Aubert just canceled my order!

[Dennis_Kanagie]

@Paul Miller

You going to order again? They keep you on the list?

Maybe he’ll get shipped the bottles somebody else returned, and his returned bottles will fill another order!

[Bill_Tex_Landreth]

@Dennis Kanagie

@Paul Miller

You going to order again? They keep you on the list?

Maybe he’ll get shipped the bottles somebody else returned, and his returned bottles will fill another order!

Coming to a Steakhouse near you soon…

[Bill_Tex_Landreth]

@Dennis Kanagie

@CraigT

I spoke with the owner Mark Aubert and he said they literally have no wine to replace the bottle. he went on to say that there were “numerous” customers that had sent wine back for some reason or other and that they did not have enough to replace everybody’s. So it appears that I was not the only one to have problems. I also asked why he would send the wine in egg crate packaging and in 87 degree weather. He said that its not feasible to ship only when its cool in Napa and regarding the packaging he said quote “You gotta learn to deal with the packaging, its the future”. I really was surprised by his response. He didn’t seem to care about the condition of his wine during shipping.

Translation: there are enough non-geek customers that don’t know any better who will keep us rolling in dollars so you can take a hike.

Learning from the Ray Walker playbook.

[CraigT]

No orders from me in the future. I’m pulling my name from the list.

[Cameron_Hughes]

@CraigT

Aubert just canceled my order after I returned heat damaged wine! Anbody have this same problem?

Craig T - from what I can gather, wine was shipped to you and sat in a warehouse where the temperature was 87 degrees outside. As far as I can tell from your post, that’s the only reason you returned it. But answer this for me…was the cork pushing up when it arrived to you? How do you know it was “heat damaged”.

[Cameron_Hughes]

@CraigT

I spoke with the owner Mark Aubert and he said they literally have no wine to replace the bottle. he went on to say that there were “numerous” customers that had sent wine back for some reason or other and that they did not have enough to replace everybody’s. So it appears that I was not the only one to have problems. I also asked why he would send the wine in egg crate packaging and in 87 degree weather. He said that its not feasible to ship only when its cool in Napa and regarding the packaging he said quote “You gotta learn to deal with the packaging, its the future”. I really was surprised by his response. He didn’t seem to care about the condition of his wine during shipping.

Very curious to see this packaging of the future…you didn’t get pics did you? Is it supposedly a better performer in the heat? Not sure why it would be “future” packaging if it wasn’t better insulating…

[Benjamin_Hand]

@Dennis Kanagie

So it’s okay to enjoy Riesling that has ripe fruit with residual sugar but not Chardonnay?

For one thing, there is a difference between phenolic ripeness and sugar ripeness, and the relationship between those two processes seems different in different kinds of grapes. It hardly seems odd that different grapes would be amenable to different treatments. After all, there are reasons that we make chenin blanc and other grapes into “dessert wines”, but not chardonnay. Acidity is certainly a key factor, but there are others.

[johngonzales]

Liking something that Bueker doesn’t is like a badge of honor isn’t it?

Aubert is certainly nothing close to Chablis and decidedly Californian. Everybody doesn’t like the same thing. But in drinking a lot of Aubert, I’m almost surprised at how many of my local aficianados who drink mostly French wine really like Aubert.

Fwiw, packaging of the future might relate to environmental friendliness.

I can actually understand him not having anymore wine, though as Seiber states it’s hard to believe they didn’t hold anything back. But if they really wanted to take some responsibility, they’d find SOMETHING short of just canceling this season’s order. It’s also below standard IMO to state such little concern for when/how fine wine is shipped.

[NED_VALOIS]

[quote=“johngonzales”]Liking something that Bueker doesn’t is like a badge of honor isn’t it?

+100 !!

[CraigT]

Regarding the cork’s, most were recessed about 1/4 inch. When I talked to Aubert they said they leave there corks 1mm short. What was interesting in the package is that the wines at the top were the most affected and as I went down in levels of packaging the wines were less effected. The bottom row actually had 2 bottles that were normal.

[John_Morris]

@Cameron Hughes

@CraigT

I spoke with the owner Mark Aubert and he said they literally have no wine to replace the bottle. he went on to say that there were “numerous” customers that had sent wine back for some reason or other and that they did not have enough to replace everybody’s. So it appears that I was not the only one to have problems. I also asked why he would send the wine in egg crate packaging and in 87 degree weather. He said that its not feasible to ship only when its cool in Napa and regarding the packaging he said quote “You gotta learn to deal with the packaging, its the future”. I really was surprised by his response. He didn’t seem to care about the condition of his wine during shipping.

Very curious to see this packaging of the future…you didn’t get pics did you? Is it supposedly a better performer in the heat? Not sure why it would be “future” packaging if it wasn’t better insulating…

I think he’s just referring to cardboard “egg pack” wine shippers. They may be better environmentally, but they sure don’t provide much insulation.

[CraigT]

John, Yah, Aubert was refering to the egg pack wine shippers.

