Copain 2012 Spring Release. Skipping '09 for now.

WINE TALK
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Both wineries being Copain and [scratch.gif]

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Sorry Andie, you are right, this board is all about making sure there is only one opinion on every matter. How did I miss that… Clearly you are a defender of all things Copain. More power to you.

Back to the real issue, thanks Frank for the insight into the three current releases.As of now, it will help guide me in what I look for in the aftermarket given the new allocation arrangement.

And the other posters make my point about having all kinds of confusion around this - kiser offered twice, SVD program appearing heavily weighted towards Syrah, and multiple/differing slates of offerings depending upon if you are club/allocation.

And for the record, there is zero official information clarifying the new Coapin setup. Just multiple offline/informal conversations that have been reinterpreted here. It’s sure not the end of the world though. All this will die down over the next few releases. Those that like it will be all set, and those that dont will have moved on…

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Nobody else thought it odd/ interesting Copain skipped releasing the '09 so released the '10?

I can understand why and good for them, if it’s not ready and '10 is then fire away. Just never heard of this being done before.

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I have been a subscriber to Copain for years and was not happy with the “club” switch. We buy about a case a year and wish to limit our purchases so we can diversify. The club was too many bottles but we signed up anyway since we love their wines. We were happy to go back to the old allocation method. I did not cry for discounts and cheap shipping

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Rhys

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When I visited the winery in December, Jim explained that the reason they skipped '09 and released the '10s ahead of schedule was simply that the '10s are drinking well out of the gate, while the '09s need more time.

As for the ongoing club vs. mailing list debate and confusion, I will add that I have been on the ML for 10+ years, I have more Copain in my cellar (200+ bottles) than anything else by far, and I am a huge fan of the winery, both with regard to what they’ve done in the past and where they’re heading. I have also read in detail every correspondence from the winery and every thread on the club, and thought I understood pretty much how the club worked. So I signed up for the club in December. In January, I checked in on my allocation and saw that I could order Kisers at the 15% club discount, as Jim had promised, so I ordered. Yesterday, I get an email from Jim saying the spring club shipment will be assembled and he’ll contact us to see what we want. And, BTW, the Kisers are on it. Didn’t I just order those? Now I also see my online allocation is unavailable, so I assume that going forward, club orders will be handled over the phone. After speaking with Jim yesterday, this appears to be the case. But, for a while there I was confused, because I did not realize that club shipments would be handled by a different process (phone vs. internet allocation) than regular ML purchases.

Anyway, I ordered a mixed case of syrahs and am happy as always with the service. But I don’t think anyone can claim that the logistics of how the club would work was explained in straight forward terms.

As I see it now, the really nice thing I like about the club is that there is a lot of flexibility. For example, though the Hawks Butte is officially on the Summer club schedule, since it is released now to the ML, I could include a few bottles of this now, and then reload later in the summer if I so choose. I can also order a boatload of the Baker Ranch if I want.

I think the goal of the club is just to provide a higher level of service to those willing to make a commitment to the winery, plain and simple.

Cheers,
Scott

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I signed up for the 24 bottle red. I get an e-mail of what is available, I reply with my choices, it’s charged to my cc including the discount, then they ship it to me. I bought the 2010 Hawks, Baker and Tous syrahs this time. Got both 09 Kiser Pinots and the 09 Hawks Syrah last go round. Really easy, no drama or confusion so far.

[drinkers.gif]

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Based on my positive experience with the Club and Jim Kuhner thus far, I strongly agree with this statement. So far I have found that I can buy what I want, when I want to buy it, at a meaningful discount. It works for me.

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The 2010 Baker was amazing at Falltacular…did you have it? It was definitely open and ready, and perhaps the 2009’s simply aren’t ready? I think the only 2009’s out of the entire lineup that were skipped were the Hawk’s Butte and Baker syrahs?

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I bought 4 of the 2009, and opened one last October. While I thought it was pretty good, I am not a repeat buyer at $48.
(I was also underwhelmed at the Rhys SC for $45, and just passed on the Alpine for $69)

But then that is me, many love these wines and find them well worth the $$.
I have discovered that I am completely happy with beaujolais blanc, top muscadet, and chenin secs at half the cost.
You can also get some killer chablis for this much or a bit less as well.

But then maybe i’ll try a bottle in the next year or so that will knock my socks off.
I’m keeping an open mind.

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Unfortunately I did not taste it. Got locked up at the pinot table! [cheers.gif]

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Yeah, I thought I was trying to say that - probably not well. These wines might vary a bit in ripeness and fruit orientation, but I would not call any of them ‘soft’ from an accessibility perspective.

BTW, I opened a 2005 James Berry last night that showed quite well.
Looking back at it, the 2006 and 2003 that I tried last year seemed to have left me the riper impression.

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+1 on the Baker. I made it a point to seek this bottle out, due to Jeb’s comments regarding ripeness problems in cooler areas in 2010. I found the Baker was very much on the savory/herbal side but aromatically spectacular and incredibly complex on the palate.

34

Bought half my offered 2009 En Haut & En Bas, best I could do budget-wise.

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It was possibly the lightest bodied syrah of the day, but it was as energetic and complex as any I tasted…just striking. I think I poured it for you Larry, and I would have pimped it out if I had the opportunity to taste it before my shift. It was likely for the better, since I got one of the last tastes of the day, late in the afternoon!

36

So, Andrew, you work/worked for Copain?

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Sorry I was referring to the 2010 Chardonnay Tous Ensemble - very nice chard for $24 and free delivery. Very fresh, lean and no oak in sight. Reminds me of something out of chablis. Much better than the Rhys SC for half as much.

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I haven’t ever tried the 2010 Tous Chardonnay, but I was mightily impressed by the 2009 Brosseau last year when I tasted it. I thought it was taut, crisp, and steely, with the potential to become even better when it unwinds a bit. I bought four when it was first released, drank one bottle (which confirmed my interest in the wine), and then immediately went back for four more. I’m looking forward to the next iteration of the Brosseau. I guess it wouldn’t be a bad idea to pick up a few of the Tous as well.

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Sorry, I assumed the Brousseau as it was in the SVD release list posted above. I have not had the Tous, but it certainly looks interesting - AV Ferrington Vineyard, all stainless. I’ll have to give it a try.

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I did and was quite impressed. I was under the impression that all wines purchased went to my 36 bottle minimum when I joined the club, however from the email it does. Ot appear that is true.

I just plan on asking when I get my call.