2007 Treasure Hunter Wines Petite Sirah The Sweet Trade

2008 Bedrock Syrah Pleine de Chene Hudson Vineyard North

2007 Copain Syrah Tous Ensemble

2007 Treasure Hunter Wines Petite Sirah The Sweet Trade – $16.90

My comments

I’ve been a big fan of the wines being churned out by this Négociant winery. This winery owns no vineyards and actually isn’t really a winery, in the normal sense. They buy “wine” from other wineries that have excess. Usually the wine is in barrels, but on occasion they buy the wine after it has been bottled. The winery generally does some blending if needed, bottle the wine, and send it on its way to customers around the country. For the wine lovers, this generally means getting a quality bottle of wine for far less than it would have cost if it was sold by the original winery.

This has 14.5% alcohol and is sealed with a natural cork.

Winery history

Each Treasure Hunter wine goes through a pain-staking process of examination from our panel of nine called The De-Vine Nine. Made up of top sommeliers, winemakers and restaurateurs, they are the best of the best and they pour through hundreds of wines before they are deemed worthy.

Each wine is a small one-time offering and represents an extraordinary opportunity to drink seminal wines of great importance.

My Tasting Note

The wine is a deep, dark purple color. The soft and friendly nose has blackberry jam, baking spices, licorice, violets, dark bittersweet chocolate, white pepper, and a touch of forest floor. This has medium body, moderate ripe tannins, and nice acidity. The palate has jammy fruit and spice with a bit of earthiness and oak creeping in on the back end. The finish has decent length with a touch of dark chocolate entering the picture. I don’t think this is one to keep for several years in the cellar, open this one over the next few years and enjoy the rich fruit. (88 pts)

2007 Treasure Hunter Wines Petite Sirah The Sweet Trade

2008 Bedrock Syrah Pleine de Chene Hudson Vineyard North – $39.00

In the 2008 vintage Bedrock treated us with three different styles of wine using Syrah grapes from the Hudson Vineyard in Napa’s Carneros region.

Wine #1) Whole Cluster

Fruit from the famous Hudson Vineyard was fermented using 80% whole clusters. The wine was then pressed straight to a neutral 600 Liter Demi-Muid made from French oak where it remained for 20 months. This wine was inspired by the old-school efforts of Clape, Allemand, and Verset.

Wine #2) Cofermented

This wine was co-fermented with 5% Viognier and then aged on lees in 100% new oak from particularly finessed and tight-grained barrels for 20 months. Made like new-wave Cote-Rotie, this wine is inspired by the brilliant efforts of Gaillard, Gerin, and the La-Las.

Wine #3) This wine, Pleine de Chene

This wine was fermented in new puncheons and barrels. Following completion of fermentation the wine was barreled down to 100% new French oak from particularly high-impact coopers. This is, by far, the most “new world” of the three wines, inspired by new-wave wines of Australia and the Rhone. More oak, more alcohol, more fruit, more everything!

As is usually the case, these wines were extremely limited. For the three wines combined, total production was a measly 230 cases. Luckily I was able to get a few bottles of each wine. Last year I had the “Cofermented” version but it was WAY too young to properly evaluate. I look forward to enjoying these “experiments” over the next several years.

This has 15.1% alcohol and is sealed with a natural cork.

My Tasting Note

The wine is a deep ruby color. The savory nose has blackberries, charred meat, black olives, smoke, licorice, black pepper, bacon, violets, and dark bittersweet chocolate. This full bodied wine has solid tannins and good acidity. On the palate berries, pepper, and meat jump out first, slowly allowing smoke and olives to slip through. The finish is fairly long and leans heavily on the savory elements with the berries in the background providing some needed sweetness. On the young side but very tasty, even in its youth. (94 pts)

2008 Bedrock Syrah Pleine de Chene Hudson Vineyard North

2007 Copain Syrah Tous Ensemble – $25.00

This was Copain’s effort to put out a value priced, mid-level, appellation branded level of wines. The Copain Tous Ensemble line up has grown to now include Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Roussanne, Viognier, and a Rosé. In my opinion, the Copain Tous Ensemble lineup offers stunning quality for the price. I’ve had and greatly enjoyed multiple vintages of the Syrah, Pinot Noir, and the Rosé. I believe these wines have some distribution, I highly recommend grabbing a bottle to sample if you see one on your local wine store’s shelf.

This Syrah is a blend of grapes from Alder Springs, Eaglepoint Ranch, Hawks Butte and McDowellValley vineyards in MendocinoCounty.

This has 14.2% alcohol and is sealed with a natural cork.

Winery history

Wells Guthrie discovered early on that his taste in wine gravitated toward Europe in general and France’s Rhône Valley in particular. So much so, he picked up and moved with his new bride to the region to learn from the best. For two years, Wells apprenticed for esteemed winemaker and living legend Michel Chapoutier in France’s Rhone Valley. During that time, Wells was deeply inspired by the traditions and practices of French winemaking, not to mention the European attitude that wine is an essential part of life. At Copain, he creates wines that are firmly rooted in California, yet with the sensibilities of the European wines that so moved him. He is as committed to crafting these elegant, nuanced wines as he is to building a legacy that will be passed down to his daughters in the great tradition of European winemakers whose estates have been in the same family for generations.

For more information on Copain, visit their website by clicking here.

My Tasting Note

The wine is a nice garnet color. The easy going and comforting nose has blackberries, red raspberries, minerals, warm baking spices, black pepper, smoked meat, vanilla, and fresh wild flowers. This has medium body, soft integrated tannins, and very nice acidity. The palate is lead by mineral laden fruit, black pepper, and a meaty element. The finish has nice length and adds a touch of dark chocolate. This is in its prime drinking window and I’d recommend opening this one over the next year. (90 pts)

2007 Copain Syrah Tous Ensemble

Connect with me

You can follow me on Twitter for more wine info, potential food pairings, and an occasional recipe or two. Be warned, I’m also a sports fan and there are occasional Pittsburgh Penguins, Steelers, and Pirates tweets. I attended the University of South Carolina, so during football season, there will also be some Gamecock posts.

If you like this post, consider joining Cliffs Wine Picks Wine Blog on Facebook and giving me a Like.

Cheers!

* Shameless Self Promotion *

Here is a link to a YouTube video of me getting “coal” from Santa for being named the “Nicest Person in Social Media” in 2012.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOvQTeGR3-c

Breaking news from Klout:

Remember to support your local wine store!

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Notes – I use the “official” Cellar Tracker name for the wines. I use Cellar Tracker to help manage and organize my cellar. I highly recommend checking it out at www.cellartracker.com. Loading you existing cellar is a lot less intimidating than it would first appear. There is a good chance 99% of your wine is already in the system, so you generally only need to enter part of the wine’s name and the system will find it for you.

Prices noted are the prices I paid at the time of purchase. I don’t shop around to find the best prices, but my local store is usually VERY competitive. I generally get case discounts, and since I work there part time, I get a 5% discount. Wines purchased direct from a winery do not include any shipping charges. None of the prices include the sales tax.

All wines that were sent to me free of charge to sample will be noted and I will show suggested prices when available.