[Neal.Mollen]

@k s h i n

I am not a big fan of California Chardonnay but Aubert is a very unique expression. It has a lot of everything, fruit, alcohol, acidity and the most importantly mineral. If you like the style, there is no other producer who can provide the similar experience. The mineral expression aspect is similar to Chablis not that anyone will confuse with Chablis. The fruit expression is quite fresh not candied. Ramey is much more tropical fruit/yellow fruit and not much minerality, for my palate.

Had it once, at a dinner with Kevin in attendance and he may actually have brought it. I drink almost no CA chardonnay and buy none at all but I liked it.

[J_a_y_H_a_c_k]

@k s h i n

I am not a big fan of California Chardonnay but Aubert is a very unique expression. It has a lot of everything, fruit, alcohol, acidity and the most importantly mineral. If you like the style, there is no other producer who can provide the similar experience. The mineral expression aspect is similar to Chablis not that anyone will confuse with Chablis. The fruit expression is quite fresh not candied. Ramey is much more tropical fruit/yellow fruit and not much minerality, for my palate.

This description is spot on. I have been a buyer since the 2004 vintage. I recently had a 2004 Aubert Lauren (not my own - mine were all gone) and it was absolutely exceptional and the best aged California chardonnay I have ever had.

[Anton_D]

@J a y H a c k

@k s h i n

I am not a big fan of California Chardonnay but Aubert is a very unique expression. It has a lot of everything, fruit, alcohol, acidity and the most importantly mineral. If you like the style, there is no other producer who can provide the similar experience. The mineral expression aspect is similar to Chablis not that anyone will confuse with Chablis. The fruit expression is quite fresh not candied. Ramey is much more tropical fruit/yellow fruit and not much minerality, for my palate.

This description is spot on. I have been a buyer since the 2004 vintage. I recently had a 2004 Aubert Lauren (not my own - mine were all gone) and it was absolutely exceptional and the best aged California chardonnay I have ever had.

I will just say, +1.

I really like their style.

So does my wife, who especially loves their pinot and likes to kill them when young.

[Lewis_Dawson]

@Cameron Hughes

@CraigT

Aubert just canceled my order after I returned heat damaged wine! Anbody have this same problem?

Craig T - from what I can gather, wine was shipped to you and sat in a warehouse where the temperature was 87 degrees outside. As far as I can tell from your post, that’s the only reason you returned it. But answer this for me…was the cork pushing up when it arrived to you? How do you know it was “heat damaged”.

@CraigT

Regarding the cork’s, most were recessed about 1/4 inch. When I talked to Aubert they said they leave there corks 1mm short. What was interesting in the package is that the wines at the top were the most affected and as I went down in levels of packaging the wines were less effected. The bottom row actually had 2 bottles that were normal.

So some (most) of the corks were very slightly depressed. And presumably (since Craig did not mention) wine has not seeped out? What opinions do the Berserkers out there have about whether the seals are compromised or not?

Certainly, the wine itself is not cooked or otherwise damaged because the warm temps had brief duration. The only legitimate question IMO is whether the seals have been damaged, thus making it risky to age the wine. I wonder if it’s possible Mr. Aubert thought Craig was over-reacting and just didn’t want to deal with it??

[A_S_K_R_O_B_A_C_K]

@CraigT

Aubert just canceled my order after I returned heat damaged wine! Anbody have this same problem?

Wow. What crappy service.

[Ken_Strauss]

@A S K R O B A C K

@CraigT

Aubert just canceled my order after I returned heat damaged wine! Anbody have this same problem?

Wow. What crappy service.

Really unfair!

He got a full refund and they said they had no more wine.

[NED_VALOIS]

Should we start a Crowdfund ??

[Anthony_Lombardi]

@Lewis Dawson

@Cameron Hughes

@CraigT

Aubert just canceled my order after I returned heat damaged wine! Anbody have this same problem?

Craig T - from what I can gather, wine was shipped to you and sat in a warehouse where the temperature was 87 degrees outside. As far as I can tell from your post, that’s the only reason you returned it. But answer this for me…was the cork pushing up when it arrived to you? How do you know it was “heat damaged”.

@CraigT

Regarding the cork’s, most were recessed about 1/4 inch. When I talked to Aubert they said they leave there corks 1mm short. What was interesting in the package is that the wines at the top were the most affected and as I went down in levels of packaging the wines were less effected. The bottom row actually had 2 bottles that were normal.

So some (most) of the corks were very slightly depressed. And presumably (since Craig did not mention) wine has not seeped out? What opinions do the Berserkers out there have about whether the seals are compromised or not?

Certainly, the wine itself is not cooked or otherwise damaged because the warm temps had brief duration. The only legitimate question IMO is whether the seals have been damaged, thus making it risky to age the wine. I wonder if it’s possible Mr. Aubert thought Craig was over-reacting and just didn’t want to deal with it??

It sounds like a lot of customers didn’t appreciate the shipping decision & the winery was probably frustrated at the whole situation. I don’t think I buy the notion that they can’t ship from Napa under proper temps. Plenty of producers offer to ship during cool periods.

To the op- I would recommend snapping a picture with your phone that you can send in case this ever comes up again. It sounds like the winery doesn’t think there is a problem with the corks- sending them the pic might have mitigated it.

If this were me, I’d likely look elsewhere for wine.