Annie's Lane Copper Trail Shiraz

[Mahmoud Ali]

Has anyone recently tried the Annie's Lane Copper Trail Shiraz? I saw some recently, a fairly recent vintage, a '12 maybe, and was wondering what forum members think of them. Has there been a stylistic change and are they long or short-term cellar proposals? Thanks.

Cheers ........................ Mahmoud.

[Dang]

Calgary seems to be the dumping ground for this TWE wine. I have been drinking the 2002 for many months ( one bottle left) and suddenly the 2012 appeared with a very reasonable price. Needless to say, I still a dozen in storage after consuming half a dozen. Still too young, it is full bodied with lots of fruits, mushrooms, chocolate and anise/licorice, with along finish. JH gave it a 97, others were less kind but still rated it 94-95. My 02 surprised my friends a lot, decanted for 3 h with proper filtration and they could not believe that our COOP store was willing to part with them for a mere 20. I believe COOP had since sold out of the 02, or they hide them for themselves. The 13 Copper Trail is now on the shelves for higher price, but still reasonable. Since 13 is a decent vintage I had some to try, and my palate thinks they are not as good as the 12, but would send any $50 wine to shame, if you like full bodied shiraz. I would give mine more time to achieve the 02 complexity.
Cheers.
Dac.

[Mahmoud Ali]

Thanks. Maybe Edmonton is also a "dumping ground". I've checked, and the Copper Trail is the 2013, for C$21 all in, which is pretty good for a high-end Shiraz. However, for the '13 to achieve the level of complexity that you are seeing in the '02, ut would need to be cellared till at least 2027!

Mahmoud.

[Matt@5453]

Has anyone recently tried the Annie's Lane Copper Trail Shiraz? I saw some recently, a fairly recent vintage, a '12 maybe, and was wondering what forum members think of them. Has there been a stylistic change and are they long or short-term cellar proposals? Thanks.

Cheers ........................ Mahmoud.

I have had the 2010 and 2012 recently. I think both are good and well made wines. The 2010 is a richer, fuller wine that is drinking well now, but could easily cellar for 10 years.

The 2012 was a lot tighter, focused and a tad more savoury aspect than the 2010. I would say this could easily cellar 10+ as well, possibly longer. Only time will tell.

[Mahmoud Ali]

We had steak tonight, marinated and pan fried, and it went well, very well, with the '13 Annie's Lane Copper Trail Shiraz. The wine was very nice, deep and intense, the fruit dark, the tannins ripe, and the finish long, Drinks well with food and will be better with time in the cellar. I will definitely buy some more.

Cheers ..................... Mahmoud.

[Dang]

I am glad that you enjoyed the Copper Trail. When compared with the '02 and the '12, the '13 might lack one minor step but still is quite enjoyable. The '02 is obviously at a different level. I first had it when I brought it to an Italian restaurant in Vancouver. The wine was decanted and filtered by the waiter and served with the meal about 1+ h after. Our friends were shocked with the glory of the wine. The winemaker for the '02 was Ms Caroline Dunn, but she left Annie's lane to pursue her goal: matching food with teas of the world.
There is another problem that could engender an old debate: the '02 was sealed under cork! Of the dozen of '02 that we have drunk in the past 2+years three were strangely not up standard of the other. They were not corked (in smell or taste) but lacked somehow in balance and finish. Their corks were kind of wet on the bottom. I gather the '12 and '13 (scewcaps) would stay young longer and who knows about complexity. I have great plan for them but time is against my palate, so I think three bottles each year and taste the difference (hopefully)!
Dac.