest another 5+

3/11/2019 - jdiv wrote:

Corked

10/28/2017 - jdiv wrote:

While a bottle opened in April was sound, this was completely oxidized. Down the sink. Quite a shame for a 9 yr old GC Riesling. Waste of $37.

8/17/2017 - jdiv wrote:

Drinkable but a bit too oxidized. Distracted from much more evaluation.

1/7/2017 - jdiv wrote:

Terrific nose, small taste seemed fairly open so did not decant. Just a couple small pours and it sat maybe an hour until we got to the mains. This bottle anyway was ready to go and seemed fully resolved. Nice smokiness and spice. Not a lot of depth or concentration though which you might hope for with a better 99 Hermitage. Definitely not top tier, but certainly a nice bottle of wine to go with beef cheek bouguignon.

10/1/2016 - jdiv wrote:

Both oxidized AND corked.

2/24/2014 - jdiv wrote:

Bought on release and tasted multiple times earlier in life, but not since 2007. Guessing this may have been a bit better a few years ago. Previous remarks were on acidity, this was more on the plummy, even slightly stewy side. I think this is the first Copain from Kiser, which is now a mainstay, but this was definitely the old style wine making still. Not for old bones.

2/23/2014 - jdiv wrote:

Bought on release and cellared this long due mainly to negative notes posted during it's first years of life about poor balance. This is fully mature at 12-13 years and I see no reason to cellar this to 2017, though it may last another few years. Medium to heavier weighted, dark fruited now in a secondary/tertiary kind of way, but really not that complex. In reference to older notes from others, I did still find a small hint of cola which I don't usually get in true Sonoma Coast. And while maybe a tad warm, it apparently had enough stuffing not to be overly alcoholic at this point. While I did enjoy drinking it I do have higher expectations for an $80 wine.

7/7/2013 - jdiv Does not like this wine:

Dense and viscous, loads of papaya and tropical fruit. But have to agree with Russ, totally lacking in acid to give it any cut, this becomes ponderous fairly quickly. To me not great now and can only see this going sideways from here. Cannot understand the comments about decent acidity in this wine, there is none. Crisp - not. For $45 there are so many other wines I would buy.

6/15/2013 - jdiv wrote:

Horribly corked

6/10/2013 - jdiv Likes this wine:

I don't think this should be classified as a Rose Blend. While it does contain Cab Franc (and Chenin, and a little chardonnay), it is pressed white. And since it is NV it's hard to know if like bottlings are being compared. That said, initially served quite cold and with little air, I did see the bitterness complained of in some reviews. But we did find that this developed fairly well and gained a bit of complexity as it warmed and was open a few hours. If you were expecting Champagne, or even Cremant de Bourgogne you are barking up the wrong tree. At under $20, I would be willing to give this another whirl.

11/8/2012 - jdiv wrote:

Oxidized

11/8/2012 - jdiv wrote:

Last bottle, and first one in four years for me. This wine was very tight and took forever to come around when it was released, and it was never on the fruitier side of Zin. But it did come into a good run back in the mid 2000s. From a strictly a flavor aspect i'd say it has held on pretty well for it's age - the major flaw being the alcohol really sticking out at this point. I almost abandoned it after the first few sips, but it did open up a bit after 30 mins or so. In the end still a bit too boozy. If you're holding this, i'm not sure why. But then I was holding it until just now.

9/8/2012 - jdiv wrote:

Sadly past it. Completely oxidized.

7/20/2012 - jdiv wrote:

Found this laying around the cellar and opened it up to have with a steak salad. Some bramble, but stewy with a plodding mouthfeel. Showing heat from the outset but as it warmed from cellar temp it was undrinkable (15.7%). Down the drain.

1/22/2012 - jdiv wrote:

Blackberry fruit bomb. Not in a bad way, not too far over the top. We drank it cool - pretty much around cellar temp, and recommend you do too. A little heat could stick out at warmer temps.

12/24/2011 - jdiv wrote:

Horribly corked

9/27/2011 - jdiv wrote:

Generic supermarket crap. A $5 wine. Use for cooking only.

7/11/2011 - jdiv wrote:

I seem to have lost track and double ordered this wine which at $22.50 a bottle turns out to be extremely far from the worst thing in the world. But as I am also cellaring all the SVDs, it is definitely time to open one of these and see what is going on. Well, what is going on upon opening is what I have to assume is called 'the Cameron funk'. Frankly this is nothing more than a strong dose of SO2. My wife wants me to write that it smells like a recently serviced port-a-potty at the start of a running road race, but while that is really quite an exaggeration. I really want to stay married, so there it is. In any case, the 'funk' blew off within the hour - and I do recommend a good hour decant - leaving quite a very lovely wine that is hard to put down. Sour cherry, pomegranate - pick your adjective. There is also a lovely mushroom aspect going on here. Great complexity for a bargain basement AVA wine. May all my purchasing issues be this fortuitious.

