Thanks to a very capable tour guide, I was able to visit a few coveted wineries in the beautiful Russian River Valley, a sub-AVA of Sonoma County – Copain, Rochioli, and DuMOL. It was a serious departure from my earlier impromptu Napa visit and included tastes of wines that are strictly offered via allocation to restaurants and mailing list buyers.

Copain focuses on producing wine expressive of its vineyard site, all located in the Northern Coast, Paso Robles and Santa Barbara. They shy away from overly extracted and overly oaked styles with unreasonable alcohol. Drew started us off with the Roussanne, moved into a flight of Pinot Noirs, a GSM Rhone blend and finished with a few Syrahs. The Pinot Noirs were fantastic (my favourite being the ‘07 Wentzel from Anderson Valley), yet for me, Copain’s truest skill lies in Syrah. Of the four we tasted, we both agreed on the ’07 Baker’s Ranch Syrah, another Anderson Valley vineyard, as being the most captivating. This wine had the most white peppered nose of any non-Rhone Syrah I’ve tasted. The pepper is followed up with herbaceous notes and tons of soft dark purple fruit. The weight is perfect in that medium+ range without being obnoxious and the price is a very reasonable $35 at the winery.

Rochioli, well hidden off a winding valley road, was stop number two. The tasting room sits surrounded by 149 acres of vines, and has an incredible view of the Russian River Valley. We tried three of their current releases, all from estate fruit: the ’09 Sauvignon Blanc, a very bright, green and lean wine with a creamy finish ($26); ’08 Chardonnay, which was fine, but not overly unique in any way ($36); and the ’08 Pinot Noir, which was a light, subtle and very pretty style ($48). The Pinot Noir was definitely my favourite, with its bright, clean cherry red fruit and velvety texture. It wasn’t bogged down with oak, and had a very interesting malty/oaty character in the finish that I’ve never noticed before. Great Pinot.

Finally, we headed over to the fortress of DuMOL, where we met the owner Kerry, sampled from barrels and tried their new releases in the winery’s lab. It was quite a contrast from Copain’s country cottage-style tasting room, yet fun nonetheless.

The majority of their fruit comes from the Green Valley, which is a Russian River Valley sub-AVA, located off to the west and is one of the coolest areas in Sonoma County. Their focus is on Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, with some Syrah and Viognier as well. These wines all have impressive power and intensity to them. The Chardonnays are incredibly rich and vibrant with my standout being the ’07 Chloe Chardonnay from Russian River Valley. Slightly smokey, tons of minerality, and plenty of good oak (which because of the wine’s intensity, isn’t overbearing). This is great Chardonnay that would sell for somewhere in the $70 range.

I found the Pinot Noirs encroaching on hedonistic side of the scale, and though not usually my style of Pinot, were quite impressive. The ’07 Ryan Pinot Noir revolved around black and blue fruit – black raspberries and blueberries with loads of baking spice. A medium body wine with some obvious tannins. Still an infant, this wine need some time to be alone and calm down a little bit. I see great things from it in 4 or 5 years. I believe the release price of the Ryan is again around $60-$70, but word is that it’s sometimes marked up four times that on Bay Area restaurant lists.

Three top-notch wineries, all bringing something different to the table. I’m left with a bit of a crush on Copain and can’t wait to taste more from them.