“What’s great about this is that it’s good wine,” Leamy says. In a cocktail class with Cooper & Thief ambassador and acclaimed bartender Elliott Clark, the Red Blend plays a vital role in an Old Fashioned comprised of one ounce of High West Bourbon, one ounce of Remy Martin cognac, two dashes of orange and Angostura bitters, and a quarter-ounce of the wine. As the base for a mid-afternoon sangria on ice, the wine lends complexity and depth. As a base for a remixed Margarita, Cooper & Thief’s wine surprises without disturbing the long-held profile of the popular drink. After three months inside, the white wine adopts those flavors and contrasts them with toasted bread and vanilla notes of its own. We can take the idea of traditional wine and expand it.”įor Cooper & Thief’s Sauvignon Blanc, Leamy sought Casa Noble Añejo Tequila barrels for the citrus and spice notes. It’s a completely different thought process and idea. Our bottle isn’t a wine bottle, and our label isn’t really a wine label. We’re taking the entire wine paradigm and turning it upside down. And I think the more important thing is that we were doing it differently than they are, too. “We’ve been in the business for a long time and, yes, other people have done it and will continue to do it,” Leamy says of aging wine in spirits barrels. As such (and possibly the dismay of traditionalists), Leamy doesn’t discourage pouring your share into a rocks glass with ice into a cocktail shaker as component to a drink or into a pitcher for a batched cocktail or sangria. The particular blend was specifically formulated to be higher in alcohol to match the bourbon mouthfeel the barrels impart. But the boozy finish provided by the barrels matches the natural potency of the blend. It’s also far higher in alcohol content than most red wines at 17%. The final product feels consistent-a stream of flavor, where each note lies at a different depth-rather than uneven. Now, if the entire lot sticks out funny I’m having a bad day at the office.” And a barrel that maybe sticks out a little is actually a good thing. Cooper & Thief Cellarmaster Chris Leamy explains, “In six or three months or whatever, that flavor is going to build and build and build. This is why the team has to be careful regarding how much of the barrel’s natural flavors are put into the wine. When it emerges, fragrant vanilla gives way to smooth leather and soft stone. The wine that goes in (a combination of 38% Merlot, 37% Syrah, 11% Zinfandel, 7% Petite Sirah, 4% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% other) has a high alcohol content and a bit of a bitter, butterscotch finish. But few brands have chosen to pour their wines in there with the intention of amplifying the flavors.Ĭooper & Thief’s Red Blend-a dense and delectable, almost dessert-like wine-is aged for three months in unattributed bourbon barrels. From maple syrup and beer to sauces and coffee, the flavors imparted by time inside a barrel are widely sought after. The method of storage and seasoning (charred, new American, and French oak each impart their own distinct flavors) has been employed in dozens of product categories. Though one of their three wines on offer right now employs grapes grown in the former, each of Cooper & Thief’s wines are crafted to withstand, and benefit from, a stint in spirit barrels.īarrel aging isn’t a new technique. The wines they produce can still file under well-known categorical styles- Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Red Blend-but the spirit with which they produce wines could not be more different than conventional wineries in Napa and Sonoma. Unlike more traditional winemakers, the team behind Lodi, California’s Cooper & Thief prove particularly fond of breaking conventions, all while employing centuries-old techniques.
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