Saturday, May 16, 2009

2006 Copain Roussanne, James Berry Vineyard, Paso Robles

From their website: Bees wax, lemon curd and fennel pollen aromas are pure and full on the nose. Crisp acidity buttresses the waxy roussanne character and keeps the zesty pear and lychee flavors lively on the palate. A beautifully seamless finish is long and pure with long lingering honeycomb like flavors.

The vineyard is located in Westside Paso Robles out Hwy 46 about 12 miles from the ocean and Hearst Castle, as a crow flies. The proximity to the ocean helps regulate the high temperatures often associated with Paso Robles and is further aided by tremendous diurnal temperature variations. Peak temperatures can reach the low 100-degree range yet dive into the low 50s at night, allowing for the vines to recover. These large temperature fluctuations between high and low create a very desirable "sugar to acid ratio". This, coupled with the high-lime, calcareous soils which do not allow for a lot of potassium absorption, keep pHs lower, even at elevated sugar levels, resulting in ripe fruity wines with a balanced underlying acidity. This vineyard's attributes aid in my syrah winemaking technique of including 50% to 100% whole cluster, dependant on vintage.Very small production winery in Paso dedicated to making organic single vineyard wines that are true to the varietal characteristics.

Aromas: lemon cream pie, white flowers, orange dreamsicle, fennel, beeswax
Body: Medium
Color: Straw Yellow

Eat with: spring pea pancakes, shaved carrots, yellow beets, pea shoots & carrot-ginger beurre blanc

http://www.copainwines.com/alt/Copain_Wine_Cellars/Home.html