Copain "Tous Ensemble" Mendocino County Syrah 2012

Pierpaolo Petrassi MW

Master of Wine; Head of Beer, Wine & Spirits Waitrose

Lovely Rhône Ranger style with enough tempting black pepper to be Syrah but within the velvety & fresh structure which is cool California.

Eric Egan

Yes, that is a full size wine bottle. The glasses were insane: Italian hand-blown 1950s lead crystal with >2 litre capacity. Had I not known their history I would have thought they were novelty glasses; you can fit most of your face in them... The wine was good - very forward and atypical of Syrah. Dense purple; almost Beaujolais-like meaty, richly fruity nose full of plumbs and ripe blueberry compote; furnished with healthy acidity but relatively low on tannin. Not very long and won't get any better but a very pleasant early-drinking wine!

Perry Riddle

A more feminine style of syrah. Floral and pretty. Pinot-like in a way.

Neil Barham

This will make you order Syrah more often

Eric Grasser

Great cool climate Syrah for immediate drinking

R. Addison Wehrfritz

Decent aromatics but leaves much to be desired in terms of mouthfeel. Lacks any semblance of mid palate definition and remains hollow and thin even after decanting for 1hr+. Not bad, but not worth the price point.

Blaine Brown

What a shocker, beautiful and not the fruit bomb we've come to expect from CA Syrah.

Willie Carter

The first thing that jumps out at you is the color. Stunning bright ruby red with translucent cherry undertones. Such pretty floral aromatics on the nose, along with plums and black olives. Light, lean, and showing a remarkable purity, this is indeed Northern Rhone inspired but it’s all Mendocino. On the palate, raspberries, subtle strawberries, and funk. This wine has beautiful, beautiful funk going on. The oak presence becomes more prevalent as time goes by, but in respectable amounts. Despite the thinness of the wine, this is absolutely a winner. At sub $25 it’s very hard to beat.

Andrew

Oak, earth, and dark fruit on nose. Deep juicy taste. Super clean; not spicy. Long finish. Delicious and smooth. Great concentration of flavor without being overdone. Not particularly complex, but not a single undesirable attribute. Exceedingly drinkable.

Tim Hinck

2012 - Another surprise from this blind tasting was this Syrah that had me fooled as old-world garnacha. Not a fruit bomb, this is a wine with Euro elegance and some structure.