Lot 950 Mulled Wine by CH Wine. For when it’s cold outside. Sip and savor your mug of mulled wine with Cameron Hughes Lot 950 2021 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Download Mulled Lot 950 Recipe (pdf) Servings: 4 Prep Time: 20 minutes Difficulty: Beginner Rating: ★★★★★ INGREDIENTS 1…
Napa Cabernet Sauvignon Mulled Wine Recipe
Lot 875 2018 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Cameron Hughes Wine Lot 875 is an exclusive Cabernet release from a top Napa house!
Napa Valley is famous the world over for exceptional Cabs, and occasionally, we come across one of the very top houses cutting bait with exclusive, tasting room only, reserve program, or single vineyard bottlings, however, the price isn’t always right. That’s not the case this go around. One of the tightest NDAs we signed late last year allowed us to find the perfect intersection of exceptional wine at an extraordinary value.
Lot 875 is produced by a house that essentially defines Napa pedigree with triple-digits running the cost of entry. All their releases are in the barrels-to-low case count quantities, so exclusive is something they embody to the fullest. As such, the quantity of what we have to offer today is hyper-limited, and all we can tell you about this wine is it’s 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, 100% New French oak aged, and a one-off score from a discontinued program at the original winery. This is a bottle that may seem unassuming but is in fact a collector’s item.
Watch or listen as Chris Lafleur, Sommeliers Creed for Cameron Hughes walks us through a tasting.
Tasting Video Highlights:
00:00 Intro
00:32 On Napa Valley
01:08 The Color
01:38 The Nose
02:30 The Palate
03:16 Where in your cellar?
Lot 907 2021 Napa Valley Blanc de Blancs Sparkling Wine
A sparkling Blanc de Blancs made just like Champagne, from 100% Napa Valley Chardonnay grapes. We had to triple-check that the fact sheets on this great sparkling find weren’t somehow mixed up with a great traditional-method Champagne. Lot 907 is the kind of wine that makes you do a double (or triple) take: “Wait, this is from Napa Valley?!?”
Indeed it is—Lot 907 is a sparkling Blanc de Blancs made just like Champagne, from 100% Napa Valley Chardonnay grapes (with a mere four grams of sugar per liter in the Brut style). Our extended CHW team happens to include a nearly four-decade veteran sommelier and wine director who helped source this exceptional sparkler—aged in the bottle by the producer!—and offered it to us thanks to our deep industry contacts. Simply put, Lot 907 is the kind of wine that put CH Wine on the map for its incredible deals!
Shimmering visually and on the palate, Lot 907 gives much more expensive bubbles a serious run for their money. Opening with elegant floral, toast, and apple notes, the fine bubbles and lifted nose belie the tropical richness that waits once you get into your mouth. Every sip of this sparkler invites yet another, and another, and another… Let’s just say you will want to have plenty of bottles on hand, as this kind of price/quality ratio will put Lot 907 at the top of your “house pour” list this summer.
Opening with a clear light blond hue, a gorgeous bouquet, and a fine, persistent mousse, the casual observer should be forgiven for at first mistaking this for a classy, non-vintage Champagne in the glass. Aromas of white flower blossom, Granny Smith apple, brioche, and melon are met with just-ripe tropical fruit flavors, and the result is a pleasure to imbibe. The mouthfeel is classic Champagne-method bubbly, at once round, smooth and inviting, while also being energetic and buoyant. This 100% Napa Chardonnay sparkler shimmers both visually and on the palate and gives a lot of more expensive bubblies a serious run for their money.
Watch as Wanda Mann, Wine Writer and Educator, walks us through a tasting and discusses this exciting sparkling wine.
Wine Tasting Highlights:
00:00 Intro
01:08 The Color
01:53 The Smell
02:05 The Taste
Tasting Video Transcript:
00:00:08 –> 00:02:37
Wanda Mann says:
Hello, Wanda Mann here in the CH Wine
Tasting Room.Did tiny bubbles make you happy? Some of you know that song? When I was little. I loved that song.
