Lot 917 2021 Wahluke Slope Merlot
Cameron Hughes Wine Lot 917 effortlessly combines deliciousness and pedigree into one irresistible package.
Sustainable, expertly crafted, and delicious—that’s our Lot 917 2021 Wahluke Slope Merlot in a nutshell. This 2021 Merlot hails from “Sustainable WA” certified vineyards in the Wahluke Slope, an area of eastern Washington that’s been gaining serious traction among red wine lovers year after year since its official recognition in 2006.
Named after a Native American word meaning “watering place,” Wahluke Slope is actually one of the drier spots in Washington state, all of it sitting on a large alluvial fan with incredibly uniform, gravelly soils that evoke regular comparisons to the world’s foremost Merlot powerhouse region: Right Bank Bordeaux. Bordered by the Columbia River, Saddle Mountains, and Hanford Reach National Monument, there are only 20 vineyards in Wahluke Slope, and almost all of them grow incredible Merlot grapes.
Watch or listen as Nicole Muscari, your Pocket Wine Advisor, walks us through a tasting.
Tasting Video Highlights:
00:00 Intro
00:43 The Color
00:53 The Nose
01:25 The Palate
02:05 Wine Pairing
Lot 906 2021 Wahluke Slope Red Blend
Cameron Hughes Wine Lot 906 is a ripe-styled, full-bodied, intense, and richly-flavored red blend made from grapes with significantly smaller berry sizes translating into an incredible concentration of flavor and structure.
Red blends are absolutely on fire lately and have always been one of our top sellers. Wines like Lot 906 2021 Wahluke Slope Red Blend demonstrate why that’s the case. (Red Blend fans will want to think about buying multiple bottles, why? Keep reading!)
This red blend from Washington State’s Columbia Valley showcases a unique, record-setting vintage for the region. 2021 absolutely shattered temperature records in eastern Washington, with a historic heat dome settling over the area. For an average wine-growing region, this would have been potentially disastrous. But because of the incredible vineyard management talent and overall health of the vines in Columbia Valley in general, the source vineyards for Lot 906 weathered the heat like champions, producing high-quality, intensely flavored, power-packed fruit (particularly for the region’s red wine varieties).
Berry sizes were significantly smaller, translating into grapes with an incredible concentration of flavor and fantastic structure (thanks to a higher than normal skin-to-pulp ratio, meaning more tannins to go along with all of that ample dark fruit action). The catch? Yields were way, way down, and much less red wine was made in 2021 as a result.
Watch or listen as Chris Lafleur, Sommeliers Creed for Cameron Hughes walks us through a tasting.
Tasting Video Highlights:
00:00 Intro
00:22 GSM and Wahluke
01:48 The Nose
02:30 The Color
02:48 The Palate
04:00 Where in your cellar?