Copain article in WS

WINE TALK
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Copaín Reorganizes Its Business Model | Wine Spectator" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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Is Copain in trouble? I have been thinking that Wells’s stylistic change toward more balanced wine might not sit well with the market. any thoughts?

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I thought that the buying public did not understand syrah, that it had been defeated. deadhorse

Wells is fine, Copain is fine. For those of you who want to support what they are doing @ Copain, go out and buy the wines and support their vision. If you believe in CA syrah and pinot, both in a style that is emphasizing less wood/alcohol, site driven and expressive wines, stop here, get off the bus and support Copain.

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Saw this on WS earlier this evening and initially gulped. Copain is one of my favorites. On second read, the optimist in me will hope this will be transparent with Wells remaining in control of the winemaking. I’m primarily a fan of Wells’ Syrahs, but have to admit that I loved the 2007 Kiser En Haut PN I finished last night. I’m not a huge purchaser, but usually buy 3-6 bottles per offer and will continue to support one of CA’s best!

Cheers, [cheers.gif]

Steve

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Frankie - is that the direction Copain is headed? My limited experience with Copain has been quite the opposite of that, but I have not had any recent vintages. I would be quite interested to try them if they were leaning toward less wood and alcohol and more site-driven, ‘natural’ expression wines.

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Todd, they are. You need to drink the 06 and 07 wines, especially the latter.

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You pour 'em, I’ll drink 'em

neener

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You need to try. After a 2 re-visit/search for Cali pinot, these will be one of the few I continue to buy.

Jason

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Full disclosure: We sell Copain Pinots, Syrahs and Viognier.

Frank,

Are you privy to info that we are not?

This sale does not sound like a sale that Wells wanted to make happen, but rather one that he needed to make happen.

I like the new style, and as I said, we sell the wines, but why change the style, if the “brand” was so successful?

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One of my wifes (and mine as well) favorite pop and pours, been buying my full allocation since I have been on the list and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

Syrahs, Pinots, send them this way if you dont want them :slight_smile: we’ll drink them [berserker.gif]

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A case is somewhere en route to me now. I have purchased something from each release for the last few years. The 2007s especially are not to be missed.

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This doesn’t sound like anything to fret about…

Kevin McQuown wanted to financially divest from the winery, and Wells wanted to do the same with the Copain Custom Crush facility. The fact that Wells is looking to recapitalize the winery through the sale of his stake in the crush facility sounds like a positive to me.

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I don’t get it. Early years, Wells talked up that style but the wines were anything but…so now he’s making wines like he said he would make all along?

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I know that the road has been bumpy for lots of wineries the past 18 months. Luckily for Copain, they haven’t been just a Syrah based producer. I’ve seen the stress level in Well’s go up over this period. This should make things better for all parties involved. Besides Thackrey (12 years) and Navarro (30 years) Copain is one of my longest running relationships with a winery (11 years) and I wouldn’t want to loose them. Wells and John Raytek are two of my favorite people in this business.

As for the style change: I think this is further evidence of Wells’ talent and vision. He told me how he went back and drank some of his early wines and wasn’t happy with how they were aging. Not that he ever made Pax styled Syrah’s, I’m happy that he wants to make wines for the right reasons and not for the score whores. [dance-clap.gif]

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The wines are certainly more controlled than earlier vintages.

This doesn’t seem like a positive move to me either. It may be more reflective of the custom crush business than Copain’s biz though.

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Maybe he is finally making wines in a way that he enjoys. And, that over time, he has now found a voice for the wines, in a more traditional style that I know he deeply respects, which are the french roots/origin. I think Ken and Casey summed it up well, both from an artisitic and financial point of view.

Personally, I like the newer styled Copain things for the reasons I mentioned earlier.

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The custom crush business is completely separate, different location as well as separate business. I think the important question is whether Wells and the new investor maintain a common vision for Copain.

-Al

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Personally I like it too. My question was a continuation of Kevin Harvey’s question on whether the new style has gained any commercial ground.

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The restaurant/wine store folks are really backing the new style of wines, as are the folks walking in the front door. If WS and RP want Syrah with more wood and alcohol and less acid, there’s plenty for them gush over elsewhere.

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So is your palate changing? If I recall you loved the old style Copains and I think you always pushed some of the bigger wines like Saxum, Pax and Carlisle.