Lot 855 2020 Saint-Émilion Bordeaux
A Right Bank bottling that will leave you pondering; to cellar, or defend!?
Saint-Émilion, renowned for its incredible structures and beautiful landscapes, is globally recognized for its wine. Unlike the Left Bank wines of the Médoc, the Right Bank Saint-Émilion wines are dominated by Merlot, generally followed by Cabernet Franc, then maybe a little Cabernet Sauvignon or another permitted grape in the region as a winemaker sees fit. The cooler soils of the region make a great home for Merlot, but don’t always bring Cabernet Sauvignon to full ripeness, hence the Merlot dominated trend in the region – which makes these wine approachable much younger than the Médoc bottlings across the river, and subsequently a bit more popular in the marketplace.
Lot 855 comes to us from a long-established house in the region – the structures dating back a few centuries alone – and a winemaker with more notches in their belt than the average winemaker in the region. An extremely tight NDA restricts much of what we’d love to gush over regarding this wine, but we can tell you it’s grown in older vineyards (stateside, we’d call it “Old Vine,” “Reserve,” or something of the like), comprised of largely Merlot with a touch of Cab Franc rooted to sandy loams, and aged for 8 months before going to bottle. Extensive vine maintenance is observed including double Guyot pruning, bud maintenance, and leaf trimming. The result is a wine imbued with a fruited nose wrapped in all the earthy, leather terroir that makes for a fleshy and well-structured wine ready to nap in your cellar.
Much like its sister, Lot 854, Lot 855 is built to age, but excellent today with a very healthy decant, and getting a Bordeaux this young can only mean one thing: value alert!
Red fruits and leather open the nose on this elegantly extracted example from Bordeaux, underpinned by dried herb bouquets and blue fruit at the core. The entry is youthful and tightly wound at this stage – showing the need to decant for a good 3 hours+ before diving in, ultimately waking up a welcoming, terroir-laden palate with accents of fruit dancing around new leather over medium acidity and supple tannins. The finish is long and dry, begging for another sip, a slice of fatty ribeye, some duck confit, or all the aforementioned, because, why not?
Watch as Nicole Muscari, your Pocket Wine Advisor, walks us through a tasting and discusses this exciting French Bordeaux wine.
Wine Tasting Highlights:
00:00 Intro and Langhe
00:47 The Color
01:06 On the Nose
01:42 The Palate
02:28 Where in your cellar?
Tasting Video Transcript:
00:00:08:02 – 00:00:28:15
Nicole Muscari
Welcome to the CH Wine Tasting Room. I’m Nicole Muscari your pocket wine advisor and I am bringing you something truly exciting today. This is LOT 855. A wine from Saint-Émilion Bordeaux. Let’s get into it. So where is Saint-Émilion Bordeaux? Saint-Émilion Bordeaux is a designated area in the region of Bordeaux, located in the southwestern part of France.00:00:28:17 – 00:00:48:09
Bordeaux is really divided into three areas. You have the left bank, the ultra, the in the middle, and then the right bank, which is where some 2 million lies. The real big difference is in the soil. The left bank has these gravelly soils more better suited to Cabernet Sauvignon, but the right bank has more clay, heavy soils better suited to merlo and Cabernet Franc.00:00:48:10 – 00:01:06:12
Why is that? Well, Merlot can handle the water stored in those clay soils, so it can really take in that water to make those berries nice and big. Which is really a trait of Merlot. Now, don’t let Merlo scare you. I know the movie Sideways threw us all off a little bit, but this is the home of Merlo and really thrives.00:01:06:12 – 00:01:27:13
And this is probably the most, if not my favorite expression of Merlot here. So we are blending it with a little bit of Cabernet Franc. Cabernet Franc is going to add some structure, a little bit of spice and acidity. So I can’t wait to get into it. But first, let’s take a look at the color. So looking at this wine, it’s a nice rich, deep ruby color, really beautiful.00:01:27:18 – 00:01:52:20
The rim goes a little bit brick, but definitely not showing any aging quite yet on the nose. Oh, that is delicious. Now, what’s so exciting about this is I can just tell the quality of the wine just by smelling it. And what’s super exciting is that wines from this region usually are going for 2 to 3 times more the price than this wine here.00:01:52:20 – 00:02:27:06
So the value here is unmatched. Let’s get to the nose. Bright red, juicy plums. It’s not overripe. It’s definitely more juicy. A little bit of raspberry and sweet spice, maybe some cigar box and tobacco. I’m getting some capsicum or green pepper just a little bit from that cabernet franc and maybe some dried herbs as well, like dried sage or dried thyme.00:02:27:08 – 00:02:56:17
Wow. That is fresh. That is lively. Sometimes we think of Merlo and we think of, you know, full, full bodied wines with a lot of alcohol. A little bit too plush, a little bit too lush. But not this wine. This wine is perfectly well balanced between that great mid palate texture that is a little bit softer. But that cabernet franc is really going to just make everything super lively, lift that fruit, add this spice, add that acidity, and it’s just so delicious.00:02:56:18 – 00:03:19:08
So where does this fit in your cellar? Bordeaux is typically known to last a very, very long time. The structure of these wines are solid. I always tell people structure of a wine is like structure of a house. You need a great foundation so the house can last a long time. And this has that foundation. It has the fruit concentration, the acidity and the tannin to really go the long haul.00:03:19:10 – 00:03:39:22
I would recommend buying a few cases if you like fruit-forward wines, drink it. Now it’s fall 2023. This is a 2020 red, if you like that fruit forwardness drink it now. But if you like to see those tertiary notes develop over time, get a few cases and open them as you go. If I were you, I would pair this with a big chateaubriand.00:03:40:03 – 00:03:47:12
Share it with your loved ones. Special holidays and special occasions. You really can’t go wrong. From my glass to yours. Cheers.
