Lot 49
2004 Priorat D.O.Q.

Oddly, this bottle seems more integrated than the one I had just 5 days ago. Still oak and raspberry on the nose, with some leather as well. On the palate, the sweet raspberry is spread over the oak and leather. The palate is moderately full, but it has very nice balance. (90 pts.) - Tasted 3/18/2008. [FIND IT!] Tasted by JavaMonkey.

Tasted by soyhead on 4/12/2008 & rated 91 points: decanted for half an hour. Intense purple color. The nose is of purple felt pen, dark fruits, and roasted meat. The mouth is, well, dry and tannic. There is some dark fruit flavor back there, I just cant get at it. Recommend consuming with appropriate food. Or needs time in the cellar. Will have to re-eval after an overnight decant. Didn't realize that Cameron Hughes was sourcing global fruit. Initial Score-85. --- sitting out open for >24hrs now.This has become much more enjoyable. The nose is still of purple felt pen, but I also get blackberry, leather, and mint. Full bodied with prominent dark fruits. Powerful tannins that may need some time to mellow out. However, I can appreciate this to be a full bodied very fruit forward wine. This is what they would call 'a big wine'. I am conisderably upgrading the score and will check it again tomorrow night. I would guess that it has the potential to get even better after some years of cellaring. I will recommend this to others (with an overnight decant) Score-89 --- open 48 hours. Now even better. Intense fruit with good back end acidity and smooth tannins. This bottling is a winner. I am slightly embarrased how much my score has changed over the past few days, but then again I dont think I have really ever appreciated a bottle evolve this well, and from no one other than Cameron Hughes. Great QPR. Will buy more decant/cellar and rerate. (242 views)

2005 Cameron Hughes Lot 44 Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford $13 Run to Costco my friends, do not walk. You will not find another easy going-everyday-drinking Cabernet at this price point for a long, long time. What a phenomenal deal this is. Once it's gone, it's gone. There will not be another release. So how is a Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley being sold for $13 you might ask? Well that's an interesting story. Cameron Hughes does not own vineyards, have a winery tasting room to visit or even ferment wine. He is a San Francisco businessman turned wine guy who has founded a company eradicating the middleman (distributor) and offering great wines for bargain prices. Cool Cameron, we wine folk like that. Why are his wines great? Well, Cameron has an interesting way of sourcing these wines. The Lot Series of wine (as you see above) is purchased as already fermented wine from high-end wineries; in this case the Rutherford Appellation of Napa Valley. In Cameron's words, "these wines are preserved by bottling the wine unadulterated and never backblended to fix flaws". More awesomeness here. In other words, this wine is currently being sold by a high-quality, premium winery for a premium price in Napa Valley but under a different label. Word has it that Lot 44 is currently retailing for around $45 per bottle and has received accolades from Wine Spectator of 90-92 points over the last several years from a high-end, quality driven winery. So how can this be done? I think the answer has to do with available quantity. When you are producing a high-end wine product you work with lots of available fermented juice to assemble your final blend. At the end of the process you have available wine left over that goes onto the bulk market for sale. Cameron Hughes has based his business model on picking up these bulk, high-end wines, bottling them and selling them directly to the retailer for nearly a quarter of the cost. Wow! So this allows a higher quality product to be sold at a much lower price. This is how the wine business is really changing. It's a brilliant idea and the market has room for this type of innovative style and out-of-the box thinking. So let's talk about this particular wine, Lot 44. I want to start off by saying that this a medium-bodied red wine. It is NOT a wine that has layers and layers of complexity and depth that many of the stellar Cabernets from Rutherford posses. But you have to remember that wine with extreme depth and character require aging for up to ten years before it is smooth and fairly drinkable. Let's face it, most wine that is purchased is consumed within days so it's difficult, unless you are collector, to lay down these bottles and give them the time they deserve to age properly. This wine is drinkable now. It's smooth now. It is extremely food-friendly and all around enjoyable. It is pleasing on the palate and is the quintessential bottle to have for all your daily wine adventures. This is a wine you pull out for a chicken dinner or a nice steak on the grill. It would be fabulous with pasta and even better for a casual pizza night. This is a wine you know you can turn to and not feel the guilt of opening on a Tuesday night. And I don't know about you but my wine rack is becoming quite light in the California Cabernet area due to the extreme cost of these wines. Every night I have a staring contest with some of these $130 bottles that sit on the shelf and beg to be consumed but I can't get myself to open them. I feel it has to be the perfect occasion which never seems to come around often enough. This bottle offered me all the glimpses of characters I enjoy in a Rutherford Cabernet; hints of clove, spice, tobacco with a pronounced chocolate note. However, what stood out the most was the minerality and earthy tones that came screaming out of the glass. The Rutherford appellation is most known for it's wines alluding to the, "Rutherford dust" character that exists there. This wine gives you that dusty earth in very certain terms. It's all there, just not in overwhelming expression. I am going to fill my wine rack with this Cabernet and use it as my go to red. My usual go to California Cabernet is $45 a bottle, which is cheap by some standards for wine from this region but let's face it, that is not cheap in any sense of the word. I would also highly suggest this bottle for someone who is interested in learning to enjoy drinking red wine. The shyness of the tannins in this wine (tannins are associated with red wine consumption and often difficult for someone new to drinking red wine), are hidden among the toasty oak and mocha overtones allowing a novice palate to enjoy the varietal character present. Another suggestion? If you are having a large get together this summer, wedding shower, family reunion or a birthday blowout, this is the wine to buy. It will please those with sophisticated palates as well as those who are not so wine savvy. This is not a heavy red wine, so consuming it in the warmer summer months will not be a problem when served at the proper temperature. And one more thing. This wine, Lot 44, impressed Costco buyers so much, they bought the entire Lot and are selling it exclusively at their stores. So like I said, run my friends, run. No Costco in your area? Don't worry, Cameron Hughes has other available wines all with the same premise as Lot 44, all bought from high-end producers and they are sold all over the U.S. and most likely elsewhere for great, great prices. Some to look for in your area: Lot 43 Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel Lot 46 Hunter Valley Shiraz Lot 49 Priorat D. O. Q. Lot 50 Mosel Riesling Lot 53 Edna Valley Syrah Lot 54 St. Emilion Lot 57 Carneros Chardonnay Lot 59 Russian River Valley Chardonnay So good luck finding these!

