TN: Copain 2002 ‘Coccinelle & Caillou’ Walla Walla Syrah
This easily has 10 years of life left ahead. Maybe more. Maybe considerably more. It’s certainly past “youth”, per se - the tannins have rolled back to reveal more fruit and spice, yet it retains some of the primal intensity of a young wine. Its color is dark, still, with only a bit of lightness at the rim, and its very generous on the nose. Blackberry, black cherry, blood and iron, dried herbs. stone and wheat. Superb complexity and intensity. Good Syrah has fruit that often seems interwoven with threads of fruit and spice - and this has that.
Medium-bodied, well-framed with acidity, which first delays and then gives energy to the midpalate impact of the wine. The flavors here are tangy, with red fruit, a hint of darker fruit underneath, green beans, diried herbs and pepper. Mouthfilling and bright. Not at all over the top - in fact, this is a model of restrain in some ways.
The spice really kicks in on a long, lingering finish. Excellent stuff, and I buried the last of the three-pack for another 5-10 years.