2006 Copain Pinot Noir "En Haut" Kiser - The Ultimate!

WINE TALK
#1

After this tasting note from Frank, I decided to pop my last bottle.

2006 Copain Pinot Noir “En Haut” Kiser - (9/20/2015)
Copain In The Backyard On A Summer Evening (My House In The South OC): My last bottle from the several I bought in 2008 from the winery. The cork on this was all dried out and crappy so I had to strain the wine a few times once I got the cork finally out of the bottle. In sum, this seemed a bit tired to me last night, the wine showing a roasted quality, riper than I was expecting. For confirmation, I have another one coming from WineBid this Fall, which I will open and check out. I have worked through all the 2006s over the past few months–Wentzel and Monument Tree, specifically–and this Kiser EH showed the least satisfying of the three.

I have had bottles of this that matched up exactly to Frank’s note.
I regard him as the expert on all things Copain, so it inspired me to pop one.

The fill was VERY high on this bottle and the cork was extremely tight providing a great seal and not letting much O2 in over the years. This fact may have preserved the wine to a greater extent than normal.

And, of course, the cork was brittle and broke in two, prompting major extraction surgery.
Copain has a definite problem with dried out corks!!!

2006 Copain Pinot Noir “En Haut” Kiser
Mature medium red with onion skin at edge.
Cinnamon, Anise, black cherry and Mac Apple aromas wafted in and out.
Complex, secondary development led to flavors of “Nibs” licorice and coffee with a long, firm, minerally finish.
Good acid and tannins still remain. Kinda reminded me of an aged Arcadian Pisoni PN.
This bottle was VASTLY different than any previously tasted samples of this wine.
This was one of the finest CA Pinots that I’ve experienced. Period.
There is tremendous bottle variation obviously.
Again, I would have never recognized this as an En Haut, much less a Copain PN.
My last bottle and, by far, the best ever.
[96 pts]

TTT

#2

T3, you really have me hooked with this TN of yours, the variation and differences intrigue me. I am not sure what the hell to do with my last bottle…drink, hold, christen a ship in Dana Point harbor with it? Ugh.

I want to do a total Kiser vertical this year, both Haut and Bas…maybe I will save it for that event.

Thanks for the TN, man. I appreciate your passion and time to post your comments.

#3

I’ve had this 3 times, with the first and the last both being beautiful showings (the second was very shut down).

#4

People all have their own views and favorites and it’s good that we can have that passion and affinity for certain vineyards and places for Pinot Noir. For me, I believe that if I am going to have any CA PN vineyard in my glass, it would be Kiser. That means Copain, as no one else makes it. Bearwallow and Wendling are right next door, and both of them may approach Kiser for the class it shows, but for me, Kiser is the top of the heap. 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012. Vintage after vintage, that plot is simply special.

#5

Awesome. I have some bottles. Now I just need to find them. Just had another 06 Copain that was meh. I’ll post a note. Hoping this one gives me the same enjoyment it gave Testy. And TTT if you decide to make it south, I’ll gladly share with you.

Cheers,

Jason

#6

Jason,
I wish you good luck on this wine.
I’ve had close to a dozen bottles and once they passed the 5 yr mark, they tended to vary in quality.
All were good to great, but this last bottle was a BIG step up in quality and unrecognizable from the previous ones.
I can’t explain why this last bottle was so much better… [scratch.gif]

TTT