Copain Viognier, 2009 Tous Ensemble, Mendocino County

Copain Wine Cellars was founded in 1999 by Wells Guthrie and Kevin McQuown with just 200 cases of Pinot from Dennison Vineyard in Anderson Valley. Wells started his career working at the Wine Spectator’s San Francisco office as a tasting coordinator. It was during these first few years that he fell in love with Syrah and moved to the Northern Rhone. Wells worked for Chapoutier for two seasons in both the winery and vineyards learning about the Northern Rhone varietals and Biodynamics. Outside of Chapoutier, Wells spent as much time as he could with Jean Louis Chave, who he feels had an equally important impact upon his experiences in the Rhone. Following Chapoutier, Wells returned to work at Turley Wine Cellars working in both the vineyards and cellar. Today, Wells is the full-time owner and winemaker for Copain Wine Cellars.

Wells Guthrie has taken his Northern Rhone training and appreciation of Northern California's gentle ripening seasons to new heights in his recently assembled winery in Healdsburg. All of the vineyards are organically farmed, as Wells states, "As winemakers we are just custodians of that fruit allowing for the reflection of the site, varietal and vintage." Minimum intervention and organic farming practices allows Copain wines to display the natural balance of flora and fauna inherent in each site to impact the developing vine, fruit and finally the wine. The project is all about balance and elegance, which is achieved on their vineyard-designate wines as well as their multiple vineyard "Tous Ensemble" label.

 

For their first release of "Tous Ensemble" (French for "all together") the Viognier grapes were sourced from McDowell Valley Vineyards in Mendocino County.  However, the third release may just be its last as noted by the winemaker because of difficulty in vineyard commitments.

Copain's 2009 Viognier has captured the classic Viognier aromatics and flavors of fresh apricots, honeysuckle, as well as green papaya, Meyer lemons, apricots, Granny Smiths and hints of honey and fresh flowers (not as floral as most California Viogniers). This pale, lemon-colored wine is light and racy, avoiding the weighty, waxy nature of overly ripe Viognier and is a great white for those looking to enjoy the aromatic headiness of the varietal but with a medium-bodied palate with balanced acidity and a medium-length creamy finish.

Copain is dedicated to producing top-quality vineyard designated wines that are complex, varietally correct, and food friendly without being heavy handed. Winemaker Wells Guthrie believes that quality starts with the vineyard. In pursuit of this, Copaín has created and will continue to seek relationships with growers who are committed to what they believe are the key attributes necessary to produce world class wines: vineyard exposition, clonal selections, and dedication to organic farming practices.

Grapes are night-picked to maintain cold temperatures and whole cluster pressed once they arrive at the winery. This ideology is applied at the winery, where all fermentations occur with native yeast and the goal is to gently extract the flavors given from the vineyard with minimal intervention by replacing punch downs with pumping over just once a day to avoid any hard physical extraction, and using a maximum of 30 percent new French oak. Picking with lower potential alcohols over the past few vintages has let the purity and expression of each site shine: naturally keeping the wines lower in alcohol has resulted in retaining a brighter, more lively acidity and freshness on the palate making the wines more enjoyable with food.  The wine is stainless steel fermented and lightly filtered before bottling.

The Mendocino County AVA (American Viticultural Area) is located in the northernmost part of the North Coast AVA in California. The region, which is one of the state's largest wine-growing areas, is recognized for both its diversity and the quality of its grapes. Viticulture here dates back to the mid-1800s, following the California Gold Rush. As in so many US states, the wine industry was virtually destroyed by Prohibition.  

Located directly north of Sonoma County and about 90 miles north of San Francisco, the Mendocino wine region is bounded by California's Coastal Mountain Range, the Pacific Ocean and the great northern redwood forests. A mountainous region, it is part of the seismically active Coast Range and is also the place where the San Andreas Fault reaches the ocean. Almost 60 percent of the county is blanketed with coniferous forests.

