December 22, 2023 - This was decanted off substantial and fine sediment and aired for 30 minutes. This is a beautiful syrah with spot on fruit and light lick of pepper on the back end. It does not linger on the palate too long but there are no rough edges and it is lovely to enjoy
December 24, 2022 - Very nice syrah. Elegant with nice balance of fruit and tannin.
June 22, 2021 - Uncovered this treasure from a dark corner in my cellar.
14.1% abv. Dark ruby color extends to the edge of the glass. Very aromatic. Boysenberry, cassis, a bit of smoke, a little meat, black olive, pepper and floral overtones. Excellent depth, concentration and length. Grippy and savory but not at all heavy. This wine actually seems to be in a pretty good place. No urgency to drink, very enjoyable!
June 17, 2018 - Tasty blackberry, boysenberry, and earthy notes on the nose and structured palate with residual tannins on the moderate finish.
May 6, 2018 - Copain Syrah Tasting (My Place - Washington, DC): This was surprisingly closed down (compared to the others). Good stuff inside for sure, it just stayed tight the whole night, even Day 2 it wasn’t as expressive. Gobs of dark fruit on the nose. Structured tannins provide lots of grip, medium acidity. Dense black fruit, iron, smoke, graphite, pepper and violets. Young still, I’d let this sit for three or four years. Damn, Wells’ wine age for quite a while.
May 16, 2017 - I think this wine was better in its youth. Developing much thinner and leaner than I thought it would. The red fruit and bright acidity still shows clearly but other pieces of the taste profile have dropped off.
March 26, 2016 - Garnet color, ruby at rim. No fading. Red fruit aromas and flavors, with medium tannic grip at the mid palate. A bolt of acidity finishes over the top. Overall this is underwhelming. Sourced from the winery.
January 5, 2016 - Very tasty. Big fruit, but combined with some good acidity and tannins (and not over-ripe). Great right now for pairing with any big meal.
December 9, 2015 - We opened as a pop and pour and paired with Parmesan encrusted rack of lamb, garlic wilted spinach and lyonnaise potatoes. It was a perfect pairing, but the wine is smooth enough to drink by itself as well. Nose is a little red forward with some light wood shavings, almost like balsa wood, not oak. Fruit is dominant in the early body, but the real joy comes in late body through finish where botanicals, tobacco, wet clay and stone,some charcoal and lingering youthful fruit notes reemerge. This wine is excellent, but I'm not sure age will help. There is a spectrum of flavors with great balance but as the fruit dies off the balance will erode and maybe leave the early body too pronounced (phantom red fruit pushed by acidity.)
July 13, 2015 - Still drinking strongly, even as a pop and pour though benefits from air time. This is an elegant Syrah, not overly extracted and doesn't give you a purple mustache of tannins. Enjoy with some light cheese or fruit.