Lot 829 2019 Langhe Nebbiolo
An incredible steal from the north of Italy!
Lot 829 came to our attention from one of the premier wineries in the Piemonte region, focusing on low-yield vines, hand-pruning to optimize clusters and ripeness, then hand selecting clusters that make it to press before aging in oak with a bit of further bottle conditioning before release. From cured meats to fried foods, from oven-roasted to charcoal-grilled meats, it’ll be harder to find a more ideal, versatile pairing wine, leave alone one at over half off the original winery’s price!
Perfectly pale garnet in the glass, the nose is everything you’d love to find in a Nebbiolo: cranberry, cherry, and rose wrapped in soft, new leather accented by dusty clay pot. The entry is terroir-driven with bright, juicy cranberry acidity, sweet tobacco, further clay pot, and tar with infinitely small, dusty, mouth-filling tannin. The finish is medium length, dry and clean, anchoring this quaffable delight right in between a solo-sipper and your next cheeseburger’s best friend.
Watch as Nicole Muscari, your Pocket Wine Advisor, walks us through a tasting and discuses this exciting Italian red wine.
Wine Tasting Highlights:
00:00 Intro and Langhe
00:47 The Color
01:06 On the Nose
01:42 The Palate
02:28 Where in your cellar?
Tasting Video Transcript:
00:00:08:02 – 00:00:31:16
Nicole Muscari says
Welcome to the CH Wine tasting room. I’m Nicole Muscari your pocket wine advisor here today with LOT 829 from the Langhe. My Italian ancestors would be very excited right now. So where is the Langhe? The lake is in the region of Piedmont in northern Italy. Now, some of us know Piedmont to have Barolo. That’s probably the most well known wine here.00:00:31:20 – 00:00:56:07
But the Langhe is just as exciting. And why is that? It produces wine from Nebbiolo, just like Barolo does. But the value here is completely unmatched. So without further ado, let’s get into the color. So what I love about this color is that it has this medium garnet. It’s a little bit translucent, and as it goes out to the rim, you see that Garnet become more pale.00:00:56:08 – 00:01:23:09
This is very, very common for Nebbiolo. This specific color, this does not mean that it’s aged by any means. This is just a characteristic of the grape variety. On the nose. That is so delicious. This could actually fool me into thinking it was a very, very expensive Barolo because it has that classic tar and roses. And that’s what I always find on Nebbiolo wine.00:01:23:11 – 00:01:56:04
And every time I say tar and roses, it sounds like the next hip restaurant, doesn’t it? Okay. Other than that, we have this bright red cherry almost going tart red fruit, so sour cherry, cranberry, a little bit of sweet spice and dried herb. Ooh, it’s just really delicious. Let’s get into the palate. Oof! That is great. The fruit concentration here is perfect.00:01:56:10 – 00:02:17:22
That mid palate, it really hits. It’s like a burst of flavor. Everything that I had mentioned on the nose, those tart red cherries, those cranberries, a little bit of tobacco and sweet spice, a little bit of dried rose petals. It’s all there. What I think is very notable about this wine is it has a very, very high acidity and also very, very high tannin levels.00:02:17:22 – 00:02:38:00
So that means your mouth is really going to dry out here. But that also means that this wine can age for a very long time. If you wanted it to, even up to five years, I would say. So where does this fit into your cellar? Well, as I mentioned, this wine can definitely age up to five years. I think if you really love that mouth drying feeling you can sometimes get from a red wine.00:02:38:04 – 00:02:56:21
You can drink this now, but over time, those tannins are really going to soften and integrate into the wine. And I just think that’s going to be even more enjoyable. What I would pair this with, well, I always say what grows together goes together. I would put this with a truffle risotto with mushrooms. Think about those white truffles from Piedmont.00:02:57:00 – 00:03:03:15
That would just be a perfect pairing. And now my mouth is watering for my glass to yours. Cheers
Wine Q&A with The Tasting Panel #3
Wine Questions and Answers with Nicole Muscari, your Cameron Hughes Pocket Wine Advisor, and Wanda Mann, Wine Educator. Watch as these two wine aficionados walk us through frequently asked questions about wine.
