2005 Copain - Roussanne & Thompson Syrah

• 2005 Copain Roussanne James Berry Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles (11/18/2017)
  This was never a great wine but in its youth the wine was enjoyable despite the lack of acidity. Now it is an over oxidized mess. Probably not meant to be aged like this but it was one of those bottles that got lost in the cellar. (64 pts.)
  
  
• 2005 Copain Syrah Thompson Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County (11/14/2017)
  Wow. So it has been 9 years since I have popped a bottle of this and the wait was worth it. The 2005 is really hitting a great stride. Still power focused with great balance. Blue and black fruits. When young, this wine was dominated by the stems. Now everything is integrated and is an amazing example of a big Santa Barbara syrah. Full bodied and medium acid. Yum. (94 pts.)

Cheers,

Jason

[David M. Bueker]

Doesn't Larry (Tercero) always talk about Roussanne being this grape with long aging potential?

[Jenise]

I'm amused by your 64 pt score. When a wine's that bad I don't think I bother to try to quantify exactly how bad it is. Unfit to drink? 79.

Doesn't Larry (Tercero) always talk about Roussanne being this grape with long aging potential?

Yup, David...Larry does. As does TomHill/BobLindquist/JasonHaas....and others. But Roussane can become overripe and make an underacid wine that falls apart pretty fast. This JamesBerry was one such.
But a Qupe or a TablasCreek or a WhiteHermitage can easily go 10 yrs because it has decent acidity.
Tom

I'm amused by your 64 pt score. When a wine's that bad I don't think I bother to try to quantify exactly how bad it is. Unfit to drink? 79.

Hah. For me it was unfit to drink. Wanted to quantify so as to contrast with the syrah. To be fair, my neighbor liked the wine and actually took it home. To be fair again, she had a raging cold and probably could taste or smell the wine

Jason

Doesn't Larry (Tercero) always talk about Roussanne being this grape with long aging potential?

Yup, David...Larry does. As does TomHill/BobLindquist/JasonHaas....and others. But Roussane can become overripe and make an underacid wine that falls apart pretty fast. This JamesBerry was one such.
But a Qupe or a TablasCreek or a WhiteHermitage can easily go 10 yrs because it has decent acidity.
Tom

Interesting. I've had old and young white Hermitage that were wonderful but I didn't think they were 100% Roussanne. Also IIRC, the price was out of wack. I have to say, I think Roussanne may be the only grape that has never done anything for me. When by itself that is. And then I consider the price Maybe I'll check out a Tablas or Qupe.

Jason