I used to think it meant blowing bubbles that we did as kids. Now I’m like, It’s about sparkling wine. It’s about champagne.
Today I have a wine that’s made in the same method as champagne. But it is not champagne. So LOT 907 is our 2021 Sparkling Chardonnay from Napa Valley.
We hear Napa.We think big, robust reds or maybe some of those robust chardonnays as well. But did you know Napa is also known for traditional method? Méthode champagne was sparkling wines.
Now, this wine is 100% chardonnay. So if you want to impress your friends, you can say Blanc de Blancs, which means it’s the white of whites.
It’s made of 100% Chardonnay. This wine spent 15 months resting on the Lees. Now, when I see that in the description that tells me there’s going to be some complexity, some richness, maybe a little creaminess.
And when I hear Napa, I’m intrigued as well. So let’s pour some and see what this is all about.
I always say with sparkling, sometimes you want to stop and listen. You hear those bubbles kind of dancing around in the glass. And if you look, you can see them as well.
As long as that beautiful golden color just immediately makes me happy, makes me think of sunshine, celebrating and being festive. But it’s important to remember that sparkling wine is a wine. It’s not just for celebrations. You can pair it with food. One of my favorite things being in New York, I do maybe too much takeout and delivery.
I love my high, low pairings and I love traditional method wines like this one, but maybe some greasy, crunchy fried food. It is the perfect pairing. Trust me.
So let’s give this a smell. Really aromatic. Exactly what I expect that there’s richness, this ripeness, but it’s alive.
And that’s what you want in a sparkling wine. You want that vitality. You want to sense it even before you taste it. Wow. That is crisp. It’s fresh. But again, that 15 months in the leaves as a bit of creaminess at this price point, this wine, I have to say, will fool some of your really snooty friends who think that that’s not from champagne and it didn’t cost a fortune.
How could it be good? This is better than good. This is really delicious. I say, buy a case of this. You can impress someone as a gift or just to cheer yourself up when you’re having a tough day. So cheers.
Drink? Well.
Lot 950 2021 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
It’s here folks! The wine you’ve all been waiting for – our final big, Black Label release for 2023: Lot 950 2021 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. At CH Wine, we love to talk about the first time we tried a specific Cab, and Lot 950—a mind-blowing Napa Cabernet from the monumental 2021 vintage—was one of those wines for us. We knew immediately it would be our biggest release. Whether or not you’ve ever bit the bullet to try a $100+ bottle wine – now is your chance. Today’s release brings everything to the table that there is to love about Napa Valley Cabernet: power, structure, and incredible flavor.
Lot 950 comes to us from a pedigreed cult-level source—a winery that has been praised for decades by the major wine publications of the world. But don’t take our word for it, stick your nose in the glass and revel in the alluring scents of kirsch, blueberry, red florals, and decadent oak notes tinged with chocolate. Those same aromas envelop the palate in cascading waves of flavors. Full-bodied with elongated tannins that are as smooth as silk, layered with a plethora of boysenberry, black cherry, and blueberry compote notes. This is a hypnotic wine that demands sip after sip. You’ll want to have plenty of this irresistible red around to enjoy with rich, hearty, warming dishes like beef bourguignon, brisket, burgers, or Julia Child’s Poulet au Porto. But a wine like this doesn’t just belong on your dinner table, something this elegant also makes an incredible holiday gift. Your boss, father-in-law, or even your favorite dinner party host – no one on your holiday list will be disappointed with this wine.
You’ll want to seriously consider buying six or twelve bottles of Lot 950 because the source winery (which per usual has to remain nameless) — sells their 2021 Napa Cabernet for $100 per bottle. So, when you are holding that bottle of Lot 950 in your hands, having only paid $35, let it be your little secret. Congratulations you’ve found yourself something that wins whether you’re savoring it yourself or passing it along to friends and family!
Watch as Nicole Muscari, your Pocket Wine Advisor, and Wanda Mann, Wine Writer and Educator, walk us through a tasting and discuss this exciting release.
