Sorry to anyone who cares that we've let this blog die while still an infant. I just stumbled upon it (yes, I had pretty much forgotten) and decided to look through my notes for a decent tasting note to post. This wine is not available in Maine (sorry ... the original idea was to review wines people can find, but I think it's okay since we haven't been doing that anyway), but I'm a big fan of Copain since the '06 vintage. They still won't ship to Maine because our stupid legislators can't properly create a law enabling small producers not distributed in this state to do so. These legislators claim that the new law is great and does allow such activity, but if someone as small as Copain spent the time and money necessary to do so legally, they'd probably be losing money shipping wine to Maine. The last thing I'll say, now that I feel better after having unfairly generalized about an entire group of people, some of whom might even know how to craft good laws, is that this note is from my pocket notebook and will not have the detail as others here. Edit: I am leaving the original text in here so you can laugh at my foolishness, but here's an update regarding Copain. With their next release, they will be able to ship to Maine. I guess they decided it would be profitable after all. Great news for us. If you like wines made in the style I describe here, I highly suggest getting on their mailing list. If you're not sure, I believe you can order the Tous Ensemble series (not single vineyard, but still very good wines) without being on their mailing list. So for now, for this blog, the score is State of Maine:1 -- Doug:-1 (I subtracted a point for being so rude). I hear Maine will even take back the rule about minors not seeing any wine tasting going on. Now maybe they can learn not to create these problems in the first place. I promise to post something better soon. If I fail to do so I encourage people to comment, blasting me as ruthlessly and unfairly as I have just blasted certain lawmakers (don't even get me started on the idiot from Freeport who thinks kids shouldn't see any wine tasting going on). I leave it to Galen to censor me if he sees fit.
2006 Copain Alder Springs "Spirit Rock" Syrah, Mendocino (picture shows wrong vintage)-- not available in Maine, but about $40-$45 on release, if I remember correctly - tasted 12/25/09
opaque purple with ruby, watery rim
The nose and palate of this wine are quite similar. I got blackberry juice, white pepper, green pepper (slight enough to be charming rather than off putting), other savory spices, underripe plum, and black cherry. When I delved further I noticed a little lavender. The length was medium- and the flavor and aromatic intensities were medium+. The wine was very pretty and quite fresh for CA Syrah. This was right on the border for me of very good and outstanding. I scored it 90 points, but I would have gone higher if the finish had held on a bit longer. These wines are built to age and I suspect that element might flesh out a bit over the next few years.
For those who aren't familiar with Copain, Wells Guthrie (cofounder and vigneron) has, since the '06 vintage been focused on sourcing fruit from the coolest sites in CA (mostly Anderson Valley and the rest of Mendocino) in order to create wines of balance and significant acidity (sorry I didn't note the acid in this wine) that will age well. I can't comment on ageability, but in my opinion he is certainly accomplishing the rest of his goal, and the balance and acidity make them great food wines. The pinot noirs are quite elegant and this syrah was extremely well balanced. The wines I've had so far are almost Old World in structure (the pinots are Old World in structure) and yet distinctly Californian in flavor profile. If this style interests you, I suggest trying his Tous Ensemble wines. They're his entry level line (the only ones blended from multiple vineyards) and great values. The '07 Tous Ensemble Pinot Noir is killer and currently being discounted in a couple of places. You can find the wines in Massachusetts if you go there ever, or I would suggest (if I advocated such things, which I do not) ordering directly from www.copainwines.com and having the wine shipped to a friend or relative in New Hampshire. Let NH have the excise tax since Maine doesn't seem to want it (or don't -- I'm not saying this is the right thing to do and am obviously against the illegal practice of transporting alcohol across state lines ... in fact, I have no idea how I acquired the bottle I just reviewed).
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