It seems like only yesterday that we sold our first Lot Series wine: Lot 1, 2002 Lodi Syrah. Nearly 900 releases later, we’re still going strong. Over the years we have heard a LOT of interesting questions about wine and we hope that Wanda and Nicole will help answer some of your questions in this educational video.
Today’s Wine Q&A topics include:
- What is your “Go to” wine?
- Describe yourself as a wine varietal?
- Why do we swirl wine?
- What’s most important when pairing wine and food?
- How do you introduce a “newbie” to wine?
- What are some of the common misconceptions about wine?
- Is there a wrong way to drink wine?
- What can be inferred by a wine’s color?
- What is your wine philosophy?
We love answering your wine questions! Keep the conversation going by sending us your questions about wine!
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 949 2019 Napa County Red Blend
Time to roll out the red carpet for our next release, Lot 949 2019 Napa County Red Blend is a red blend that’s here to knock out the competition. We love to talk about Red Blends from Napa because we also like to brag that we’ve got the category covered in spades. If there’s one thing we do well for Cameron Hughes fans, it’s whip up delicious red blends that over-deliver on the price point. Full stop!
When we scan the lists of some of Napa’s best red blends according to the bigtime critics out there—Food & Wine magazine, Wine Enthusiast, and Wine Spectator what we see of Napa blends is typical: no shortage of great wines—but all priced way over $40 a bottle! The other thing we noticed? We buy grapes from some of the same top producers mentioned! In one article alone, we could pick out two wines over $50 from producers where we buy grapes!
In our Napa County red blend – Lot 949 is a field blend of Petite Sirah, Grenache, Zinfandel, Mourvèdre, and Alicante Bouchet. It’s called a ‘field blend’ because the grapes all grow together in one field, which is harvested all at once to create one wine (rather than harvesting the varietals separately and then blending the wines together). In 2019, a “beautifully classic vintage,” grapes ripened to perfection, retaining bright, natural acids.
In the glass, this translates to bright red brambly fruit, wild herbs, spices, and remarkably soft and silky tannins. One sip of this wine is like biting into a plump, juicy, farmer’s market ripe strawberry! It can evoke long-lost memories of foods you don’t eat anymore — strawberry fruit leather, anyone? Channel that nostalgia with this big, delicious adults-only Red Blend. At only $25 per bottle, you’re getting a steal of a Napa County red blend that hits in all the right places for roughly half the price of its competitors.
Watch as Chris Lafleur, Sommeliers Creed for Cameron Hughes, and Wanda Mann, Wine Writer and Educator, walk us through a tasting and discuss this exciting release.
Tasting Video Highlights:
00:00 Intro to Lot 949
00:52 Red Blends
01:28 Color
01:54 On the Nose
03:29 The Palate
04:40 Food Pairing
05:23 Where in your Cellar?
Tasting Video Transcript:
Chris Lafleur says
Hi, everyone. Welcome back to the CH Wine tasting room. I’m Chris Lafleur, your sommelier at large, and I’m here with one Wanda Mann, what are we going to be tasting today?Wanda Mann says
We are tasting lot 949 It’s a 2019 Red Wine Blend from Napa.Chris
Oh, I’m already excited. But this one is a little different from the other ones that you see out of Napa.Wanda
It is. Everyone knows Napa. We tend to think of Cabernet Sauvignon. Right. What’s interesting about this blend, there is no Cabernet in this blend. It’s five really interesting grapes. And I know there’s some Petite Sirah.Chris
There’s some Petite Sirah, a little bit of Grenache, a little bit of Alicante Bouchet. And I believe there’s also some Mourvèdre in there. So there’s lots of things to combine here and create an interesting amelioration of grape flavors and aromas.Wanda
Great. And what I love about a blend, again, I know winemakers love that opportunity, maybe to be a little more playful to experiment, and a blend allows them to do that. And also the challenge of the blend, right? Because you have all of these different grapes with different personalities, different styles, bringing different things to the wine. So I like to think of the blend as kind of as a musical group.Wanda
You have your basis, you have your drummer, you have your lead singer, but you need them all to come together in harmony. And a good blend does that well. It’s like your favorite rock and group.Chris
Absolutely. I love watching George Harrison do his thing, but sometimes I want to see the Beatles.Wanda
Exactly.Chris
And that’s all we have here. So let’s have a look, see how it’s developing. Oh, beautiful.Wanda
You always say the eyes drink it in first, right? So the beautiful ruby kind of shimmering in the glass.Chris
Mm hmm. It’s not quite opaque. I can see my hand through it. Oh, here’s a salmon. Me? No CO2, no sediment. Great. Here’s a uniform. Really elegant to look at. I love how deep that color is, especially in the light there. Oh, all right. On the nose.Wanda
Yes. Oh. Oh, that’s pretty. You know, I love the challenge of this wine, and I think this is a wine maybe that allows us to relax a little bit because we know it’s not Cabernet and maybe some of us aren’t familiar with these grapes that are in there. But you smell fruit, you smell red fruit, you smell some spice, you smell some brambly character.Wanda
So it’s very, very captivating in that sense.Chris
I love that you hit on that brambly character because I always associate that with Grenache and I know that’s in here. So I think we’re on the right path. And what I love about this, it smells so.Wanda