Wine Tasting Highlights:
00:00 Intro and Pour
00:34 2021 Napa Cabs
01:37 Half Centennial Lot 950
02:14 The Color
02:44 On the Nose
03:43 The Palate
04:39 Food Pairing
05:19 Wine Evolution
06:41 In the Cellar
Tasting Video Transcript:
Nicole
Welcome to the CH Wine tasting room. I’m Nicole Muscari your Pocket Wine Advisor, and I am here with the fabulous one Wanda Mann.Wanda
Well, thank you. I have to live up to that introduction.Nicole
Would you like to introduce this wine today?Wanda
Sure. Today we have Lot 950 it’s the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley. What makes this wine extra special? I believe it is our last Black label release of the year.Nicole
Oh, that is extra special. And so also a great vintage as well. 2021.Wanda
Yeah. What made 2021 so great?Nicole
It was just the perfect growing conditions, honestly. So Cabernet Sauvignon, as you know, has thick skins, small berries, and this weather was just perfect for it. So I think what we’re going to find is some really deep and concentrated juice here.Wanda
You know what I love about a wine like this? Cabernet Sauvignon, We all know it. Napa Valley Cabernet is really what helped put it on the map. But again, to see that even within the valley, how vintage makes a difference, how each wine has a different expression of that vintage of the winemaker’s style. So I think, you know, we want people know not all Cabernet are the same.Wanda
I think there’s a tendency to say, Oh, it’s Cab from Napa and to lump it in a bucket. But each one is unique.Nicole
Absolutely. It’s really especially when you let these age for a while and then you go back and you open up another bottle. You’re really drinking history. You’re drinking that year. Each bottle tells a specific story of what that vintage was so true.Wanda
And, you know, often Cabernet from Napa at a high quality is an investment was beautiful here is you’re getting that quality you’re getting a special wine This is the last of the series for this year and at a very accessible price point. So I think for holidays coming up, this is fall 2023 holiday season, special events, beautiful bottle with a great story, great vintage.Wanda
Can’t go wrong here.Nicole
No, absolutely. And I think that this is going to be a fuller bodied wine. Of course, that would be natural of Cabernet Sauvignon. But again, cozy wine for cozy season. Yes. So I love these wines.Wanda
Is #cozyseason a hashtag?Nicole
I think. So. What if it’s not?Wanda
Let’s make it one. Okay, So let’s let’s talk us through it.Nicole
Okay. Perfect. Let’s look at the color here. So it’s a really beautiful, deep ruby color, which is exactly what I would expect to find here. It almost has some purple tints. And I think that’s just because ’20, ’21, very young wine still here. This wine has a long time to go if we want it to here. So those purple tints just really making sense for the vintage.Wanda
That is so true. When someone pours me a Napa cab, this is really the color that I’m looking for. And so it nails it on appearance.Nicole
It sure does. And it’s even stating the glass a little bit.Wanda
It is. It is. This is rich.Nicole
I think it’s going to be a very concentrated wine. Right. Let’s get into it. Oh, right, right, right.Wanda
I’m not shy with. I love.Nicole
No. You know, this takes me right into being in New York City. You know, those really old New York City Steakhouse? Yes. Like the red carpets and the mahogany walls. I’m immediately transported there. And I don’t know if it’s just the pairing. I think historically when I do go, I love ordering Napa cabs with those steaks. So I guess that’s why it took me there.Nicole
But that’s the beauty of wine, is that you could take it one sniff and be transported somewhere else.Wanda
It’s so true. So much of the experience is that emotion, that feeling, that memory. But I’m glad you mentioned steakhouses, because I think really my first experiences with Napa cabs were in steakhouses because it is such a match made in heaven for a big, hearty piece of meat. You need a wine that can match up to that heft, the fattiness, the the weight of it.Wanda
Absolutely. But you need that acidity, right? So will this wine have that acidity? When we taste it, we have to see. Okay. Okay.Nicole