7/11/2011 - jdiv wrote:

Splash decanted for 20 mins and enjoyed with grilled salmon and 'asian slaw'. Just on the darker side of red berries - more a raspberry than cherry to me, there are nice hints of spice and sandalwood on the back end. Now finishing the wine 90 minutes later it seems to have opened fully, rounder berries and lengthening on the finish. Not a killer wine, but jeez at $30 it's an immediate re-order. Much more open than the 07 Estate Reserves opened recently and much too early - those were still a bit closed down and harder to read.

6/20/2011 - jdiv wrote:

Splash decanted for 45 mins or so prior to dinner, but was pretty nice right out of the gate. Raspberry and spice. The whole cluster seemed both distinctive and integrated if that makes any sense, giving the wine a bit of bramble and aeromatics, but also a bit of darkness. Certainly not revelatory, but very nice. Seemed evolved so drink, although i'm curious where it will go over a few more years. Have a few more and will also backfill a couple.

6/13/2011 - jdiv wrote:

Nice nose. Very dark fruited - black cherry and darker. Medium bodied with some earth, but something maybe extracted about this wine - not quite right. Decent finish - with a touch of smoke, but essentially a fairly simple wine. From Garagiste for $20, so an okay deal, for $35 i'd be very disappointed.

3/12/2011 - jdiv wrote:

BYO'd to a restaurant which was pretty dark, so no comments on color. No decant and a bit closed at first, but w/ two glasses poured, and allowed to sit and open for an hour it opened up quite nicely when we got back around to it. Dark cherry, some interesting spice, this is a fairly big wine w/ a strong finish - no heat, good balance even elegance for its size. Didn't seem to be going downhill to me, but definitely ready to go. I have 2 more - drink over the next year or so.

1/7/2011 - jdiv wrote:

corked

12/7/2010 - jdiv wrote:

Tom - my bottles say 13.7%, do yours really say 14.4 alcohol ? That would be quite curious. I looked at the 2007 (Thorn Ridge), that says 14.2. Agree overall with your notes though. I definitely get spice, cherry, and tea. Nice acidity - quite juicy, and it does not seem close to going down hill anytime soon. This is lovely to drink - seems fairly ready but no hurry. Will hold back a few bottles for extended aging as well.

11/10/2010 - jdiv wrote:

Agree w/ other notes. Simple raspberry. Not bad, but not worth it. At least not corked like previous bottle.

11/10/2010 - jdiv wrote:

Badly corked

11/10/2010 - jdiv wrote:

On opening a kind of alcoholic mess really, and that was at cellar temp and without a decant. Looked at the bottle - 15.4%. Oh, okay certainly not one to age 6 years from vintage. Came back to it after about 20 min and it had developed some body underneath but still could not get past the heat and rawness. We had given up and opened a William Selyem anyway, so this just went down the drain.

10/13/2010 - jdiv wrote:

My first go at this. Splash decanted 20 mins, tasted w/ dinner and over the next 3 hours. This had a sort of matchstick nose not unlike I find in a number of Oregon PN, but not the earth or sous bois. To me the wine itself was very characteristic of Sonoma Coast - black cherry. This fleshed out quite a bit over even just the 1st hour, so pretty good depth. Overall seemed pretty ready to go but no big hurry.

9/4/2010 - jdiv wrote:

Splash decanted for about 30 mins. I guess we all have our descriptors for the nose, but it was impressive - meat and iron for me. A real Copain signature, at least for this era. Red and black but not blue fruit to me, good dark spice a little pepper. Fully resolved - integrated tannins, stems (50%), nice complexity. Lovely wine, glad I held it this long.

8/12/2010 - jdiv wrote:

BYO'd at a restaurant, two glasses poured and allowed to breathe while we had appetizers and Chabis. This is wine gone very wrong. My closest description of the nose would be port of zinfandel. Taste would be overripe zin ala Martinelli. I found essentially nothing recognizable as pinot characteristics. Was there a blending or bottling mix up somewhere along the way? I bought this on release and picked it up at the winery, so I do know the complete provenance of this bottle.

8/12/2010 - jdiv wrote:

last bottle, looking forward to it and.... crap - corked.

8/12/2010 - jdiv wrote:

Last tasted 3 years ago, time has not treated this wine well. Tannins resolved, very pronounced chocolate -not my favorite zin attribute. It has always had a short finish, but it is now accompanied by very emphatic heat/alcohol as well.

8/9/2010 - jdiv wrote:

Decanted about 20 min. While quite purple and dark, this was actually quite medium bodied. Sort of on the raspberry side of blackberry - gee black raspberry I guess. I had not had this in over 2 years, this now seems fully mature to me, no particular tannins, even starting to fade a bit. Still some nice spice though. Interesting change of pace. 75% Mourvedre, with the rest mainly PS, with some Alicante Bouchet and 5% 'Valdepenas'. On the Carlisle website this is referred to as Carignane while others seem to think it is Tempranillo.

7/14/2010 - jdiv wrote:

From the list at Bastille. Opened and 2 generous pours that sat while we had muscadet and a first course - about 40 mins. This was just lovely. It started a bit shy but opened very nicely during the rest of the meal - definitely did not last to make it home from the restaurant. Beautiful red fruit with lots of stuffing and persistance burbling underneath, and that WV earth aspect that I love. This will develop more I think. Had 3 on order already, thinking I need more....

