We make these wines for different reasons. Some begin with a region or a single vineyard. Others begin with time, selection, or the freedom to change. However they begin, we come back to the same thing: how the wine actually tastes.
The Beginning
Before there were vineyards to explore or wines to collect, there was family. Cooper Jaxon and River Quinn, Kimberly’s children, inspired both the name and the spirit of the winery. The wines that carry their names are where Cooper River begins.
These are blends by design, each made with a clear idea of what it should be.
Cooper Jaxon Pinot Noir began in 2015. The vineyards can change from one vintage to the next, giving us the freedom to choose the barrels that make the best Cooper Jaxon we can. We knew what that meant from the start: big, bold, and super tasty.
2025 Winemaker’s Note
It’s reminiscent of the late 2000s vintages of Rancho La Vina, which it is mostly a blend of, along with some Kessler-Haak. Super rich, plush, bold, and smooth. Packed full of dark fruits and baking spices. Sumptuous, velvety, and beguiling mouthfeel. Extra yummy.
River Quinn Chardonnay joined Cooper Jaxon Pinot Noir in 2017. It was bold, rich, rambunctious, and made to be opened often. We still want that generous spirit. We pick Chardonnay by the numbers for plenty of flavor without letting the fruit turn tropical, then build the blend by taste.
2025 Winemaker’s Note
A blend of mostly Clos Pepe and Kessler-Haak Vineyards, with a touch of Rosella's. The pedigree is undeniable, as is the finished wine. Soaring citrus aromas of lemon, pear, and peach with perfect toasted oak and vanilla notes. The palate cascades with lemon and peach, with a stoney minerality that provides structure and depth. Racey yet elegant and soft, highlighted by a touch of buttery richness. This wine is killer.
The Places
Exceptional vineyards have a way of revealing themselves over time. We’ve worked with some of these places for decades, getting to know them through the seasons, the people who farm them, the parts of a site that surprise us, and the character that keeps showing up in the glass. We’re still paying attention.
These wines give Cooper River its closest view of place. Each begins with one vineyard and one variety. The differences are what these wines are here to explore.
Rosella’s has been part of our story since 2002. In those early years, it helped us understand just how ripe, generous, and exciting Pinot Noir from the Santa Lucia Highlands could be. We were more than happy to push it. Working with Rosella’s again lets us return to that style with more experience and the same curiosity about how far California Pinot Noir can go.
2025 Winemaker’s Note
Validation that our goal of trying to recreate the wines of the 2000s isn’t only possible, it’s a fait accompli. Amazingly deep, rich, dark fruit aromas that carry through to the palate. A touch of oak and baking spice round out the package. Intense yet super silky. With just enough acidity to keep it from being cloying. This is everything I’d hoped it be and more. Crazy tasty.
We first made Rosella’s Vineyard Chardonnay in 2010. The vineyard’s long season gives Chardonnay time to build flavor without losing brightness, while the toasty oak adds “deep bass notes.” It has its own place in our history, with plenty left for us to find.
2025 Winemaker’s Note
Bright citrus aromas of fresh lemon and peach with notes of graham cracker and vanilla. The scents carry through to the palate with fresh citrus flavors and a creamy texture with a touch of buttered toast. Slightly oily mouthfeel tempered by just enough acidity to keep it bright and expansive. So incredibly yummy.
We first got to know Sierra Mar in 2009, when it was still Gary Franscioni’s new vineyard. It’s waaaaayyyy up on the hillside and not an easy place to farm. With Cooper River, we wanted a Pinot Noir that would be plush and exhilarating. That combination still gets to the heart of why we make it.
2025 Winemaker’s Note
Similar to the Rosella’s in aromas and flavors, with a bit more structure and minerality that comes from the vineyard’s rocky soils and higher elevation. It’s intense and powerful, yet still has a velvety mouthfeel. This is truly the pinnacle of what California Pinot Noir can be. Yummy squared.
Clos Pepe Vineyard has been part of what we do since 2000. Our first Chardonnay from the site came about almost by accident in 2005. We made it, bottled it, and that was that. One vintage. It has since become something of a unicorn. Cooper River lets us see a familiar vineyard from a different direction. At Clos Pepe, the long, cold season builds flavor while holding onto acidity.
2025 Winemaker’s Note
Soaring citrus aromas of lemon, pear, and apple with beautiful, toasted oak and vanilla. Flavors are dominated by lemon and pear with a stoney minerality that provides tension and depth. Racey mouthfeel offset by a touch of buttery richness. Strong evidence for saying that Chardonnay from Clos Pepe is the true star of Sta. Rita Hills.
The Cuvées
Time changes wine. That part is obvious. What interests us is what can happen when time becomes part of the idea from the beginning.
River’s Cuvée is the first expression of that idea. The vineyard is the foundation. From there, we decide what to select, how long to wait, and when the wine is ready to leave the cellar. This is where place and time get equal say.
River’s Cuvée
Sage Ridge Vineyard, Napa Valley, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2025
River’s Cuvée is our first Napa Valley wine, made in tiny quantities from Sage Ridge Vineyard high in the eastern mountains above Lake Hennessey. It is difficult ground to farm and an extraordinary place to grow Cabernet Sauvignon. There will never be much of it.
2025 Winemaker’s Note
Intense and bold Napa Valley Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon at its best. I remember Robert Parker referring to a wine as a “dry Port”. This would qualify. That level of intensity of dark fruit is stunning. With ZERO hints of any herbaceousness or green bell pepper - which I can’t stand in Cabernet. The tannins are so soft and well-integrated that we see no reason to hold all of the barrels back any longer. So plush. So rich. So pure. Such beautifully ripe fruit. We need to get this in bottle so that you can experience what this wine has to offer right now. I’m over the moon for this wine.
The Selection
The Three began late one night in 2009. A lot of wine had been opened, and three friends were talking about the darkest, most hedonistic Pinot Noir they could make. Three friends. Three barrels. One wine. By the next morning, The Three was born. The figures on the label remain unnamed: the Artist, the Dancer, and the Engineer. Each vintage, they taste through every three-barrel possibility until The Three reveals itself. The number stays. The selection changes.
The sources stay somewhere in the shadows of Sta. Rita Hills and beyond. The wine is less shy. It should jump from the glass, put a slightly devilish smile on your face, and make saving the rest for tomorrow seem ridiculous.
The goal with The Three is to make the biggest, boldest expression of Pinot Noir from the vintage. And this wine certainly doesn’t disappoint. It’s deep, dark fruit aromas and flavors are truly amazing. Despite its intensity, depth, and richness, it never crosses the line of not being Pinot Noir. I love, love, love this wine.
The Exploration
Divergence is a blend without a standing recipe. The varieties, proportions, vineyard, appellation, and the way the wine is made can all change. The possibilities are wide open. We know what we like.
Years of experience give that freedom a foundation. Each vintage is a new iteration of the same idea, shaped by the season, the cellar, and the decisions we make along the way. The wine remains recognizably Divergence, but it never has to repeat itself. Every version has to work in the glass. The artwork changes with the wine, giving each expression its own visual world while the name holds them together. We can change almost anything. It still has to be delicious.
Winemaking without limits.
Divergence
50% Cabernet Sauvignon and 50% Petit Verdot
Santa Ynez Valley, 2025
A blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon and 50% Petit Verdot. This wine shows all the wonderful elements of pure, ripe Cabernet along with dark chocolate notes from the Petit Verdot. Hints of vanilla from new American Oak makes this wine a liquid chocolate covered cherry that any confectioner would be proud of. It’s unbelievably fun and tasty.
