It's Sunday night. I just got back from a great trip to New Orleans and had to do some homework. So I figured I'd pop a bottle of wine to sip while I work. Unfortunately, this wine was so good it was hard to focus on my writing. This wine is fantastic, and an amazing expression of the syrah grape.
2004 Copain Syrah Hawks Butte Vineyard (USA, California, North Coast, Yorkville Highlands)
rich purple color but not quite opaque. soothing, inviting aromas of warm blackberry, clove, freshly cracked black pepper and bacon. the palate is bold and demands attention. the tannins still retain their grip. the acid is perfectly in balance with the tannins. the fruit is pure and lush in its mouthfeel and pure in its focus. blackberries, cassis and plum skins are backed up by vanilla, chocolate and a rush of minerality. there's almost a rocky flavor on the finish of this syrah, along with the vanilla. it's fruit forward, but by no means flabby or overdone. with time, the complexity of this wine increased tremendously. showing red currants, chocolate shavings, iron, slate and earth. it doesn't have any of that northern rhone inspired meat or olive. it's not that kind of wine. but it is a complex, fruit-forward syrah, one that is a gorgeous experience from start to finish. the yorkville highlands' expression of syrah can be incredible, especially when in the hands of a producer like copain. great stuff, will continue to evolve in complexity for three-five years?
93 pts IJB
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