It has been a while since I opened a Copain wine. I had to take a break after opening one after another for FMIII’s month-long, Copain charity thread back in February. But I made this huge pot of oxtail stew (at my nine-year-old daughter’s request, if you can believe that) and wanted something to stand up to it. This was a good match.
At seven years out, this wine is finally beginning to express itself. Just so there is no misunderstanding, there is still plenty of structure in the wine, and I think more time won’t hurt it at all. But as opposed to a few years ago, the wine now is accessible, nuanced, and not as much of a challenge to appreciate. While it is still quite dark in color, the wine has an expressive nose of crushed stone, herbs, and pepper. In the mouth, there is cool red fruit, tar, olive, earth and stone. There probably are a bunch of other taste references that could be added here as the wine evolves over the course of the night, but these are the basics. More important than the descriptors (which I suspect are useless to most people), the wine really is pleasant to drink now. Young Brosseau Syrah can be a bit monolithic; this has started to transform in a very encouraging way, and aspects of it now remind me of Northern Rhone. There is plenty of acidic lift to keep the wine from seeming heavy and, while the wine was a terrific accompaniment to the food, it remains intriguing and pleasurable on its own. The lesson for me is to hold on to Brosseau from Copain. This one was worth the wait (and it was still young and could have gone a lot longer!). Really good.
Thanks for the note Brad - I have one left!
Good for you! It would be interesting to read your note on this wine a year or two from now, if you can wait that long. I think this was my last '07 Brosseau – but at least I have a glass or two left for tomorrow.
Me too! And I know a place with great oxtail stew! Thanks Brad.
Great note, thanks! Haven’t opened any of mine, and the last time I tasted this was at the winery in Sept. 2010. Sounds like it’s a candidate for a trial run soon. Of all the 2007 Copain Syrahs, this was the one I considered the best on release. My note from 2010: beautiful deep, vibrant, dark red fruit, pomegranate, mineral, great structure and a fascinating brininess.
Thanks guys for the discussion on the 07. Man, the last time I had one of these, it was RUG-GID. My note is below and from a timing perspective, it aligns with Brad’s comment so to hear the wine has softened up is good news. As to Alan’s remark about the 2010, that for me is in the top 2-3 syrahs Wells has ever made. The 2010 is lights out, I anticipate it becoming even better, as if it could, over the next few years, like the 2007 is aging.
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2007 Copain Syrah Brosseau Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Chalone (6/22/2012)
Listed alc 13.5%. I had not previously written up this wine, and this is very odd given my unbridled enthusiasm for the Copain 2007 syrahs, many that I have documented through notes so many times the last few years. I opened this wine last night and my first impressions then on opening was lean-toned, with a spearmint nose. Huh. I let the wine sit in the glass, drank a few ozs, then added some more and let about an hour pass. The wine then started to flesh out, put on some weight and start showing better. Forward to tonight, sampling another good size glass to help form a note. Man, this wine has a pile of structure in it, full of stony and tart, juicy notes. The fruit has a loamy, black raspberry quality, although it lacks a bit of the focus of some of the other 2007s. There is solid structure in the wine, very present in the texture, showing a chalky feel. Black olive, good size amount of whole cluster signature and a briny note, too. It also retains some the leaness from last night and has plenty of acid. This wine is unique for the 07 lineup, what I recall being the most rugged, tart of them all. Suggest more aging, another 2 years and then see what’s there as this wine, to me, is still quite young.
Posted from CellarTracker
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2010 Copain Syrah Brosseau Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Chalone (8/3/2013)
Copain Dinner @ The House With Wells Guthrie: I drank one of these recently from the cellar so I could have had a sense of what to expect. Listed alc is 13.0%. Approaching the wine objectively, it’s a treat to drink this again. It pours dark, and sitting next to the 2010 Baker Ranch syrah, it’s kind of a funny sight. While the Baker Ranch exhibits pinot noir like qualities, not Brosseau. This is about slate, deep blueberry, iron and color. Juicy. I splash decanted this from magnum y/day and it’s been open for over a day so the structure has softened up. This is such a great bottle of CA syrah, one that I have such high regard for what it is. I told Wells last night that this is perhaps the best syrah he’s ever made, and while it won’t age like the 2007s (i.e. Hawks Butte and James Berry), it will drink better sooner and with some aeration, it does that very well now. Or, age for another few years and enjoy it. Classy juice, I love this stuff…FWIW, I finished this mag finally on Day 3 and the wine was just beautiful. Pepper in the aromatic, the blue notes. Smoothed out with depth. Fantastic.
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