Coplan The Chairman Red Blend Sonoma Valley 2018

If you close your eyes and picture quintessential California wine country, you're probably dreaming up a scene that resembles Coplan Vineyards. Luscious vines with plump clusters of grapes fill the landscape, wildflowers bloom between rows of vegetables, fruit trees are ripe for picking, and the olive tree grove boasts over 100 trees. The Coplans renovated their rural farmhouse in 2013 to modernize the aesthetics and, more importantly, to install the first permitted gray water irrigation system in Sonoma and a fully solar-powered electric grid for the home. The Coplan family refers to their small oasis as "Coplandia," a tongue-in-cheek nickname about their family's "purist farming practices" and joking nature. It's easy living at Coplan Vineyards, and now, with a debut wine label, it's easy drinking, too.  

After a decade of selling grapes to top Sonoma producers, the owners of Coplan set out, like many longtime winegrowers, to make a name for themselves by crafting wine from the precious fruit they farm each harvest.  Despite the penchant to plant mostly Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in the Carneros region, the Coplans believe their prized parcel at the base of the Mayacamas is also wonderfully suited for Bordeaux varietals. A winning triad of loamy-clay soils, warm daytime temperatures, and cooling breezes from the bay at night create exceptional growing conditions for the vines.  Their oldest plot of Cabernet Sauvignon dates back to the 1940s, and to complement these heritage vines, they planted an additional 1.25 acres in 2019. With their Cabernet Sauvignon vines, 1.75 acres of Chardonnay, and fruit from trusted fellow small Sonoma growers, the Coplans create exclusive, small-lot wines showcasing the best growers of Sonoma Valley.

Coplan Vineyards made only 125 cases of the 2018 Chairman, a blend of the Coplan old-vine Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot from the Wildwood Ranch.  The wine is aged in 40% new French oak barrels and emulates its name with powerful, austere aromatics.  Waves of Cognac mingle with fresh tobacco leaves and black cherry on the nose, giving way to notes of tea leaves, blackberry jam, and crushed rose on the palate.  Balanced acidity freshens each sip while round, chewy tannins provide weight and linger through the finish.  Pour a glass of the 2018 Chairman and sit on your porch while the sun sets.  If you close your eyes and take a sip, you'll transport yourself to Sonoma Valley and the mesmerizing ways of "Coplandia."