I promised myself I wasn’t going to talk or write about a wine I discovered a few weeks ago. I wanted to keep it to myself so that when my finances improve a bit--there’s always the next book advance to anticipate--I’ll be able to snag a case or two.
But I can’t resist.
It has been a long time since I found a pinot noir that reminded me why I wrote a feisty little article entitled “Sex and a Single Grape” a number of years ago (more than a decade before “Sideways”). There has been a tendency among California winemakers to make dark inky overextracted pinot noirs. For one thing, they get more attention from the dudes who slap number and star ratings on wines. For another, they appeal to the market segment that prefers fruit bombs, the big and often high alcohol zins and syrahs and cabs that dominate the market.
One winemaker who will go unnamed even brags that his goal is the cabernization of pinot noir.
If I were queen of the universe, this would be illegal.
I am one of a few lone voices--Kermit Lynch is another and he has way more power and visibility than I do--making a plea for sanity, for honoring the true nature of this varietal. There hasn’t been much of it out there for a while.   There have been good pinot noirs, certainly, but none that I would call a reason for living.
Along comes Copeland Creek 2005 Pinot Noir. It is delicate, ephemeral and ethereal, with plenty of what I have come to call the pinot thing.
The pinot thing is the essence of pinot noir, the pinessence, if you will. It is unique to this varietal and it is as much an aroma as it is a taste. It is impossible to accurately describe it but once you’ve experienced it, you understand. And you want more. Lots more.
But when pinot noir is overextracted, the pinot thing is lost. If the alcohol is too high, the pinot thing is lost. It’s a sad thing, all those wasted grapes.
Don Baumhefner is a tender shepherd of this wily grape. Unfortunately, the 2005 will likely be the last vintage of Copeland Creek. The owner of the vineyard died and the new owners will take it in another direction.
Fortunately for lovers of true pinot noir, Don was able to buy back what remained of the vintages he made. Last I heard, he had about 800 cases of the 2005 pinot noir, which he sells for $27 a bottle. It is one of the best bargains around. He doesn’t have a web site but you can reach him at donbaumhefner@hotmail.com
This wine is one of the most food friendly wines around. You can enjoy it with almost anything at all. 

Michele Anna Jordan