Cooper & Thief: Wines of Mischief

In general I do not tend towards "boozy" wines. Wine is an elegant creature and I appreciate light bodied wines, that age beautifully and accentuate the flavors of a meal. There are a number of really high octane wines, with high alcohol by volume percentages that just leave my palate in shock. In general, these wines tend to be cheaper, and from indecipherable locations within the state of California. As a rule, I think that high alcohol percentages make table wines, undrinkable, but they tend to do wonders for Port, Madeira and similarly styled wines that are crafted into viscous, after dinner

I love bourbon, and whiskies in general but if there is a wine trend that has seemed to have gotten a bit out of hand that's the "wine aged in whiskey barrel" phenomenon. As a general rule, this stylistically does things to wine that frankly it should not have done to it. (I feel similarly about coffee aged in whiskey barrels.) Yet I enjoy this wine from Cooper & Thief precisely because of the style they've chosen. I believe it's the only wine style that compliments this idea of using whisky barrels, and I stand by this belief.

The Cooper & Thief Red Blend is a concoction of a bunch of different varieties but mostly built from Merlot, Syrah and Zinfandel. The wine spends just a short time in Bourbon barrels, three months, but it's enough to kick of the profile on things like vanilla and caramel, and a bit of the alcohol. While the Cooper & Thief is not a fortified wine like a Port or Sherry, it sure tastes like. The palate is warm, jammy and it's crazy aromatic. $25

This is either an eschewing of tradition, or a riffing on it, right? The Cooper & Thief folks were a bit out in front of the bourbon barrel idea, and while others seem to be trying to latch on to the movement, it doesn't work, in my opinion with a normal table wine. Instead the after dinner drink seems a perfect combination.

Cooper & Thief have also partnered with a NYC designer, rugged Brazilian native Max Poglia on a killer corkscrew. Poglia's knives include some eye-popping designs (and now I'm in love with that oyster knife) but the rough around the edges approach seems to fit well with this wine.