Wine & Spirits - Winter 2016 - 38

TOP 100 WINERIES 2016

A RTISAN

Cobb

A RTISAN

Copain
Founded: 2001
Owner/winemaker: Ross Cobb
Viticulturist: David Cobb
Acres owned: 14
Annual production: 1,800 cases
Estate grown: 50%
Location: Occidental, CA
Website: cobbwines.com

Ross Cobb

Founded: 1999
Winemaker/viticulturist:
Wells Guthrie
Owner: Jackson Family Wines
Acres owned: 6
Annual production: 20,000 cases
Estate grown: 10%
Location: Healdsburg, CA
Website: copainwines.com

Wells Guthrie

Normally, it's Ross Cobb's Coastlands pinot noirs-from a cool hillside vineyard
his parents planted in 1989-that bring our tasting panels to their feet. This
year, it was a collection of beautiful 2013s from his growers near the coast.

Wells Guthrie once made wines that earned praise for their weight and intensity. His more recent pinot noirs and syrahs head in a different direction, presenting cool-climate California with brightness and elegance.

True Coast: The "Sonoma Coast" is a massive appellation that
includes most of the Russian River Valley and parts of Sonoma Valley
and Carneros in addition to far-coast ridge-top sites, all of which differ markedly in both soil and climate. How, then, to make sense of it?
Spend a moment with Ross Cobb's 2013 Jack Hill Pinot Noir-from
a tiny terraced vineyard surrounded on all sides by conifer forest-
and you'll quickly be distracted from the political and geographical
complexities of the appellation. It's the kind of wine that stops you
in your tracks not with overt power, but with aromatic lift, textural
grace and remarkable persistence. You might think of the sweet
scent of pink-and-yellow roses, or the brightness of farmers' market
strawberries, or the leafy complexity of oolong tea. But stop thinking
already, and just enjoy the effortless beauty of coastal Sonoma fruit
at its best.

Sea Change: "They're just undrinkable to my current palate-candied
and sappy," says Wells Guthrie about some of his own 2002s that he
revisited recently. Around 2006, he began to feel that his wines didn't
have the staying power of the Burgundies and Northern Rhône reds
that he held in high regard. He started picking earlier, and accelerated his move toward Mendocino County vineyards that benefit from
a cooling coastal influence. These days, his wines are reliably firm
and refreshing, sometimes shy on release but often aging well, stepping on the gas just as many other bottlings from the same vintage
are starting to flag.

Down the Road: Most of Ross Cobb's vineyard sources are located in
the Freestone-Occidental Hills. Rice-Spivak is the outlier, set further inland in the lower Sebastopol Hills. Still, it's buffeted
by wind and fog from the Petaluma Gap, and ripens at the
same time as his other sites. The 2013 Rice-Spivak is as
high-toned as its pale ruby color would suggest, lasting on
airy aromas of hibiscus and rooibos tea and fine-grained
structure. The 2013 Emmaline Ann, from a vineyard not
far from Jack Hill, feels simpler right now but is similarly
pretty-a silky, floral pleasure.
A White Among Reds: In 2013, Ross Cobb dipped his toe
back into chardonnay, which he made at Flowers and
Hirsch, bottling 30 cases from the Mariani Vineyard
(good luck finding it). Now there's a new seven-acre
chardonnay site in the works near Rice-Spivak, and
there may be more Cobb chardonnay to go around
after the young vines start producing fruit next year.
Stay tuned. -L.S.

TOP-SCORING WINES

Rhôneward Bound: Before Guthrie turned to winemaking, when he
was working as a tasting coordinator at Wine Spectator, he fell hard
for Northern Rhône wines from producers like Trollat, Jamet and
Clape. He landed an internship at Chapoutier, and when he began
making his own wine back in California, syrah was central to his
vision. He now draws on three vineyards in the rugged hills of Yorkville Highlands, between Sonoma County and Anderson
Valley, to make his Les Voisins Syrah. The vineyards'
schist-based soils grew impressive fruit in 2012 and 2013,
wines with wild hillside aromas and black, stony tannins
that will reward aging.
Going Major: Earlier this year, Wells Guthrie sold Copain
to Jackson Family Wines. Some in the trade expressed
disappointment, much like indie music fans who fret
when their favorite band signs with a major label.
Guthrie, though, points out that Jackson Family owns
a number of vineyards right in his wheelhouse, including Maggy Hawk, a pinot site planted on Anderson
Valley's cool Deep End. He'll be working with fruit
from that vineyard in 2016, while cherry-picking from
other vineyards that Jackson Family owns and farms,
including Skycrest, in Anderson Valley's eastern hills,
and Wild Ridge, in the forests of Annapolis. -L.S.

TOP-SCORING WINES

95 '13 Sonoma Coast Jack Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir $75 (10/16)

93 '13 Yorkville Highlands Les Voisins Syrah $36 (4/16)

92 '13 Sonoma Coast Rice-Spivak Vineyard Pinot Noir $70 (10/16)

92 '12 Yorkville Highlands Les Voisins Syrah $36 (4/16)

89 '13 Sonoma Coast Emmaline Ann Vyd. Pinot Noir $75 (10/16)

90 '13 Anderson Valley Wendling Pinot Noir $60 (4/16)

WINE & SPIRITS

BUYING GUIDE 2017

http://www.cobbwines.com http://www.copainwines.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - Winter 2016