So these notes really everything that I was finding on the nose is really here on the palate. So those black plums, blackberry, juicy, ripe, not overripe.Wanda
Exactly.Nicole
Which I really love. There’s definitely a little bit of smoke, a little bit of toast and vanilla, I think, from that OG, which is really nice, but it’s not overpowering the fruit by any means.Wanda
But again, I think what we’re seeing here is some really smart winemaking because it was such a good vintage, I think was really smart not to overpower it with too much oak, but just enough like a chef cooking just the right amount. Yes, he’s in an uplift the wine.Nicole
Absolutely. Yeah. And there’s also this really nice kind of smokiness that I had mentioned that is coming from the oak. And it kind of brings me back again to that steakhouse because you get that charred piece of meat. And so I love drawing those parallels as well. And, you know, we talk a lot about meat, meat, meat. But I think there are so many other things that you in this with.Wanda
Absolutely. I think always, you know, hearty mushroom type dishes, any type of root vegetables, bean dishes.Nicole
Absolutely. Yeah. For our vegetarians, like a black bean burger meat. Excellent here.Wanda
Chili, because you could have a meat chili, an impossible chili, a bean based chili. So, again, you know, it’s a very elegant wine. But as I said before, I’m a big believer in kind of the high low pairing. So while this is perfect for any fancy occasion, special meal, also, if I’m at home and I’m having a burger and I want to feel a little fancy, this will this will get me there.Nicole
Absolutely. And as I go back to it, it’s already evolving in the glass a little bit, which is what I love about wine, too. It’s a living, breathing. I mean, we could say it’s breathing. It is an entity here. And so this is going to continue to evolve in my glass. And I think that’s another thing that’s so exciting about wine is that I can come back to this in 30 minutes and find maybe five other notes that I didn’t find initially in the wine.Nicole
And I think that will also continue to happen in bottle over time in the cellar.Wanda
It’s so true. I always remind people, especially when you’re opening a bigger red wine, just like when we wake up from sleep, we need time to stretch, right? And so really, that’s the beauty of that is that first sip, you take the second and a third, 30 minutes later, an hour later will be very different. And a beautiful wine does that.Wanda
If the wine isn’t doing that.Nicole
Yeah.Wanda
Correct. It’s missing something. Yes.Nicole
And this this going back to I’m now getting like really bright purple flowers and it’s just kind of great on top of that freshness and that acidity that we were just talking about, because sometimes we think about these big, bold wines and they can feel a little flabby or a little too warm, but this wine is very fresh on the finish.Nicole
I was salivating like crazy.Wanda
No, the acidity is really great. The alcohol is 14.5%, which also tells me this will age really, really well, because you need that structure. Yes. So you don’t want a wine where you’ve bought a case and then you open a bottle five months later, a year later, and it’s completely flat. This can go the long haul.Nicole
Absolutely. So how long would you say in your cellar? Oh.Wanda
You know, actually, I don’t have a cellar. I have a New York apartment. But I do manage to cellar a lot of wine using it as a verb. I would love to taste this in five years. Six years? Seven.Nicole
I agree. I think now, if you like a fruit forward wine, the tenants are plush enough to have now. But I think that this is going to be even better in a couple of years.Wanda
Yeah, I agree. I agree. Yeah. I think this is a really great investment that again, is not terribly expensive but really over delivers and is such a classic Napa cab. And again this is a vintage that the winemakers are talking about 2021 really excited about and this is a way to get in on that excitement. Absolutely.Nicole
And perfect for the winter holidays.Wanda
True so cozy season right?Nicole
Cozy season. Hashtag #cozyseason. Well, one of four my glass doors.Wanda
All right. Thank you. Cheers.
