2010 Copain Syrah Baker Ranch

The 2010 Syrah Baker emerges from the glass with sweet red cherries, flowers, spices, black olives, licorice and tobacco. Expressive varietal notes add considerable complexity to the fruit. The Baker remains understated and medium bodied, very much in keeping with the personality of the year here. The Baker was vinified with 75% whole clusters and aged in 600-liter barrels.

The 2010 Syrah Baker emerges from the glass with sweet red cherries, flowers, spices, black olives, licorice and tobacco. Expressive varietal notes add considerable complexity to the fruit. The Baker remains understated and medium bodied, very much in keeping with the personality of the year. The Baker was vinified with 75% whole clusters and aged in 600-liter barrels. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2018. This set of wines from Copain and proprietor Wells Guthrie was among the most exciting I tasted from Sonoma this year. Guthrie has decided to release his 2010 Pinots before his 2009s, as he thinks the 2010s will drink better earlier, owing to their mid-weight structures. Unfortunately, I was not able to taste the 2010 Pinots, as they had just been bottled at press time. The Pinots are made with fully de-stemmed fruit and are aged in French oak barrels, approximately 25% new. Guthrie uses 50-100% whole clusters for his Syrahs. These are some of the most refined, subtle wines being made in Sonoma today. Stylistically, the wines are a bit more restrained than they have been in the past, as the fruit is now being picked around 23 Brix as opposed to 24 or 24.5, as was the norm a few years back. Guthrie describes 2009 as a cool vintage with a late set but otherwise even ripening for both Pinot and Syrah, with no late rains during the final phase of ripening. Vintage 2010 was much more challenging. Rain and very cold weather were pretty much a constant the entire year. Frost, rain during flowering and a cold summer lowered yields dramatically. Achieving full ripeness was much more of a challenge in 2010 and some of the wines were lightly chaptalized. Tel. (707) 541-7474

Aged all in demi-muid and fermented with 50% whole cluster, the 2010 Copain Syrah Baker Ranch shows the difficulty of the vintage with zingy aromas of blackberry, cranberry, violet, stem, and underlying bramble that gives way to a medium-bodied, lightly textured, and acid driven palate. Despite the leanness here, the acidity is well integrated and this has a delicious, 'drink me now' style that will be loved by old-school northern Rhone aficionados. It should be consumed over the coming 4-6 years.