Copain Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir 2021
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Wine
Enthusiast -
Jeb
Dunnuck
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Winemaker Notes
This wine has enough layers and complexity to cellar for 5-7 years but is quite approachable now with a few swirls of the glass to open it up. Pair with mushroom risotto, sesame chicken, or Korean Gochujang Noodles.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
All smoothness and polish, this velvet-textured wine is scented with rose petals, cinnamon and black cherries, while lively fruit acidity boosts the deep cherry flavors in the mouth. The wine is so welcoming, yet also structured enough to create myriad food pairings and to improve with further age.
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Jeb Dunnuck
All these Pinots from Copain are a concentrated ruby color with a pinkish hue. The 2021 Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast is ripe with wild raspberry, fresh herbs, and pressed flowers. Medium bodied and attractive, with good structure, the palate opens to crunchy fruit with mixed berries, fresh earth, and a floral flourish on the finish. It’s a solid wine to drink over the next several years.
Winemaker Wells Guthrie believes that quality starts with the vineyard. In pursuit of this, Copaín has created and will continue to seek relationships with growers who are committed to what they believe are the key attributes necessary to produce world class wines: vineyard exposition, clonal selections, and dedication to organic farming practices.
In the tradition of great regional village wines from France Wells also produces a series of wine under Copain's Saisons des Vins program. Wines comes from the great regional village wines of France. There are four wines, one for each season of the year. the Varietals are chosen to coincide with the climate and cuisine associated with each. The Rose is for Spring (les printemps) when the weather starts to warm and the picnics begin. The Viognier (formerly Sauvignon Blanc) is crisp and clean for the hot Summer (l'ete) months to accompany the cool salads and dining al fresco. The cooling days of Autumn (l'automne) bring all the earthy fall dishes that call for the perfect Pinot Noir. Finally, Winter (l'hiver), with its cold days beckon for hearty fare and a rich warming Syrah.
In October, 2004, Copain was named "Most Promising New Winery" in the annual Wine Issue of Food & Wine Magazine. Wells was quoted as saying, "I'm trying to keep one foot here and one in the Rhône, to make wines that hem in the ripe fruit we get here and have the elegance of great European wines."
The Sonoma Coast AVA is large in area but, not counting overlapping regions like Russian River Valley, only has a few thousand acres of grapevines—and it’s no wonder. Much of the region is rugged and not easily accessible. Its proximity to the Pacific Ocean’s fog and cool breezes limits the varieties that can be cultivated, but it proves to be an ideal environment for high quality Pinot Noir.
Since fog is a frequent fact of life here, as are heavy marine layers that sometimes bring rain, the best vineyards are wisely planted above the fog line, on picturesque ridges that capture enough sun to provide even ripening. That, with the overnight drop in temperature that reliably preserves acidity, results in fine expressions of Pinot Noir that often receive tremendous critic and consumer praise alike, and are often in high demand.