Lot 948 2018 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Lot 948 2018 Napa Valley Cabernet, we’ll cut right to the chase with our black label release – it’s got everything you want from a Napa Cab: pedigree, vintage, aged in bottle, and the ability to cellar this wine still for years to come. This wine hails from the 2018 vintage (which critics have praised as one of the best in the last 40 years). But listen: Forget the critics. Forget that the source winery is an iconic estate founded in 1995. Forget that they sourced grapes from vineyards near $200+ Peter Michael Winery in Knights Valley or the Rutherford Hills above Michelin-starred Auberge du Soleil.
Just pull the cork, pour into a big Bordeaux wine glass, swirl, and stick your nose in the glass—it’s immediately ravishing, elegant, and exceptional. It reminds us of drinking triple-digit icon wines from estates in the western-facing hills of the Vaca Mountains above Rutherford and Oakville (we’re talking Hall and Alpha Omega territory!). Still, this isn’t an overblown, super heavy, inky-rich Napa Cabernet. Lot 948 is all about understated elegance, which is exactly what we’d expect from the source winery. It’s wild that we got our hands on this one. We highly recommend decanting Lot 948 because it will be tight after opening, but with some air—wow.
The tasting notes on this wine are incredible. Brambly red and blackberry fruits, toasty fennel, graphite, and cedarwood. Almost buoyant, the tannins are featherweight with a satiny-smooth texture. Tobacco nuances are lifted by river stone minerality. The subtlest notes of vanilla and baking spices round out the finish. Is it a sleeper wine? Sure is. So stock up and enjoy some this Fall, next Fall, and the next Fall, etc… you won’t be disappointed!
Watch as Nicole Muscari, your Pocket Wine Advisor, and Wanda Mann, Wine Writer and Educator, walk us through a tasting and discuss this exciting release.
Tasting Video Highlights:
00:00 Intro
00:19 Lot 948 Basics
00:48 The Pour
01:06 The Color
01:23 Ageability
01:59 Napa Cab Sauv
02:28 2018 Vintage
03:05 On the Nose
04:12 The Palate
04:58 Pairing
05:51 Conclusion
Tasting Video Transcript:
Wanda says
Hello, Wanda Mann here in the CH Wine tasting room. And I’m joined by our Marvelous Pocket Wine Advisor, Nicole Muscari.Nicole says
Thank you for that introduction, fancy.Wanda
Thanks for being here with me. So what do we have in this bottle to.Nicole
Have a Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon? This is Lot 948. It’s from 2018. Fantastic. Vintage. Another fantastic.Wanda
Vintage. Yeah. I’ve been hearing from the winemakers. The rumor through the grapevine is 2018 was excellent.Nicole
That’s what they say. And there’s only 600 cases produced of this wine. So we are really lucky to be able to taste this together today.Wanda
Absolutely. And I think that’s one of the things the wine does so well. Special wines, quality wines, limited production. So you’re not going to see these wines everywhere. So definitely, if you’re trying to impress with the upcoming holiday season, this is something I think that will really dazzle your guests.Nicole
Absolutely. 2018. Five years already of aging on this wine. So I’m really excited to kind of look at the color and see if we could pick up a little bit of that aging.Wanda
Yeah, definitely. You know, it’s a beautiful color, a little more subdued. Like, it’s not that shimmering new vintage right into it, right?Nicole
Yes. It has more of a brick appearance. And I think just around the rim there, it’s it’s going a little bit more like brick, which is just showing a little bit of age. I think this wine I mean, I haven’t had it yet, but it could probably go for quite a long time.Wanda
I’m thinking so, especially given that 2018 when we talk about a good vintage, that means that the wine will have good acidity, good structure, good tannins, great fruit, Right. To declare a great vintage.Nicole
Absolutely. And I think that’s the number one question that I’m always getting asked by new wine drinkers is how do I know how long to hold on to a wine for? And I always say it’s like building a new house. You need to have a solid foundation for the house to really stand the test of time. And the same thing goes for wine, right?Nicole
So the foundation here is going to be that acidity, that tannin and that fruit concentration. And those are all things that we find in these Napa Valley Cab Sauvs is true.Wanda
