Cotes du Codey

(If you don't get this email in your inbox, sign up HERE)

How-D!

Mitch here. I know, it’s rare for me to jump in on a Friday offer, but this is not your ordinary Friday offer. This wine is so incredibly special. Special for two reasons: 1, the wine itself and the winemaker and 2, the person that this wine honors.

So without further adieu, I present to you the-

2019 Cameron "Cotes du Codey" Clos Electrique Chardonnay (Limit 6 Bottles Per Customer)

The Facts:

Who: John Paul (JP), iconic winemaker and owner of Cameron Wines. Mark Ancona; wine guru, friend and all around AWESOME dude.

What: One single barrel (21 cases total) of 100% Corton-clone Chardonnay sourced from Cameron’s famed “Clos Electrique” vineyard. This wine was aged in a used oak barrel atop the lees from the prior harvest's Cameron Giuliano. Truly a one-off wine.

Where: Cameron Winery, 8200 NE Worden Hill Rd, Dundee OR and now only at Ancona's Wines

Why: To honor Codey Foster's 10 years of service as Ancona's Wine Director,

How: I struggled to come up with a way to express to Codey how much he meant to all of us as a friend and colleague. Finally, I came up with the idea of having a wine created in honor of everything that he’s contributed to my life and the organization. But what wine? Then one day in January “Cameron” popped into my head. I quickly reached out to Mark Ancona (Codey’s long time friend, wine mentor and our Cameron connect) who then reached out to JP. The stars aligned and JP was on board with the idea and “Cotes Du Codey” was born.

When: The journey started when JP earmarked this barrel as “special”. The idea for “Cotes Du Codey” was born in January 2022. The label was created by JP’s son Julian in February (The label features a diagram of a 3 knots as a nod to Codey’s passion for climbing). The wine arrived to us June 6th and has been resting ever since.

The Reason:

I can’t put into words the positive impact that Codey has had on the organization, the team and my life as both a colleague and friend over the past 10 years. He’s a leader, has an unwavering work ethic, has an encyclopedic knowledge for all things wine but also everything “Ancona’s”. We as an organization would not be where we are today, and I would not be the person I am without Codey’s thoughtful contributions.

“I never would have asked for my name to appear on a bottle of Cameron but I’m not going to lie—I’m over the moon.” -Codey

Codey's Note: The Cotes surpassed all expectations. On the nose: Crème fraiche, flinty mineral, cinnamon, limey sea salt, and white tea are accompanied by a subtle waft of wildflowers in a warm breeze. On the palate--all the finest trappings of textbook Clos Electrique: power, elegance, and a pillowy mineral texture sure to please the Puligny and Meursault lover alike—and not without the subtle benevolent underbelly of melted butter and creme brulee. Clos Electrique exclusively through the lens of Corton Chardonnay clones is an extremely rare capture. I’m very happy. I’m humbled and honored. 13%

JP sent us a sample bottle in January.

We presented Codey his wine in February.

Here Codey is tasting “Cotes Du Codey” for the first time with JP joining via SKYPE.

More backstory if you’re interested:

As Codey tells the story, he tasted his first Cameron one chilly October evening when Mark Ancona poured him his first taste: the freshly shipped 2011 Abbey Ridge Pinot Noir—a wine that ignited an obsession that Codey didn’t think was possible.

That 2011 Abbey Ridge haunted him and he spent the next few years of his life hunting down and opening as much Cameron as he could. He hounded Mark for an allocation of Cameron’s wine pretty much every day for at least 4 years.

Finally one day, through Mark’s pleading, John Paul offered us our first allocation of wine, and a healthy one at that. I can remember a nervous Codey explaining to me that he wanted to spend nearly 20K on Pinot Noir from a single producer. I’m pretty sure my response was a simple “OK”. That response came easily to me simple because Codey had been kind enough to share some of those ‘hunted down’ Cameron wines with me… they were special wines for certain.

Our original Cameron allocation from January of 2018-

6 cs Clos Electrique Pinot Noir 2015

14 cs Abbey Ridge Pinot Noir 2015

4 cs Clos Electrique Blanc 2015

9 cs Arley’s Leap Pinot Noir 2015

(I so wish I had stashed some of those wines away)

From our first Cameron “Friday Offer” April 18th, 2018:

“The universe works in wonderful ways.

This has been a 5-6 year journey.

I’d often wondered if Ancona’s would ever see an allocation.

I probably made 100 phone calls along the way.

Admittedly, I’d given up a few times.