7/14/2010 - jdiv wrote:

Splash decanted for about 30 minutes before tasting. This was a nice medium to light red. Nice, slightly tart red fruit. Good acidity. Very pleasing and satisfying with some complexity lurking there. Not sure this will age as i'd like an SVD to, but glad I have another bottle nonetheless.

7/6/2010 - jdiv wrote:

Badly corked - bought at Bottle Barn (now 800 miles away) over 3 1/2 years ago. Oh well.

6/13/2010 - jdiv wrote:

Deep deep red, though certainly not inky. Splash decanted for about 40 mins, and enjoyed over dinner and the next 3 hours. Pleasingly medium bodied, more on the raspberry side than anything else. Still fairly wound up at 5 years past vintage - could use a couple more probably. Did not get any 'heat' that another mentioned. To me a little lacking in complexity for the price ($45), not a lot of the meaty, ferric qualities I prize in Copain syrahs. It would be nice to think it's in a 'dumb' period, and suddenly it will open up, but i'm doubtful about that. I have a few more to open over the coming years, and maybe a future bottle will really wow me, but still was quite enjoyable all the same.

5/26/2010 - jdiv wrote:

This was lovely - bright cherry, nice spice, acidity, and balance. Nothing extradinary, just a very nice appelation wine. Doesn't seem headed over the hill, but yes fully ready now. At $42 was probably questionable qpr for me, and I have stopped buying the later vintages at $46+. But putting aside price (paid long ago), i'm glad I have a few bottles more.

12/22/2009 - jdiv wrote:

ugh. corked

11/30/2009 - jdiv wrote:

This was disappointing - ripe, a bit stewy, saved only by a streak of acidity that helped. Not sure I would have guessed it as pinot, esp not Willamette Valley, a bit more like a CA zin. Maybe the year, maybe I held it a bit too long. Whatever.

8/10/2009 - jdiv wrote:

A bit too big and too much chocolate for me. The quality seemed fine. Moderately complex. Just not my style.

4/21/2009 - jdiv wrote:

BYO'd to Farallon, it was opened for about 45 minutes, but not decanted before tasting. From the outset - earth, earth, earth. After about 20 minutes in the glass a nice cherry nose and taste appeared. Good structure, good finish. Very secondary at this point. My last bottle, but i'd drink up now regardless.

4/13/2009 - jdiv wrote:

Huge, dark, heavy mouthfeel, way overripe, over the top, hot - 15.9 alcohol. I just do not enjoy drinking pinot like this anymore. Have 2 bottles left- based on other notes i'm seeing here I will sell this to others who it appeals to. Just not my thing, others - enjoy!

4/6/2009 - jdiv wrote:

Decanted for 60 minutes. Translucent, ruby red. Nice cherry and spice, this had terrific cut and balanced acidity. Medium bodied, tannins seem resolved to me, and no heat. Almost...elegant? Based on other SLH 03 and 04 pinot experiences this surprised me. Very nice, and really happy I have one more.

4/5/2009 - jdiv wrote:

Decanted for about 45 minutes and enjoyed over 2 1/2 hours. Dark, but far from inky. This had that distinctive ferric/iron and minerally character i've come to love in Copain. Black fruits (gee maybe blackberry or cassis?) and yes a little bit of meat. Great finish. My last bottle, this was well worth saving - mature but definitely life left. I'll buy more if I can find it at a reasonable price.

3/22/2009 - jdiv wrote:

Thought this might be problematic on opening, a bit dark and heavy tasting, and perhaps a hint of heat. But I decanted and let it open for an hour or so while keeping fairly cool, and it really showed very nicely. I would call it a mix of red and dark fruits, good acidity/lift and yes that Rosellas grapefruit - quite pronounced. In all quite a good wine from an area I no longer seek out for pinot. I have to figure out if it was just 03 and 04 that turned me off to SLH - 05 and 06 might get me trying it again.

3/5/2009 - jdiv wrote:

Splash decanted and allowed to open for about 45 minutes. Would much rather have popped and poured as I preferred it immediately out of the bottle. Dark berry and chocolate on the nose. Brawny purple berry with chocolate, and liquorice on the palate. Unfortunately after breathing it showed a bit of heat as well - at least the 14.7 abv on the label, maybe more. Overall much bigger and riper than my current tastes prefer, and correspondingly poorer with food.

3/4/2009 - jdiv wrote:

Splash decanted about an hour and detected no spritz reported by others. Medium to dark ruby. Good cherry to black cherry. Bigger than I was expecting - probably the vintage - but definitely said Sonoma Coast in a big way - enjoyable. Small amount of brett to be sure. I am not a brett fan, but found this acceptable, not hiding anything, maybe even adding a little overall. However, while I otherwise might let my other bottle age a bit more, I will drink up and decant less, to avoid additional brett.

2/17/2009 - jdiv wrote:

Well, if it didn't have all the brett, I'd like the wine and have similar comments as others. Not sure about 'blowing off', i've never know brett to subside once present and this certainly did not over the course of 4 hours after splash decanting.