Bellbrook graduation 2012
Fairfield Senior 2012 graduation
Kroger Aquatic Center opens
Home > Blogs > Uncorked > Archives > 2006 > February > 01
Wednesday, February 1, 2006
Caymus ‘responds’ to complaint of corked bottle
UPDATE from Uncorked editor Mark Fisher: There has been an development to this saga — in late March, Caymus did indeed send a magnum of its Special Select to make things right for the owner of the corked ‘85 SS.
Today, let’s pretend.
Let’s pretend you’re the owners of the prestigious Caymus Vineyards in the Napa Valley.
You receive a complaint from a customer who placed his trust in your product — in this case, a three-liter bottle of 1985 Caymus Special Select Cabernet Sauvignon — to make his 20th wedding anniversary celebration with several friends a truly special occasion. But the wine turns out to be unquestionably, undeniably “corked” — tainted with the TCA contaminant that imparts a wet-cardboard, damp-basement smell to wines. (We recounted this experience of a friend of mine three weeks ago in our entry entitled Uncork THIS: Time to put a stop to corked wines.)
What do YOU do?
Well, here’s what Caymus did. The winery’s PR person sent the following email to the aggrieved party:
Thank you for calling to our attention, both in our retail shop and via our website, the article in the Dayton Daily News reporting on a corked 3-liter bottle of 1985 Caymus Special Selection. Since our founding in 1972, we have been concerned with the possibility of cork taint, and we have become even more attentive (as have most wineries and writers) in the 20 years since that wine was bottled. As a result, our cork selection has been extremely rigorous, and we believe we have an outstanding record on this issue.
It might interest you to know that we have converted our entire production of Conundrum, a white wine blend made by Caymus from 1989 through 2001, to a twist-top capsule. This closure ensures that this fresh, fruity wine carries absolutely no risk of cork taint. Conundrum is now an independent brand but is still owned by the Wagner family.
With best wishes,
Phyllis Turner Communications Director Caymus, Mer Soleil, Belle Glos, Conundrum
Now, I know full well that it’s unrealistic to expect the winery to replace the bottle in question. The Caymus SS is a highly sought-after, and limited-production, wine. Especially a vintage that is two decades old. Especially in a large-format bottle that holds the equivalent of four standard-sized bottles. And heck, the winery probably figured, how do we know the wine was really corked? If we are overly generous to this customer, and word gets out, we might be deluged with similar complaints — not all of them legitimate.
But to send this kind of an email that apparently seeks to assure my wine-tasting friend that he can buy as much Conundrum as he’d like and be TOTALLY sure that IT’S not corked — well, be still my heart! Oh, happy day!!
I’m thrilled that Caymus feels it has an “outstanding record on this issue.” And that Conundrum is screwcapped. Now, what does that have to do with the complaint, exactly?
Well, at least he did get her “Best wishes.”
You’re the owners of Caymus. What would YOU have done in this situation?
Cheers!
Mark Fisher
TweetGo to my facebook page and click Like to comment.