Deep. It does.Chris
It feels like the fruit is really concentrated. It doesn’t feel like quite overripe. It feels really crunchy. But being so deep, I feel like it’s going to unwind really well.Wanda
Yeah, it feels very lifted. I’m not getting a heavy it’s just like a very kind of nice fruit aroma dancing out of the glass.Chris
There’s there’s still some, like, Earth notes for me, like fresh turn, Dark Earth. I really like that. And I think there’s a touch of barrel, but the barrel to me is not driving the boss on this wine.Wanda
Absolutely. And I think, you know, often when we talk about aging and barrel, you know, suspect shift with seasoning, Right. So there are different degrees of how you use the barrel. And I think this was used in a very subtle way, this kind of cradle and bring it all together. But I like the fact that it’s not jumping out of the glass, just a very subtle, toasty note.Wanda
Yeah, just a hint of it.Chris
Like I get a little vanilla, like I need, like, the edge of my on the edge, my nose. Yeah, I want to say my palate. But we’re not there yet. We’re straining ourselves with grain.Wanda
Exactly.Chris
But it is there, and it just kind of rounds out the fruit. I think we’re teasing ourselves too much to not taste.Wanda
Yeah, we need to taste now.Chris
Okay.Wanda
It’s really impressive that balance between richness and freshness. It’s like really walking a tightrope in a nice way.Chris
Yeah. And I think some of the best wines do that. Like, you want to walk that line of like, is this going to be too ripe? Is it going to be slightly under ripe? And you get more interesting flavors and also you keep that energy to the wine. When you’ve got good acidity, the wine feels alive. It feels ready to jump out at you in the glass and it hits the palate in a way that feels electric.Chris
Yeah, and I love that I have a good wine.Wanda
Also, and often hear winemakers say, you know, they want us to finish the bottle, not just because we want you to buy another bottle, but because I think we’ve all experienced that you have a wine that you really excited about, but it’s so heavy on your palate. Finishing a glass becomes a challenge. So what started out as pleasure becomes a chore.Wanda
But this wine with that juiciness and that acidity, really, you want to keep going back. It’s not work to finish this.Chris
It invites you to pour another glass. So I guess that that tells us a little bit about what we’re going to do when we want to buy this. Yes. How many we need to get First off, what are you going to put this with if you’re going to have this at your dinner table?Wanda
I think it’s really versatile. That’s the other beauty of this, having some other roots. I love barbecue, but I think this will go great with pasta. You know, any type of meat dish kind of root vegetables. I love lentils. I make a lentil stew, actually. So and I think that will work really well. Has a little bit of smoked paprika in it.Wanda
And I think that would interact really nicely with the flavors here.Chris
Oh, yes, please. Yeah, I’ll come visit. Next thing you get this going. So just let me know. I’ll be there. Yeah, I fully agree. I especially like the barbecue now since you’ve got such a dense core. Yeah. And when I think of a good barbecue, I think about really rich sauce. That’s. That’s a perfect one for me, too.Chris
So we know what we’re going to put it with on the table. But where’s this going to fit in your cellar? What do you think, Wanda?Wanda
I mean, I think this is definitely an example where maybe someone who hasn’t started collecting yet. This is a great place to start because the wine is very drinkable and approachable now. But because of that acid in that structure, this can go several years. You’re the same. How many years do do you think?Chris
Hmm. I think if we were holding this in the wine cellar for like five years, like this is right now fall 2023, I think even by the time next year rolls around, this is going to be singing and really showing itself and unwinding all of the interesting notes that are ameliorated here together. You can probably go a little longer, but I think five years is where you want to give it at the start.Chris
So if you cannot wait, yeah, that’s that’s how long it’s going to be showing ideally. And also, you know, you don’t need to get just one bottle or even one case you can get a bunch now. So we’ve talked this up so much, you have to try it now. It’s ready to drink, get a couple of bottles and then open it again later.Wanda
Yes. It’s always fun to see that evolution is something I write about a lot. And, you know, many folks don’t have the patience. I think you can hold a few. I mean, I think, you know, it helps with all of our wine education to see that wine is this living entity that does evolve in the bottle over time.Wanda
So it’s fun to kind of track those differences.Chris
Yeah. And like, good wine doesn’t belong just with the special occasion. If the wine is good enough and you want to open it badly enough, a lot of things can become a special occasion. True? Yeah. You know, you got the mail today. Cool. Special occasion. Let’s open a bottle of wine.Wanda
Make pizza night a little fancy.Chris
Oh, that’s a great. Well, now I’m getting hungry, I think. Let’s get a pizza. I think this bottle and.Wanda
This one’s ours. They can’t.Chris
This. This last year.Wanda
There is.Chris
More. I had a couple. So we’re going. Okay, good. And with that, we’ll see you at the next class.Wanda
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 947 2018 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir
We like to remind you that all day, every day, we do just two things:
- Scour the world for great grapes and young wine that needs a new home.