Nearly all Mendocino vineyards are in the southern half of the county, which is divided into two distinct climatic zones by the Mendocino Range. Most of the vineyards are located in the inland valleys in the south and east areas of the region. The vineyards growing white wine grape varieties are located on flood plains and alluvium along the Navarro and Russian Rivers. Most of the red varieties are grown on the bench lands above. However, new areas for winemaking are being discovered further north where there are distinctive microclimates suited to growing grapes.

Wines from this region are often considered to be excellent value for money as they are not as well known as those from other parts of California. Land prices are also lower than further south. Many winemakers concentrate on growing organic grapes, with nearly 20% of the county's total production certified as organically grown – more than any other wine region in California.

Baxter Carignan, 2006 Caballo Blanco, Mendocino

One of  best kept secrets in Mendocino County is the many vineyards of old-vine Carignan scattered among the newer plantings.  The Caballo Blanco Vineyard is a prime example of the terrific quality of fruit found in these unique forgotten vineyards.  Nestled on the gentle slope leading up from Robinson Creek in a small valley near Ukiah, these vines are nearly 70 years old. Aldis and Nancy Baltins show their commitment to the quality of the vineyard by dry-farming and using Organic practices to enhance the terroir and intensity of these old vines.

Known for bright red fruit and high acidity, Carignan is typically used in its Southern Rhône birthplace to enhance blends.  However, with natural low yields and balance that come with age, the Caballo Blanco Carignan produces a wine of immense depth and flavor from this nearly forgotten varietal.  The nose is powerful and intricate with aromas of rose petal, Violets, cherry syrup, tobacco leaf.  Equally as intense, the mouth is layered with black cherry, raspberry, plum, and cola.  A rich round mouthfeel, balanced with bright fruit and acidity, give this wine the duality of being enjoyable young as well as the ability to age.  (from their website)

In 2002, two generations of our family came together to create BAXTER, highlighting the very best in North Coast viticulture. Winemakers by trade, Phil Baxter Senior and Phil Baxter Junior, produce handcrafted single vineyard wines focusing on the Anderson Valley and surrounding Mendocino appellations.

Known primarily for their Pinot Noir, the pair combine over fifty years of experience, producing wines naturally, applying instinct and using old-world techniques. Together, father and son strive to craft wines with the greatest expression of ‘terroir’ and purity of fruit, reflecting the unique identity of each vineyard source. The Baxter family purchased 24 acres on Greenwood Ridge about ten years ago, and the first thing they did was put in a winery. This is noteworthy because it’s not often that someone would buy property and outfit the winery before planting grapes. But the Baxters have a long tenure of winemaking. Phil’s father, also named Phillip has been in the wine business in Napa Valley for nearly 40 years. He first worked at Krug and then Souverain when it was in Napa and he helped start Rutherford Hill Winery, where he was chief winemaker for ten years. Phil, Sr. has had his own brand Philippe-Lorraine in Napa Valley since 1989. Phil, Jr. grew up in vineyards.

The Baxter’s entree into Mendocino County came when they leased the Mendocino Hill vineyard on Old River Road south of Ukiah. About ten years ago the Baxters found this lovely spot with a 120 year old farmhouse and a 1400-square foot redwood building.

Phil, Jr. studied winemaking at the University of California at Davis. He is Influenced by the flavors of  the Northern Rhone and Cote Roti,” says Phil, “I let the wines make themselves as much as possible.” For the most part Phil ferments the grapes on their natural yeasts and leaves the wines unfined and unfiltered. He wants to take advantage of the grapes from each vineyard and “let nature do its thing, allowing the individual fruit characteristics to shine.” Baxter makes about 3000 cases of handcrafted wines

Carignane is a grape that originated in Spain and was later transplanted to the New World. Carignane is predominately used in blending with Grenache, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Mourvedre, and Merlot. This grape is noted for high alcohol, high tannins, and a deep purple color.