TN: Cooper & Thief PinotNoir Bourbon Brls '23...(short/boring)

Tried this wine last night:

  1. Cooper & Thief PinotNoir CA (15.5%; Aged 3 months in Bourbon Whiskey Brls) Livermore & Ripon 2023: Very dark color; some black cherry/bing cherry/PN rather toasty/oak some bourbon/smokey/pungent some complex/interesting nose; fairly soft strong plummy/black cherry/PN rather toasty/pungent bit smokey/bourbon flavor w/ modest chewey tannins; very long/lingering pungent/bourbon finish that mocks flavor; a rather interesting expression of PN ; the bourbon gives a rather interesting nuance. $29.00 (KK)

More zibblescoot from TheBloodyPulpit:

  1. I was expecting to be utterly repulsed by this wine. I was not. It spoke strongly of ripe PN, but the bourbon signature was obvious but came thru more as a nuance than dominating the wine. I had it with BBQ pulled pork and it was not a bad pairing.
    This may be a bit of a gimmicky wine, but don’t reject it out of hand.
    Tom
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Interesting note - I would have expected perhaps a stronger ‘vanilla’ or ‘creamy’ note from the barrels but didn’t see that noted.

Thanks for taking one for the team again my friend!

Cheers

I really appreciate you posting an honest note, thank you! I have always seen this wine and been repulsed by the idea of it, but good to know that it’s somewhat palatable at least.

Larry,
I didn’t get anything that suggested it was Am.oak. Just well-toasted oak & a definite charred bourbon character.

Sam,
I was repulsed by the idea as well. But the base wine was pretty sound Pinot and I liked it better than I expected. I bought it to put in a Pinot tasting just to show my folks how bad it was. But they missed out. I used it last night as a throw-away wine to go with the BBQ pulled pork & it was pretty palatable.
It was no different than the black pepper nuance you get in c-c Syrah.
Tom

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So Sam…when has Tom NOT posted an honest note???

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15.5%? Uff da.

Hahaha, I definitely didn’t mean it that way. I love all of Tom’s notes! I just meant I appreciate him being willing to post a note on this specific wine on Berserkers.