You know, even though Cabernet has grown around the world, there is a reason why Napa has become the standout, the benchmark for quality for Cabernet Sauvignon, because there isn’t a monolith, right? There’s quality, but different vintages, different ways of expressing the essence of the grape. So I’m really excited to get into this 2018.Nicole
Yes, absolutely. I mean, every vintage tells its own story, and I think that’s also really fun when you have a couple of these bottles and you visit them at a later date, you’re kind of drinking the story of that year, also the story of that place and the person who made it, which is also something I just love about wine.Wanda
Exac. I’m so glad that you reinforced that. You know that the year isn’t just about the year that the grape was harvested. It is that snapshot of the season and how many things in life can we experience something in that way where you can taste the season?Nicole
Yeah, absolutely. And every time I look at a vintage oh 2018, what was I doing in 2018?Wanda
And that’s true, That’s.Nicole
True that when these grapes were on the vine.Wanda
So we give it a smell.Nicole
Oh, we should I can smell it from here.Wanda
I know. It’s very aromatic.Nicole
Oh, those are some concentrated deep berries, forest berries, black plum, blackberry.Wanda
And I love there’s an herbaceous character with that rich fruit. I love it when that quality is there, because then I know it’s not just going to be a fruit bomb.Nicole
Exactly. I like.Wanda
Those New York City.Nicole
Complex. A little bit of capsicum or red bell pepper here, just some spice that also adds to that notion of freshness. I also think that there’s, you know, some baking spice, sweet spice, a little bit of cigar box and maybe some leather and tobacco, just really kind of some from the oak and some just from a little bit of aging that’s just really adding to the layers and the depth of the wine.Wanda
Yeah, I think being a 2018 at five years old now, we still have some of that freshness, but that those tertiary flavors are starting to manifest themselves and it makes this really a much more interesting drinking experience. And I think sometimes for new wine drinkers, the concept of aging is hard to grasp. Yes, absolutely. Like why we geek out about it so much.Nicole
So we get to that.Wanda
Let’s get to it. Oh, nice.Nicole
That is beautiful.Wanda
It is the acidity right here.Nicole
Yeah, I can feel it.Wanda
You know, super fresh.Nicole
All of those notes, I think, really carry through here. I am picking up on a really beautiful bright purple flower as well. But I think that this is just fantastic because you have that concentration, the depth, the tannins are quite silky and fine grained, but they’re still present, which means this is definitely still going to age.Wanda
So true that even if we take this 30 minutes from now, the evolution in the glass as well, because of the wine like this, you know, it’s been bottled for five years. It needs to stretch, you know, come alive badly. But this is going very much in the right direction.Nicole
I am being thrown into either the winter holidays here, which I think would be perfect for, but also taste like football season to me. So for me and my house, it’s a big deal. On Sundays we get the crock pot going, a nice beef stew or a beef bourguignon, or just something with some hearty root vegetables that just sits out on the counter all day long.Nicole
Pour myself a nice cheeky splash while it’s cooking and then finish it off with a meal.Wanda
Now I agree. I love a wine like this because you can really integrate it into what you’re doing at home. You don’t have to wait for a special occasion. So that hearty crockpot meal, your home and comfortable clothes have that beautiful wine. Yeah, it’s still a special moment and experience, right?Nicole
I decided a few years ago to stop waiting for a special moment to treat myself. And my life has drastically got better. So, I mean, this is delicious. How many cases are you going to go home?Wanda
Oh, well, you know, my tiny Manhattan apartment. I could squeeze in a case. Well, there’s only.Nicole
600, so I don’t know how lucky we’re going to be, but, you know, I would recommend this a case or two. Open some now for the holidays and then watch this evolve over the next ten years.Wanda
Yes, A great way to learn about wine. Take a wine that you love and watch it evolve and, you know, your palate starts to understand it better, but you just enjoy drinking it as well. It doesn’t have to be complex.Nicole
I mean, I’m enjoying drinking this right now, so from my glass to yours.Wanda
Absolutely. Cheers.
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.
