Single Vineyard Wines for 2016
This is an exciting time of year at Copain. Each January, we unveil our Single Vineyard wines and by March, we get to share these wines with our friends. The 2016 release brings a few surprises. We hope you enjoy these wines for years to come. Please take a moment to verify your information. Simply click the Member Sign In link at the top of the page and select My Memberships and Edit Memberships.
Fantastic Vintages
This year's release includes wines from the 2013 and 2014 vintages. Both of these vintages were wonderful to work with. The 2013 vintage offered a variety of conditions. A rather dry January gave way to normal winter rainfall. As warmer weather arrived, bud break occurred in early April. Following a moderate summer, the first week of September brought very warm weather, along with a corresponding rise in sugar and malic acid levels. We rushed to pick all our fruit, with Pinot Noir harvest starting on September 9. Our 2013 wines are evocative of our 2006 bottlings, displaying more texture and suppleness due to marginally higher pH levels.
The 2014 vintage started dry but abundant February rain came just in time to break the winter drought. Warm spring temperatures encouraged an early bud break that kept vineyard development ahead of schedule through the entire season. Our harvest was condensed beginning September 3rd and concluding on September 24th. For the first time, our Pinot Noir and Syrah harvest overlapped. Abundant sunshine and cool evenings created near ideal conditions for ripe and balanced wines with yields falling in the normal range.
2016 Spring Wines And A Surprise
Our spring release contains a special surprise for our Single Vineyard Members. We have included our Estate Trousseau as one of your wine selections. Copain has been working hard to increase the quantities of this delicious variety on our estate vineyards and we have added plantings of Trousseau along our fence lines in Anderson Valley. Even with the increased plantings, quantities are still very small and we ask that you limit your selection to 2 bottles of this wine.
2014 DuPratt Chardonnay
Retail Price: 48 Member Price: 40.80
The small, five acre DuPratt vineyard sits on a ridge in Anderson Valley at an elevation of 1,550 feet, a few short miles from the charming seaside town of Elk. Planted in 1983 in upland timber sandstone soils, the fruit from this site distinctively reflects its mountainous locale, yielding wines with notable acidity and an appealing, rigid structure.
Tasting Notes:
The DuPratt vineyard is a shining example of old vine Chardonnay in Anderson Valley. Teeming with compelling minerality, this site-driven Chardonnay is intoxicatingly aromatic; fresh lemon verbena, quince paste and orchard blossoms. Powerful and precise, the solid backbone and lively acidity lead to flavors of crisp green apple, grapefruit and fresh herbs. Higher elevation and pronounced coastal influences have yielded this lean and vibrant Chardonnay a complex body and potential for long aging.
2013 Kiser 'En Haut' Pinot Noir
Retail Price: 75 Member Price: 63.75
Situated 200 feet above the ‘En Bas’ parcel, the higher Kiser ‘En Haut’ block possesses more compressed sandstone than the lower blocks, and enjoys further depth from bands of schist permeating the soil. The combination of the two components gives the wine heady aromatics and notable minerality in both aroma and flavor.
Tasting Notes:
The upper parcel of our flagship Kiser vineyard continues to produce some of our most compelling and stunning Pinot Noirs. Rich garnet red and concentrated, Kiser en Haut is redolent of raspberry leaf, cassis and rose petal. The Kiser 'En Haut' maintains the finesse and grace of previous vintages. The palate is nuanced with fragrant plum, white tea, and chamomile with layers of dried leaves and graphite. Silky and seductive, the 2013 vintage is truly deserving of its reputation as one of our most sought-after Pinots.
2014 Estate Trousseau Noir (Limited Selection)
Retail Price: 42 Member Price: 35.70
Copain has had a long appreciation for the wines of the Jura region of eastern France. Trousseau is one of the native red grapes of the Jura, but almost unheard of in Californian vineyards. Copain has planted heritage clones of Trousseau grafted to an especially gravelly parcel of our estate vineyard in Healdsburg and along our fence lines of our vineyards in Anderson Valley.
Tasting Notes:
Our 2014 release of Trousseau hails from our Healdsburg Estate and the fence line of our estate vineyards in the deep end of Anderson Valley. The wine is a beautiful marriage of the dark fruited earthy character of Anderson Valley, and the mineral-driven sandstone soil of our Russian River Valley hillside plot. With a light ruby red color, pronounced pink blossoms, morello cherry, and juniper aromas unfold. A lush, soft palate is delicately layered with fine tannins, which frame flavors of peppered strawberry, pomegranate and Earl Grey tea. Our 2014 Trousseau is very true to both the terroir of Anderson Valley and Russian River, as well as the vines’ French heritage. We are excited to see the evolution of this unique wine.
2013 Hawks Butte Syrah
Retail Price: 45 Member Price: 38.25
Perched 1,400 feet above the valley floor in the Yorkville Highlands, this Syrah vineyard is located just shy of the southeastern end of Anderson Valley. The vines have struggled to get a foothold in this feeble soil but are now rendering a truly site-specific wine.
Tasting Notes:
Profoundly aromatic with copious red apple, rose petal and California bay; the Hawks Butte Syrah offers a harmonious potpourri of juicy black currant, roses, and granite. With a deep purple color and rich concentration, the wine is stunning in the glass. Whole cluster fermentation allows the wine to obtain structure from stem tannin instead of oak, resulting in a lively, broad expressive wine with a soft, velvet texture and intense aromatics. We recommend laying down for 3-5 years.
2013 Baker Ranch Syrah
Retail Price: 55 Member Price: 46.75
Syrah is exceedingly hard in the Pinot Noir-centric Anderson Valley though Baker Ranch dared to plant it, and it deliver. Organically farmed and wonderfully expressive, this wine has proven itself a most welcome and unique addition to the Copain Syrah portfolio.
Tasting Notes:
One of our most desirable wines and approachable soon after release, the Baker Ranch Syrah is delicate in structure, with intense aromatics of violets, dried peppercorn, and savory black olive. The texture is broad and soft, with notable precision, acidity, and soft tannins. Notes of charred wood, Santa Rosa plums, and anise complete this enthrallingly aromatic wine that speaks both to the cool westerly vineyard in Anderson Valley and spirit of the Northern Rhône which is the inspiration.