GREAT Wine under $20 In homage to Dr. Debs (the real Dr. Debs of Good Wine Under $20 fame), I am happy to report that I had a fantastic evening last night at the Cameron Hughes wine reception hosted by Cornelius of Wine 2.0 & RadCru. Most impressive were the Alexander Valley & various Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon selections, poured from the new Lot releases by Cameron himself. Cameron Hughes Wine has made a name for itself as premium quality budget priced wine, widely available at Costco warehouses everywhere. These premium wines average $15 and under, with a few of the more unusual selections hovering around $20. I don't have to tell you, that $15 for a stellar Cabernet from Napa is like having someone forget to add an item on your bill at your favorite restaurant. It almost feels like stealing candy from a baby! How do they do it? Well it's actually a fairly old story of the negociant, a wine merchant who buys grapes or finished wine and slaps their own label on it. IN this case, which amazing results that are different with every lot and every year. Cameron Hughes Wine focuses on buying bits & pieces of leftover super premium wine. Sometimes, wineries don't want a large case production, to create the illusion of scarcity. Sometimes, they just aren't happy with the results. And sometimes, well sometimes I just can't understand dhow they can give up such wonderful elixirs but I"m happy I reap the financial benefits! My highlights from the tasting are: * Lot 71 - 2005 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon This was my outstanding wine winner of the night, both because of the killer dusty cocoa, tobacco and richness, as well as the stupid cheap price. I pre-ordered 2 bottles of it, but now am kicking myself for not ordering more. $15 (not released yet) * Lot 73 - 2006 Chalk Hill Cabernet Sauvignon A very close 2nd to Alexander Valley, I had a hard time picking my favorite. So I tasted more. And again. And often. Oy the joys of a cab ride home! $16 (not released yet) * Lot ? 2006 Yountville Cabernet Sauvignon This was the first cab we tasted last night, and I thought it would be my favorite. But as we moved down the line, Alex and Chalk just kicked Yountville's little butt. But it was still good, and a screaming value. Hell, all of them are. It's young, and needs to be decanted & held, but for $15? Seriously! * Lot ? Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon Silly me, I didn't keep my tasting sheet because I turned it in to order, and now can't remember the lot numbers. But this was a tasty tidbit too! I admit, at this point, i sort of lost count because they were so tasty. * Lot 69 Dry Creek Merlot. For me, a typically non Merlot drinker, this wine blew me away. It is a rich & powerful merlot, coming from an area that i wouldn't expect and yet didn't' have that overpowering manipulated feel of most commercial wines. $15 * Lot 67 - 2005 Russian River Syrah A very minty syrah, with a lot of spice. It was a bit tannic for me, and could use a bit more balance but I expect great things in the future. $15 * Lot 49 - 2004 Priorat D.O.Q. This was a surprise, and a really interesting blend that caught my attention quickly as we tasted the large array of wines on the bar. Grenache & Carignane come together to give a taste of Spain in a classic meritage. $20 The moral of the story? Don't prejudge! I have had some of the other CH Wines, and wasn't terribly impressed. However, with the variety of Lots and the amazing Cabernets, I will certainly not shy away in the future.