- Usher those grapes from harvest and new wines from tank straight through our own winemaking, aging, and bottling—to bring you great bottles at jaw-dropping prices.
Our newest fall countdown wine is the pinnacle of just that – we’re leaving our soapbox and letting Lot 947 2018 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir, do the rest of the talking.The thing is, Lot 947 embodies those two things we do (seek out awesome grapes, and make awesome wine). For starters, Lot 947 is 100% Pinot Noir from the Russian River Valley—an incredibly exciting region in Sonoma where some of the world’s great Pinot Noir wines are being made today. The winemaking team at CHW will only let us reveal that this was from a premium program that “may have been discontinued,” and they added, “punches way above its weight in both fruit and wood,” and then they told us, “and we’re buying up a bunch of it ourselves!
Lot 947 is a bowl full of juicy raspberry and blackberry fruit, hints of dark earth notes, like rolling over a log in the forest, hints of black tea, and traces of vanilla. Those red and black fruits really pop on the palate, infused with black tea notes and lifted by mouthwatering, racy acidity. Velvety textures are laced with more vanilla and oak spices. Where does this belong in your cellar? With 5 years aging in the bottle it’s ready to go now. Drink up and enjoy with rotisserie chicken and potatoes, roasted and brined turkey, or 48-hour salted steaks, or just pour a contemplative glass and park yourself in front of a roaring fire. Yes.
Watch as Chris Lafleur, Sommeliers Creed for Cameron Hughes walks us through a tasting of this 2018 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir.
Tasting Video Highlights:
- 00:00 Intro
- 00:15 Lot 947 Info
- 00:50 The Color
- 01:09 The Nose
- 01:44 The Taste
- 02:43 Where does it fit in your cellar?
Video Transcript:
Chris Lafleur says:
Hi, everyone. Welcome back. This is Chris Lafleur, friendly neighborhood sommelier from the wine tasting room. And we have got some Pinot Noir for you today. This is Lot 947. So let’s dig right in. So this is a Russian River Valley Pinot Noir, which is very exciting right away for me. When you think about Sonoma, like it’s so disparate, what can grow here?It’s really incredible that you go all the way to like Knight’s Valley or Alexander Valley and you’ve got Cabernet Sauvignon that is punching above its weight and comparing very easily with Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. And then you go south and you’ve got some wild expressions of Pinot Noir that have a nice long growing season. So they build up all this remarkable character because that’s what you want.
You want cold climate pinot to show like a cold climate Pinot. So here’s what we have on the color. You can see it’s still deep at its core with some ruby and garnet, but on the edges, nice and pale. Like this is not an opaque wine. You can see your hand through it right away. You get to see that this is a solid wine with a light thin skin.
Pinot Noir in a nutshell. Let’s talk about the nose. Oh, boy. And we’re going to talk about the nose for a while. That’s real good. Okay, so we have some red fruit here. We’ve got black fruit here. I’m thinking of, like, crunchy raspberry and bramble berry, a little bit of black berry. And there’s also a hint of, like, dark, dark earth, which which to me expresses like ice.
Like I always say, it’s forest floor. Like, roll over that log, get a smell. There’s a little bit of black tea on here on the nose as well. And there’s just a touch of vanilla suggesting this spends a little bit of time and oak. And I think we’re going to have to taste it to confirm. But I mean, woe is me.
I got to taste wine today. All right? Can’t spit it. Can’t spit that one. Still good. Can’t spit it. Okay. I hope we get to do multiple takes of this one. It tastes so good. Okay. So on the palate right away. Lots of red fruit. Lots of black fruit, too. In that texture, after that slight astringent note is present.
But it’s not driving the bus because this is a pinot noir. It’s built by race in it. And if you’re tasting this alongside me right now, you know that your mouth is watering. Is that how good this wine is? There’s still a little bit of that forest floor that’s not hitting on the palate because nobody wants to taste rotten leaves.
But you do love that smell of like walking through the fall and feeling the foliage in the air. It’s incredible. This is a great wine with great texture that’s only rounded out by the amount of oak on it. It’s not overpowering it, but it gives you this beautiful bouquet presented to you in a nice clutch of vanilla and oak.
Beautiful. Where does this fit in your wine cellar? I mean, I hope it’s obvious that this is a Pinot noir that you have to have. It’s incredible. For the price point on this one, I would expect probably to pay three times the amount if I saw this on the store shelves somewhere. So very good value. Where does this fit in?
Your wine cellar is a tough question because you won’t keep it in the cellar for very long. You’re probably going to drink it really quick unless you buy a lot of it because you can have this with dinner. It’s versatile. With almost every kind of meat. You’re going to have chicken, turkey, steak, whatever, but you can also sit in front of a nice fireplace in the fall or a campfire and enjoy this as well on its own.
Just contemplate really enjoying the company of all your friends who are thinking the same things as you. How is this wine so good? So I think that’s it for me. Go and enjoy the rest of this glass of wine on your own and think deeply and I will see you at the next glass.
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.
Lot 945 2021 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir
MIND-BOGGLING COMPLEXITY!
