The Wine
I'm not going to write too much here, because I received a microscopic allocation of this wine, and it would be cruel to tease... This half bottle is the perfect wine to serve while making dinner, even if its high-ish price means you'll reserve it for the preparation of a rather special dinner. You know, like just about any weekend.
The Winery
So much to tell, so little space! First, this is one of the few woman-owned wineries in France, and second, it is among some of the best grower-producers that avoid creating a perrenially consistent "House Style" in favor of producing a wine that reflects the uniqueness of the vintage(s) used in its creation. The N.V. wines typically consist of 50% - 70% reserve wines made and stored without any new oak. By limiting the juice used for their wines to the highest quality (free-run and first pressing), they get just 400 pounds of juice from every 2,000 pounds of grapes! They are also known for using minimal dosage (added sweetness prior to bottling) and even that is unflavored so as not to bring any foreign flavors to their product.
The winery was started by Marie's father in 1975, when he was working for Taittinger and selling the family fruit to Moët. Marie now runs the winery while her husband, Alexandre Kowal, brings winemaking prowess and together they pursue an insatiable curiosity to test every way possible to produce a better wine with each release. For example, they were among the world's first customers for an egg-shaped stainless steel fermenter, used to provide continual and gentle lees stirring to add a rich softness to their fermented wines, which are crisp enough to be gracefully cellar-worthy.
The total annual production for Copinet is 5,500 cases. Copinets consistently earn 90+ points from those who award such things.
