Lot 86
2006 Lodi Zinfandel

Wine Enthusiast Magazine BUYING GUIDE 90 Points Cameron Hughes 2006 Lot 73 Cabernet Sauvignon (Chalk Hill); $16. Shows real upscale character in a Cabernet from a négociant with a proven ability to deliver. With rich, firm tannins and classic balance, its flavors range from ripe crushed blackberries and currants to herbs, tobacco, olive tapenade, dark chocolate and smoky oak. Editors’ Choice.

Blind Tasting with the wines of Cameron Hughes, and then some. I was pleased to welcome a few friends into the Snooth lair yesterday for a blind tasting featuring the wines of Cameron Hughes. If you are a Snooth member you will be getting an email with an amazing deal on these wines later this week. If you're not a member you should sign up now. These wines showed very well and the groups consensus matched mine fairly well so I'll spare you the extended discussion of the wine, offering up my opinion instead, but I will grace this page with photos of the participants. Many thanks to them. From left to right Michel Abood, Jorge Henriquez, Zachary Lang, and Peter Czyryca with your humble scribe's back, front and center. The first wine up was the Cameron Hughes Lot 92 Margaret River Chardonnay which married some nice crisp fruit to spiced and slightly sweet toasty oak notes. A solid showing even though we blew through it on our way to the reds. Jorge and Zach share a laugh I served the reds in three blind flights of three wines each. For the first flight I chose to pit two of Cameron Hughes Spanish offerings against the 2006 Quivira Grenache from California. The first wine up was the Cameron Hughes Grenache Campo de Borja Lot 98 which was a big, simple fruit bomb that didn't find much love in this group of affirmed winegeeks. It is a fine wine for any festive occasion, bursting with sweet berry fruit in a soft package that is very accessable if not particualrly challenging. This was contrasted against the Cameron Hughes Tempranillo Lot 93. If the Compo de Borja was a wine for people just getting into wine this Tempranillo is a wine for people who have arrived. Showing incredible power and concentration this was just a fantastic bottle of wine, interesting and bold if perhaps slightly atypical for a simple Crianza. In fact this drank much more like one the the more expensive new-age Riojas, only better. the fine structure of the wine balanced the deep fruit and left this wine lively and deep, a fine combination. The final wine in this flight was the 2006 Quivira Grenache. This really was in a differnet register offering up youthful and crisp fruits but with the high alcohol, 15.9%, just a little too obvious on the nose. Michel, thinking in French. We moved from Spain to California with the next flight beginning with the 2006 Ravenswood Lodi Zinfandel, which was fine if undistinguished. The second wine in this flight was the Cameron Hughes Lot 86 Lodi Zinfandel 80 Year old Vines and I think it's fair to say that this wine impressed us all with it's balance, depth, and purity. While it may not have been varietal enough to convince everyone that it was a Zin during the blind portion of the tasting, it was an incredibly likable wine which I thought spoke more of it's old vines than anything else. The combination of those wooly tannins and finely balanced, perfectly ripe, juicy fruit was appealing and while this Zin shows a bit of restraint it is more than exuberant enough to put a smile on every Zin lover's face. The final wine in the line-up was the 2005 Montevina Terra d'Oro Lodi Zinfandel. While this lacked the oomph of the Lot 86 it offered a respectable array of fruit and spice flavors in a very easy drinking package. Peter, gesticulating in English We remained in California with our final flight and it was fairly obvious to all that we had moved on to Cabernet and Bordeaux blends, especially when they peeked at the wines while I went to get another pitcher of water! We began with the Merlot dominated Cameron Hughes Lot 72 Napa Valley Meritage. Rich and soft with nuanced herbaceous and chile tones from the one third Cabernet in the blend this was elegant, easy and expressive, a fine wine for near-term consumption and one that would please a wide audience. We followed this with a wine from Cieniga Valley, a new appellation for the entire group. The 2003 Pietra Santa Cabernet Sauvignon was a pleasant surprise offering up classic cool climate Cabernet notes with an intriguing mineral rich core of fruit. This was deceptively light apon opening and really filled out with sweet fruit through the course of the evening. A winery worth a look if you are searching for a distinctive California Cabernet from a new, and up and coming region. Our final wine of this flight was the Cameron Hughes Lot 75 Oak Knoll Cabernet Sauvignon. This is just a great bottle of Napa cabernet, coming from the cooler, southerly Oak Knoll District. While this took some time to open it showed excellent potential for positive development and with air this just blossomed, offering up rich, ripe fruit in a restained package with just a hint of austerity that kept this both easy to drink and a fine match for a broad array of dishes. I was impressed with the wine but now that I see it's only $13.00 a bottle I am blown away by the value this represents. I've had a lot of $13.00 bottles of California Cabernet over the past few years, too many some might say, and the truth is I have almost never been tempted to buy any. This Oak Knoll Cabernet easily competes with wines twice it's price. Find it, buy it, enjoy it, Me, counting in Italian Work is almost done! Well that was our blind tasting, we then moved on to dinner at a local Cuban joint and started the drinking portion of our show. I won't bore you with the details of the evening but should you be interested I am including a list of wines we enjoyed last night. And if you want to be included in a future blind tasting please send me an Email at Gregory@Snooth.com. Let me know what you are interested in and I'll find a spot for you in an upcoming blind tasting panel!

Wine Review: Cameron Hughes Lot 86 2006 Zinfandel I was at Costco (a large warehouse store similar to Sam’s Club or BJ’s for those of you who aren’t in the know) and there was a nice lady who was representing some wines. A few days before, I had read a blog post about Costco’s selection of wine. I cannot for the life of me remember whose blog it was but if I remember, I’ll link to it. Anyways, the post talked about how Costco’s selection was not only great but well priced. The only caveat that was brought up was that being a warehouse store, the temperature couldn’t be controlled especially in areas of high heat. This is Arizona, ummm high heat is a guarantee. So here’s my review: Well, I don’t have one. Seriously. I opened the bottle and poured a glass. Nice ruby garnet color. Nose was primarily blackberry and blackberry jam. Not the same thing, I assure you! I have picked blackberries before. There is a smell when they come fresh picked off the vine; a dirt smell mixed with a vague berry fruit. The blackberry jam smell is more sweet and fruity. I got both on the nose. As for taste, well I realized that after my third glass I hadn’t even given it a thought. That’s not a bad thing. It was so easy to drink and good that I just keep filling up. Eek! After giving it some thought, well I couldn’t characterize it. I was so far into the bottle and enjoying it that I just decided to go with it. This is definitely a bottle I’d buy again. It’s a great wine to bring to a party, give as a hostess gift, or even use to help someone become familiar to wine. It’s ridiculously easy drinking.

Cameron Hughes Lot 86 Lodi Zin 96/100 Very dark body. Light pretty much doesn't pass through this when held up to a bright light. Lots of purple color. Aromas of dried currants. Blast of flavors. Blackberries, plums and raisins. Full bodied.Slight alcohol burn in the throat after consuming. While this is probably classified as a dry wine, there is a very slight underlying sweetness that I really enjoy. Flat out this is the first wine I've bought two cases of for my cellar! Sure wish I'd been able to afford a third at the time.