A couple of years ago, Cameron Hughes fan “Michael” left this comment about a Pinot Noir that is very similar to today’s Lot 945 2021 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir: “This was my first pinot from Chehalem Mountains…Loved it! I will be looking for more from this appellation.” Well, Michael, today is your — and every Pinot lover’s — lucky day.
The source winery basks in the shadow of the Chehalem Mountains of Oregon’s famed Willamette Valley — the epicenter of world-class Pinot Noir. Their family-owned 45-acre estate vineyard is farmed to the strictest of biodynamic standards, and the vines are teeming with life and vibrancy. It’s no wonder top critics regularly give their wines 90-94 points scores!
The Lot 945 2021 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir comes from Decanter magazine’s “cellar-worthy vintage,” which produced “brilliant” wines. Lot 945 is its own brilliant compilation of eight different Pinot Noir grape clones (for complexity) aged in expensive Taransaud, Ermitage, and Francois Freres oak barrels for impressive structure. It is a mind-boggling Pinot Noir that is so complex even the wine thinks it’s really a Grand Cru from Burgundy.
At $20 a bottle, get ready for a fireworks display: A beautiful lucid ruby-red color opens with ripe, black cherry and tart cranberry notes laced with black tea leaves, dried flowers, and sumptuous earth notes. This medium-bodied Pinot envelops the palate with satiny red-berry fruit wrapped in velvety tannins, while rich baking spices, cedarwood, and black truffle cream add intrigue. Expressive acidity keeps everything fresh and balanced.
Watch as Chris Lafleur, Sommeliers Creed for Cameron Hughes, and Nicole Muscari, your pocket wine advisor, walk us through a tasting and discuss this exciting Black Label release.
Video Highlights:
00:00 Intro
00:18 Willamette Valley / Oregon
01:13 In the Glass
01:30 The Nose
02:15 The Taste
03:08 Pairing
04:37 Where in the Cellar?
Tasting Video Transcript:
Chris Lafleur says
Hi, Everyone. Welcome back to the CH Wine tasting room. I’m Chris Lafleur your super sommelier, and I’m here with Nicole Muscari your pocket wine advisor. Nicole, what have we got today?Nicole Muscari says
Today, I’m super excited because we have a wine from Willamette Valley. This is a Pinot Noir Lot 945, and Oregon is one of my favorite states that produces Pinot noir.Chris
Oh, yeah.Nicole
We have to get into this.Chris
We certainly do. But when I think about Pinot Noir, like, one of my interest to it was tasting some burgundy. And the more you dig into Burgundy, the more expensive it gets. But I don’t know that I always get as much satisfaction out of those wines. The more I pay every time. But what I love about Willamette Valley is that almost always I’m getting I know what I’m getting.Chris
I’m getting a nice expression of Pinot noir that’s kind of between the Burgundy and California.Nicole
I agree. I find the exact same thing with Willamette Valley. You can get that really kind of undergrowth, that earthiness, that savory characteristic that you find a lot in Burgundy. But then you also have this really fruit forward, bright red, juicy fruit that you find here in the United States that I absolutely love. So it kind of combines the best of both worlds.Chris
Yeah.Nicole
All right. Lot 945. What do we have?Chris
Well, I think looking at this, you know, it’s fairly clear it’s not opaque or anything like that. So we’ve got traditional Pinot Noir, not really thick skins, nice slight expression. And I’m not seeing a lot of staining in the glass either. So Absolutely. From there onto the nose. Nicole?Nicole
Yes, I would expect this to be very fresh and very juicy. Let’s see.Chris
Some.Nicole
Ooo, those bright red cherries just right off the bat.Chris
Mm hmm. Yeah. Sleeping out with fruit and love, the little cranberry undertones, too. And I’m liking that. There’s there’s still a subtle note of, like, sous bois, that dark earth, but it’s. It’s still really fruit driven.Nicole
Yes. This kind of reminds me of Fall in a Glass, in a way. You know, those changing leaves, the reds, the yellows, the golds. I’m finding all of that in here.Chris
It’s like you’re getting to, like, walk through a nature trail when all the leaves are falling down.Nicole
Absolutely. I can even hear the crunching of the leaves. And I think actually the fruit itself on the palate might feel a little crunchy.Chris
Oh, well, speaking of let’s crunch that fruit.Nicole
Let’s crunch it.Chris
Mm hmm.Nicole
That is juicy.Chris
As usual for these black labels. It’s really hard to spit these wines. We’ve totally issued that aspect of it. I know you guys like to see us spit out the wine. You like to do it at home as well today. Just dig in.Nicole
This. Great. I find some really beautiful dried floral notes on here as well, with maybe a little dried peony like pink flower. But definitely those bright red fruits that we were talking about, a little bit crunchy and juicy. But again, with all of that beautiful undertone of a little bit of undergrowth, mushiness maybe. Yeah, but Earth.Chris
