Cameron Hughes Merlot Stellenbosch Lot 19 2004

A really tasty, balanced cabernet sauvignon. Mostly fruit driven, but significant layers of tobacco, spices, and earthiness/mushroomness. We slowly worked our way through 9 bottles over a couple years, finishing in November 2008, and it was still tasting delicious. This wine was our first of many Cameron Hughes wines.

November 2008

Notes: Big purple fruits, black cherry and violet aromas. Bright red fruits hit you up front with bing cherries and red raspberries. The mid palate offers hints of plum sauce, cinnamon and coffee grinds that lead to a black pepper, dusty spice finish. This big yet elegant wine embodies great acidity making it a perfect food-pairing wine. Lasagna lovers will howl! Cameron Confidential: In my opinion, they should be grafting and planting Barbera like crazy up there because this stuff grows so well in the Sierra Foothills. Only a couple hundred cases of this wine were produced and it will be exclusive read more...to online purchases only. The main component is high-altitude (2500 ft), single vineyard juice selling under another "Grand Reserve" label for $40 a bottle that routinely scores 92's and 93's. 14 months in new French oak.    (hide)

October 2008

Notes: This rich and complex Cabernet offers chocolate truffles, raspberry and forest floor notes in the nose. It traverses the mid-palate with thick concentrated ripe balanced tannins ending with flavors of blackberry, spice and caramelized walnuts with a dash of vanilla. Cropped in at 2 tons per acre and fermented with native yeasts and thrice daily punchdowns, the wine spent 18 months in 2 year old American oak barrels before being racked to neutral wood for another year. Cameron Confidential: This wine was a tough acquisition. The guy who makes it, a curmudgeonly Italian guy, refused to read more...negotiate off his price despite being two vintages behind the market – he knew what he had. We ended up paying exactly what he asked despite thinking there was blood in the water. They sell the wine for $50 so it’s still a screaming deal at $15 and as good as any Cab we have released. I see this as the big brother wine to Lot 7 – yeah it costs a couple bucks more but it’s worth it, especially for a 2004 which is the best Alexander Valley vintage in the marketplace today.    (hide)

October 2008

Notes: Aromas of bright strawberry & watermelon fruits with hints of dusty earth and tar. Coffee grinds and blackberry, cherry cola, nutmeg intermingles with the red and black fruits in the mid-palate. The 30+second finish rises up with mocha and earth tones. Full-bodied wine with outstanding balance. Cameron Confidential: Sourced from two high-end producers in Stellenbosch and put together by a consulting winemaker with access to lots of great juice. We expect a lot more great stuff from this dynamite region. Many thanks to customer Jack for the South African hook-up! South Africa read more...is once again on the rise. In the 1980's, South Africa far-outpaced Australia, Chile, Argentina, but due to Apartheid sanctions, quickly disappeared from the US market. New government and tremendous reinvestment in South Africa (70% of their vines are less than 16 years old!) has put them back on the map as they are now the 7th largest wine-producing country in the world. Stellenbosch, called by Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson "surely the most beautiful wine country on the face of the Earth", is South Africa's "Napa Valley." Located on the Southern Cape of South Africa, hundred year-old soils and maritime-influenced climate make for amazing wines. Positive exchange rates make for a phenomenal value!    (hide)

October 2008

Notes: Gobs of boysenberry and blackberry flavors greet you up front. Chocolate covered raisins, dusty mocha and bittersweet chocolate envelops your mid-palate with a hint of licorice. Kitchen spices of cinnamon, nutmeg, black pepper and burnt caramel round out the finish. This is an elegant monster of a Zin, with well-integrated tannins and a finish that lingers forever. Get out your BBQ; it's time to start grilling! (yeah, I know its cold out, but you got your grill to keep you warm). Cameron Confidential: This is truly a m'lange of wines from rock-solid producers in both Amador read more...County and Lodi. The Zins are all 50+ year old vines but quite different in character. The Lodi Zin is ripe and jammy with no hard tannins (fairly fertile soil). The Amador component, coming from the sparse red soils of the Shenandoah Valley, is more restrained with higher acids, subtle fruit, and firmer tannins. 16% dark, rich, tannic, full-throttle Petite Sirah and 8% Amador County Merlot round out the blend. All wines were barrel aged in mostly used cooperage for about 18 months. $20-25 juice.    (hide)

October 2008

Notes: Fruit attack of bracken berries and bold blue fruit aromatics. On the palate this wine shows that same fruit with hints of violets and soft oak undertones. Juicy fruit mingles with good structural acidity that provides excellent length and structure. This wine is considerably Italian in style (super-smooth) and shows remarkable fruit purity. Years of barrel time have softened this wine beautifully. Cameron Confidential: This wine comes to us from a couple of gentlemen down in the Southern Hemisphere who retired out of the finance world to follow their dreams. We’ve become friends read more...after spending a glorious week of non-stop wine tasting at VinExpo in Bordeaux. If I was to tell you the guy’s last name you would understand even better the Italian comment above. But, alas, we promise anonymity in exchange for unbelievable pricing. They somehow heard about us from friends here in the states and sent up samples. I bought the first two wines they put in front of me, the second wine being the Lot 52 Valle de Uco Malbec, again from Mendoza. Winemaker John visited the winery to oversee the bottling and sent up these notes: Comprising almost the entire southern half of South America, Argentina is the world's eighth largest country. Argentina possesses some of the world's tallest mountains, expansive deserts, exciting waterfalls and wonderful wines. A lot of these wines have normally not left the country previously as domestic consumption and knowledge have kept them at home. Originally from France, Malbec was introduced into Argentina in the 1860’s. The abundance of sunshine – the sun is on the national flag - suits the variety perhaps more so than its origin and now produces softer tannin and richer fruit styles and has been embraced by the Argentines as their national variety. Lot 51 is the first release of a Malbec from CH Wines and is followed immediately by another one in Lot 52. 2004 Lot 51 is comes from the region of Lujan de Cuyo in Mendoza and exemplifies what juicy, fruit wines are all about. We have deliberately aimed for the rich flavorsome style that you would also find at an Argentine bar-b-que. The wine has been made in one of the revamped family wineries that are producing stunning and interesting examples. Fermentation of these wines is in concrete tanks which allows for a great management technique for the fermentation. Once the ferment starts we drain off about 70 percent of the juice to another tank and pump it all back again into the skins. What this does is give the ferment some valuable aeration that the yeast just loves. It keeps the wine fresh from the beginning. It is a technique known as delestage and is fairly common in winemaking circles. While a lot of red wines are made in stainless steel tanks however the concrete tanks – with walls as thick as your arm is long – keep a consistent temperature which is also highly desirable in winemaking as well. Lot 51 is holding all that fruit and intensity and shows what a desirable variety Malbec is. It is also one of the few varieties that are able to be used in Meritage blends. I tasted both Lot 51 and 52 when they arrived recently in the US and this wine is the one to "attack" first due to its all encompassing fruit flavours. While on the surface the wine appears soft – the variety begs to be paired with steak. It won’t disappoint you, don’t disappoint it.    (hide)

October 2008