“Ground Control to Major Tom …”
Dear Copia Family,
I was recently watching a documentary film on the music of 1971. It’s the year that music changed everything. The film talks about a time of creative peaks and a major cultural shift. The idealism of the 60s is pushed aside to welcome in a more complex, reflective era. Artists were pushing boundaries, favoring personal expression. What is left from that era is an enduring body of work. Songs like “What’s Going On” by Marvin Gaye, “Imagine” by John Lennon, and “It’s Too Late” by Carole King keep beating the drum of timeless relevance.
Leading into that amazing year of music, a young artist named David Bowie released a song called “Space Oddity.” It’s a narrative song about Major Tom, an astronaut who becomes lost in space after losing communication with Ground Control, highlighting themes of isolation and alienation. While inspired by the sense of isolation in Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, it could also be reflecting Bowie’s own feelings at that time—perhaps a critique of mainstream society. Bowie, born David Jones in a poor part of London, wasn’t quite “David Bowie” yet. He was deconstructing himself to reconstruct himself into the influential artist that he eventually would become. Back then, Bowie could only find his rhythm on obscure radio shows and at the odd private home, performing his experimental style of music while trying to resonate with American audiences. The music industry tends to challenge outsiders.
As I was hearing Bowie’s early story, I felt very connected to the themes in the film. Moving forward from the teeter-totter years of 2020 (a pandemic), 2021 (a gorgeous vintage) and 2022 (the toughest vintage), Varinder and I were floating in our wine bubble calling out to our own version of Ground Control. When in doubt of the future, keep your focus, we say to each other. We felt centered in this mission to keep making the best wine from our family farm, with our own hands. Mother nature chose to smile on us. The long harvest of 2023 became our own personal year of creative peaks and intense personal expression. Just like Bowie, Varinder, and I introduced our first creations at small forums, in your homes, and at your tables. We will never forget those early days and how full of gratitude we are for the audience you gave us when we first got started. Copia is in its 10th year as a winery. We are now in our “reconstruction era” and we are striving to keep creating our own timeless body of work.
On 2023’s Harvest
In 2023, our intensity was punctuated by the fact that we were finally in a permanent home for the third harvest from our Willow Creek Estate. Heads down, rapt attention to the vineyards and cellar, the harvest of plentiful came with a quiet rumble and it lasted a long time! The abundant rains of Winter, followed by a cool and wet Spring delayed budbreak for 2-3 weeks with bloom pushing out to late May and early June. A cooler-than-normal Summer slowed veraison and allowed the fruit to develop slowly without any major heat events. Moderate August through October temperatures with clear, sunny days led to healthy, balanced growth. Harvest began late on October 5th and went through to November 14th, making 2023 Copia’s latest and most abundant harvest to date.
On Blending the 2023 Wines
We are tremendously proud of the stunning wines from this vintage. Wine critic Jeb Dunnuck says, “This might be the finest lineup I’ve tasted from Copia.” The intense focus in the vineyard and cellar translates to the bottle. These wines have incredible concentration, spectacular mouthfeel and vibrantly, complex aromas. Varinder spent nearly 6 months tasting and analyzing each of our 25 lots to create the finished blends. There was a lot of wine to work with from this bountiful harvest, making the decisions as complex as the multi-layered, evolving flavor profiles of all the individual micro blocks in the vineyard. Thrilling to experience in this release are two single varietal wines: The Story Grenache and The Source Syrah. From the moment Varinder completed his blends, I’ve been nearly jumping out of my skin to release these wines. Enjoy this remarkable Paso Robles vintage lineup.
2023 The Story
2023 The Story100% Grenache
Copia Vineyards Willow Creek Estate
Paso Robles Willow Creek District
93-95 pts | Jeb Dunnuck
Focusing on two blocks of Grenache from the Copia Willow Creek Estate, The Story is a beautiful representation of the quietly powerful and elegantly flirty side of this grape.
Fragrant notes of crushed raspberries, white pepper, wild rose and incense are complemented by the wine’s refined texture.
It’s a proud moment for Copia to have a singular Grenache from the 2023 vintage.
2023 The Cure
2023 The Cure45% Syrah, 30% Grenache, 25% Mourvèdre
Copia Vineyards Willow Creek Estate
Paso Robles Willow Creek District
94-96 pts | Jeb Dunnuck
The Cure is inspired by the great Southern Rhône regions of Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Gigondas. With that said, this is wholeheartedly a Paso Robles G-S-M, with a focus on letting the vintage dictate what will lead.
In 2023, Syrah became the predominant component of the blend for its texture and complexity. The profile is black fruited, rich and spicy, with wild herbs, sandalwood and leather.
Powerful elegance and an opulent finish will allow this wine to stand up to meaty cuisine, earthy root vegetables and aged cheeses.
2023 The Source
2023 The Source100% Syrah
Copia Vineyards Willow Creek Estate
Paso Robles Willow Creek District
96-98 pts | Jeb Dunnuck
Once again, The Source is 100% Syrah and 100% our inspiration for doing what we do. In 2023 the blend is composed of every Syrah block at the Copia Estate, giving us the complexity we are always chasing. Having this beauty in our glass speaks of the quiet power of the ancient seabed soils of the Estate.
2023’s Source is intense, has an aromatic dark fruit profile of cassis and blackberry. It’s smoky and has mineral and exotic spice notes (incense, pepper), with a powerful, yet supple and elegant structure of balanced tannins, concentration, and acidity. It’s our best yet.