I like that you called out the dried flowers, the dried floral note here, because it does kind of remind me of a touch of potpourri, but not overpowering. There’s still like a nice balance of fruit and a nice balance of floral delight and lift.Nicole
What are you going to pair this with?Chris
What am I going to pair this with? Oh, man, Just everything. A nice cozy night on the couch for sure.Nicole
Absolutely.Chris
But, you know, when I think about what goes with Pinot Noir, I usually think about duck because it’s always a good excuse to have duck in the house. So I would definitely think about duck with maybe like, like a reduced balsamic or something. It’s going to bring all those flavors together. What about yourself?Nicole
I love mushrooms with Pinot Noir. I find once you save a piano after a while you can kind of get truffle mushroom tones once the wine goes a little tertiary. So I like to play with that, even though they’re not quite here yet. Sometimes if you do like a mushroom risotto or something like that, to kind of pull that complexity out of the wine.Nicole
So for me, I’m going mushroom risotto, maybe a little truffle on it. Not too crazy not to overpower it.Chris
We don’t need to go. But we can.Nicole
We can go a indulge. Let’s indulge.Chris
But I also like it and like wild with the mushrooms, too. Like, let’s throw some pan of the woods in there. Let’s get some chanterelles. Let’s. Let’s get crazy. Let’s really see what these mushrooms can smell like. And see which one we find in the glass.Nicole
Absolutely. And another great thing about Pinot Noir, and especially this one, is that you could have this with like a fatty fish or you could do a grilled white meat as well if you wanted to, because it won’t overpower those things. Some people think you absolutely could never pair fish with a red wine, but that’s not true.Chris
I’m thinking now with like a like a roast pig, like a whole pig, like the crackling skin. With this perfect together.Nicole
Aging wise, where does this fit in everyone’s cellar?Chris
Well, one of the things I like about it, and I noticed, as I’m sure you did, too, like on the palate, there’s really bright, fresh acidity. And that’s usually one of the hallmarks for me that this is going to last a little while. Because when you open this after a couple of years, you want it to taste fresh.Chris
And that acidity is going to do that. Also, I think the fruit is pretty dense. So when you finally do get this open, it’s not going to taste like an old boot. You’ve got a bunch of fruit coming out alongside that lively character.Nicole
Absolutely.Chris
So where would you like this down when you get a case?Nicole
So like you said, this has that great foundation. Know if you like that bright red, juicy breadfruit. Now, this is great. The tendons are really fine grained and I think you could enjoy this wine now, but I also think you could age this up to five years at least if you wanted to.Chris
Yeah, I think five years. And this is going to be singing. Yeah. I don’t know that I’d go too much further because like we said, the tannins are really fine, which, which is, you know, you need those there too for really long term aging to reduce micro oxidation, which we love to talk about in the tasting room. But I think five years is great sweet spot.Chris
It’s going to be singing after that.Nicole
I totally agree. Hopefully there’ll be some cases left after I get my hands on this because this is delicious.Chris
And now we’re going to go finish this bottle. And I think by the end we’ll be singing. To hell with that. We’ll see you at the next glass.Nicole
Cheers.
Lot 944 2021 Carneros Pinot Noir
A Showstopper!
This Black Label Pinot Noir was crafted with a lot of rare grapes grown on the Sonoma side of Carneros. Blink, and you might miss it!
If you type “Carneros” into the search bar on our Cameron Hughes website, you’ll find several wines, but there’s a caveat: they’re accompanied by the words “SOLD OUT.” And, if you look at the fine print, you might notice something extra special about Lot 944 2021 Carneros Pinot Noir — aside from it being an absolutely riveting Carneros Pinot Noir, it’s uniquely from the Sonoma County side of Carneros.
What’s so special about that? The Los Carneros AVA is an American viticultural area that straddles both Napa and Sonoma counties—so nice, they grabbed it twice! Its proximity to the San Pablo Bay means cooling fog and bay breezes create the perfect conditions for growing Pinot Noir. Some total all-star wineries inhabit the western Sonoma side, too, including Gloria Ferrer, Cline Family Cellars, Ram’s Gate, and Viansa.
The long, cool, fog-laden growing season in Carneros Sonoma meant that the three clones of Pinot Noir blended together to create our Black Label Lot 944, exhibit a cool climate expression with lots of tension and mouthwatering acidity. Friends, this wine is an aromatics light show!
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 944 Carneros Pinot Noir
- 01:41 The Nose
- 02:43 The Palate
- 03:57 Aging
- 04:42 Where does it fit in your cellar?
