Lot 946 2020 Napa Valley Red Blend
Big-time Napa winemakers have a recipe for crafting top-shelf reds for cult-wine labels. That recipe goes like this: blend Cabernet Sauvignon, a bit of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, or Petit Verdot in toasty oak and bottle it in heavy glass bottles! Now, let’s be clear—we love those blends. We know you do, too. Around the CHW HQ, we refer to them as “cellar-stuffers”! Wines that have profound structure and can be enjoyed now but are best stuffed in the cellar for a few years to mellow and gain complexity. Lot 946 2020 Napa Valley Red Blend is a cellar-stuffer with a twist!
What we NEVER hear (or rarely hear) is one of those winemakers mentioning Zinfandel. And why not?! Blending Zinfandel with classic Napa-grown grapes adds ripe, sweet, brambly fruit and juicy acidity. It’s a recipe for easy-drinking deliciousness. Remember winemaker Dave Phinney, who created The Prisoner?? He built that powerful, lush, delectable red blend with, guess what? Zinfandel!
So, when we got our hands on a special lot of Zin grapes from a fantastic vineyard source in Calistoga, our CHW winemaking team knew just what to do. He made a powerful red blend that we knew was going to need to be part of our fall countdown. Lot 946 marries mostly Zin with Cabernet and a field blend of Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre. In the glass, it’s a deep, ruby-purple. One sniff tells you all you need to know! One sip reveals a bold, full-flavored red, packed with red and black brambly fruits, silky tannins, and vanilla-scented baking spices. It’s downright delicious. Fire up the grill, get out your biggest red wine stemware, and make sure you have plenty of Lot 946 around to quench your thirst!
Watch as Chris Lafleur, Sommeliers Creed for Cameron Hughes, and Katy Long, Director of International Wines for VWE, walk us through a tasting and discuss this exciting release.
Video Highlights:
- 00:00 Intro
- 00:17 Lot 946 Info
- 01:02 Color and Legs
- 01:35 The Nose
- 02:38 The Taste
- 03:30 The Oak
- 03:45 Aging
- 04:35 Wine Pairing
Video Transcript:
Katy
Hey, everybody. Welcome back to the CH Wine tasting room. I’m Katy long and I’m here with Chris Lafleur.Chris
And I’m Chris Lafleur here with Katy Long.Katy
Thank you, Chris. Chris, what do we have today?Chris
We have a big old question mark. This is the 2020 Red Blend from Cameron Hughes. Lot 946. And if I’m not mistaken, we do not know what grapes are in this.Katy
So we’re doing a bit of an exploration today. So red wine blends. Of course, the category is somewhat undefined. If you see a red wine blend, it might be a Grenache-style Rhone blend or it might be leaning more towards the Bordeaux blend. I have my suspicions.Chris
Oh, yeah. And I think you’re on the nose with this one. I mean, it’s common that you’re going to see GSM in a bottle and you never know the proportion. It’s common that you’re going to see Meritage on the bottle, and you kind of know what’s in there, but not necessarily proportion. This is about as blind as you can go into this wine and it’s kind of exciting.Chris
So let’s see if it is what we suspect it to be.Katy
Oh, Chris, look at that magic.Chris
Thank you so kind, Katy. All righty.Katy
So, what do we got in the glass?Chris
Let’s begin the investigation. Immediately we have a, I’m going to say, semi opaque wine. It’s kind of dark in the core, but I can still generally see my hand. It’s just a little hazy. So that’s good. You know, beautiful.Katy
Kind of a ruby, purplish color.Chris
Absolutely. Yeah. And you can see it doesn’t really get too much lighter around the rim. So it’s still in its youthful phase.Katy
Which we know to be true. It’s a 2020.Chris
Absolutely. Now, let’s dive into the nose. Mm hmm. Oh, okay. Ooh, There’s a nice little hint of like. Like grape jelly on the nose here.Katy
Wow. I’m getting red plum, black plum. A bit of a bramble fruit quality.Chris
Mm hmm. What? I really think a plum that always leads me down to, like, merlot or cab or like, a Bordeaux blend. So I think you’re on the nose with this one kind of where we think it might be. I’m also getting something that feels not quite minty, but it’s almost there, like a little bit of spearmint. So I wonder if that’s a pure resin.Chris
Pure is. And of course, leading us to the cavity. So in your family of grapes, maybe again, more evidence. We’ve got a Bordeaux blend here. But again, by the way, like we said, we do not know what’s in this. So if we get it wrong and you find out later. Roast me in the comments, but do not at me.Chris
Okay, so let’s go.Katy
Oh, gosh. There’s just a really ripe quality to that fruit. That’s. Wow.Chris
Wow. And I feel like it’s primarily like plummy and red with a little bit of darkness. I think we got to taste it and see what the body’s like.Katy
Hmm. Hmm.Chris
That’s a big guy.Katy
Wow.Chris
Yeah.Katy
So that alcohol is definitely coming to the front, but that body is medium to medium plus. I’d almost say full body. This is a big wine. Not that it’s big in the tannins for my palate. I think those tannins are refined and kind of on the silkier side, definitely present. And there’s a lot of them. Yeah, but in.Chris
Balance, yeah, I’m want to split the difference because I find that there’s definitely silky tannins here, but I get a couple that are kind of chunky, which, which speaks I think a little bit to this blend because what I’m thinking of fine tannins, I’m thinking of things like more low. When I think about chunky ones, I’m thinking about Cabernet Sauvignon.Chris
So maybe that’s leading us in a direction down the path for this blend.Katy
So the oak on this, where do you think that’s playing?Chris
I find it to be pretty well integrated. There’s definitely a strong presence of vanilla, but I don’t find it’s overpowering the fruit. I think it’s melding seamlessly with it, which is a great experience because you don’t want something sticking out and overpowering everything here. You want it to be integrated.Katy
It’s very well integrated. I think for me. So it’s a three year old wine, but probably still has a few more years to continue to integrate and evolve. What do you think?Chris
I think that for me, I think this one would be at its peak in five years, but I think it’s got longer. I just think from my tastes five years where I’d want to go if I can wait that long. Yeah, yeah. So I’m possibly going to get a couple of bottles and taste them as we go. And maybe if I can wait five years, that’ll have it then too.Katy
For me, I think I think I want to have this as a contemplation. Wine, apres ski or maybe around the campfire this fall, This winter. I think this is a great wine that will warm up those cooler winter evenings.Chris
Absolutely. And if you can’t get it around the campfire, actually, you can drink it while watching the finale of Yellowstone. And then it’ll feel like you’re still drinking it on the plains. That’s the way to go. We are not sponsored by Yellowstone or Paramount Plus.Katy
So I’m sensing maybe some some buffalo steaks. What food are we going to eat? This?Chris
Oh, I think this is rib eye. This is big rib eye for me because it’s really rich. Something with marbled meats, something where you can feel really primal as you eat it, holding the meat by the bone and taking a big chunk out of it like a refined gentleman would know.Katy
Quite not that it’s out of place in a white tablecloth, but you don’t need one in order to enjoy this one.Chris
Absolutely. I think this is great. At the kitchen counter with friends or seated around a table with a big cooked goose in front of you. Maybe not goose. If you can find one.Katy
Can you find a goose? I mean, I don’t know. The last time I saw a goose.Chris
I keep chasing them. I can’t catch.Katy
The whole thing. Well, we hope that you find a fun spot for this wine in your cellar. And again, like Chris said, let us know what you think about this red blend. We’re excited. Hope you are, too.Chris
And we will see you at the next glass.Katy
Cheers.
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