Video Transcript:
Katy
Hello and welcome back to the CH Wine tasting Room. I’m Katy Long here with Chris Lafleur.Chris
And I’m Chris Lafleur, here with Katy Long.Katy
It’s great to have you back here. So today we have a beautiful Carneros Pinot Noir for you. Chris what are we looking at?Chris
We were looking at a bottle that needs to be opened. This is a Pinot Noir from Carneros. For those of you familiar with Carneros, you know that it is split evenly between Sonoma and Napa. It’s the place so nice they grabbed it twice. And also because we’re dealing with a black label today, this is also a wine that we are going to taste twice, which is to say, I’m going to have it.Chris
Katy is going to have it. We’re going to talk about it. You’re going to love it.Katy
And it’s a pretty cool wine. So we are in the midst of our fall countdown. This wine, we are working our way towards number 950, which should be a big, exciting moment for us here at Karen Hughes Wine. And we just wanted to pop the cork, have some fun and see where we’re going with this beautiful release.Chris
Now, what’s wonderful about this opening is that Katy ran interference for me while I was opening it, because I’ve never used this corkscrew before. I’ve used many like it, but this was a bit of a trial. Thank you, Katy, as usual.Katy
You’ve made it look so easy.Chris
Thank you. So what do you expect out of this wine?Katy
So, Carneros Pinot Noir. I’m going to expect a beautiful light, ruby color, and I am not disappointed. I’m going to be looking for velvety tannins, maybe medium body, lovely aromatics, and then a smooth finish. Now, I think this is a little bit of a youthful wine. We’re looking at a 2021. So it definitely has room to kind of evolve, but let’s see where it stands today.Chris
Alrighty. Shall I kick her?Katy
I would love that.Chris
Let’s do it. So right away, give it a bit of a swirl to break up some of those esters nose in the glass. Oh, my gosh. Katy, it’s great. So the aromatic intensity right away, it leaps out of the glass. It’s got a really, really bright frame of fruit, lots of cherries, cranberries to me, a little bit of raspberry.Chris
Where do you go for non fruit?Katy
I’m getting a little bit of floral, kind of a violets, maybe a purple flower. And then there’s definitely some of this earthy notes. I don’t know if I’d call it sous voile or kind of a forest floor.Chris
Yeah. So like we say, always roll over that log in the woods. This is what you get. We, we tasted a Pinot noir just yesterday because this is our 74th day in a row of tasting, of course, as professionals. And I got to say, the fruit here feels very, very ripe, but not even close to overripe. It’s like a perfect, like, cool climate expression.Chris
What do you think?Katy
I think that it smells like there’s a lot of tension. Have I put it in my mouth yet? But I’m going to give it a go.Chris
Oh, let’s do it.Katy
Mm hmm. So the first thing I noticed is this incredible mouthwatering acidity. I mean, my mouth is just it is so juicy. These tart, tense, red berry fruits are just dancing on my palate.Chris
Oh, yeah. It’s a racy wine. I can feel my mouth watering under my tongue. And along that palate I think you’d mentioned before, you expect some, like, supple tannins in this wine? I’d say that’s exactly correct. It’s it’s present, but it’s not overpowering. And for Pinot Noir, which we usually expect not to be very tannic, it’s got something there that gives just a bit more balance than than just having a lot of acidity.Katy
Yeah, Yeah. So there’s fruit. There’s acid. There’s just a subtle but integrated tannin. And I’d say the oak in this wine is more of a frame. It’s just subtle and it adds a bit more to that complexity. Really, really cool wine.Chris
Yeah, it doesn’t run in with a ton of vanilla, but it does wrap and frame the fruit here, which, speaking of the fruit, a great sign of quality for me is having a nice ripe nose like this that doesn’t lean into jammy and then still maintains its ripeness on the palate with maybe a little bit more tartness, making it feel really crisp, giving it some tension.Chris
Yeah. Now I think this has got some time before it’s going to be showing its peak. I think probably 3 to 5 years. Do you concur?Katy
I would definitely concur. So if you don’t have time to wait those 3 to 5 years for this to evolve in the bottle, I encourage you to open it up, let it air, and you can drink it right away. It certainly is lovely now, but we are watching it evolve in the glass just as we’re sitting here. And it’s it’s just going to continue.Katy
So definitely 3 to 5 years of time in the bottle. It will continue to be delicious. Well, I’d say eight, nine, ten years.Chris
Oh, yeah, Yeah, I would say so. It’s I mean, this is so good. I’m dancing right now. I just caught myself doing it because it’s. It’s such a good tasting wine. You’re in.Katy
The groove.Chris
I’m so in the groove. This is delicious. I don’t want to spit it, Which is why there’s no spit buckets for this wine. So where does this fit in your cellar, Katy?Katy
Well, I like to get a kiss. Watch it evolve. But this is a wine that I’m going to take to my in-laws as a celebration. Wine, maybe for the holiday parties, maybe even. I don’t know if you’re a asking special questions.Chris
Yeah, special questions. Like, how old is your dog? When did you get that car? Or thinking more specifically, like if you are going for that promotion, you bring this to your boss. This is a great way to grease the wheels of commerce for yourself. Maybe you’re about to ask her dad for her hand in marriage. This is going to lighten the load a little bit, getting him to say yes.Chris
I mean, this is a great wine to impress anybody. It’s a great one to bring to parties, great one to have at your home, dinner parties.Katy
Food friendly. This is such a versatile wine. I mean, that medium body, it’s no shrinking violet medium body on the palate, long supple finish. This will just it’s going to shine wherever you take it.Chris
And with that, we’ll see you at the next glass.Katy
Cheers.
