Katy and Chris Taste and Discuss Lot 893 2020 Calistoga Semillon
Our first white wine branded with the coveted Black Label Series labels, we introduce to you Lot 893 Calistoga Semillon. Take a sunny walk through this orchard and you will not be disappointed.
Lot 893 leaps from the glass with lifted aromatics of citrus blossoms, white peach, and apricot preserve. On the palate, that aromatic quality carries through beautifully, backed by hints of toasty oak and wood spice ending in a long, crisp vivacious finish. As one of our tasting panelists exclaimed when they tried it, “This tastes like a sunny walk through an orange orchard.” 893 is still a bit young, so grab a few cases, one for now and one to throw down for a few years as it has the componentry to cellar for another 10+ easily.
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 Calistoga Semillon release.
Video Highlights:
00:00 Intro
00:42 Lot 893 Semillon
01:18 Pouring
01:55 The Nose
04:25 The Palate
Lot 943 2020 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
If you ask any winemaker to help you choose a Napa Cabernet from the 2020 vintage, they’ll tell you it’s an easy choice. “Buy and enjoy every single 2020 you can get your hands on,” they’ll say. Why? It’s the first vintage in about 50 years where half of the valley’s wineries didn’t produce a Cabernet.
The reason is simple—if grapes were still hanging on the vine after the Glass Fire erupted at the very end of September, those grapes were goners. But for wineries whose Cabernet grapes were in warmer areas, where ripening occurred early, and grapes were harvested before that fire, they not only got lucky—they made some great wine.
The long and short of it is we got really, really lucky. We knocked on so many winery doors and were told over and over to come back in 2021. But then, we got a phone call from a familiar friend who learned the winery owner of his iconic winery wasn’t going to bottle any wine in 2020, and did we want his Cabernet grapes? The answer was a resounding “YES!” and later that day, we took it all.
That wine became Lot 943 2020 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. It’s a Cabernet that would have sold for over $100 from the source winery but is yours for just $38. Opaque dark ruby-purple, offering a heady mix of black currants, cassis, dried mint, dark chocolate, and cigar box. It’s a full-bodied Cabernet with dark, brambly fruits, a kiss of mocha, and a framing of cedar and oak that builds texture. It has to be paired alongside our best strip steak, burger, or Poulet au Porto. It’s also one of our favorite reds to sip while reading a great book of fiction or biography. Pull up a chair and join us.
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 Napa Valley Cab release.
Video Highlights:
- 00:00 Introduction
- 00:19 Lot 943 Information
- 00:32 Napa Valley, Cabs, pyrazine
- 01:20 Color and Legs
- 01:51 The Nose of this Napa Valley Cab
- 02:20 The Taste
- 03:26 Where does this Napa Cabernet fit in Your Cellar
- 04:08 Wine Pairing
Video Transcript:
Chris
Hi, everyone. Welcome back to the tasting room. This is Chris Lafleur. I’m here with Katy Long and we’re going to be tasting Lot 943. What are we tasting today, Katy?Katy
I am so excited. Lot 943 is a Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Oh, I know, right? Yeah. So Napa Valley is so known for Cabernet Sauvignon, it is the single most planted variety in this appellation and for great reason. It just grows like gangbusters here.Chris
It’s ubiquitous. When you think about Napa Valley, you can’t really not talk about Cabernet Sauvignon. That’s everybody’s bread and butter.Katy
So Cabernet Sauvignon, why do we love it? Why do you love it?Chris
Why do I love it? Well, I think that’s a very complex grape. It’s got remarkable blackcurrant, which are always very expressive on the nose. It’s also got a nice hint of Pyrazine, which is that green pepper kind of grassy smell. And it translates differently for every great. But I think Cabernet Sauvignon, it translates the best in really good examples.Chris
I get a little bit of either eucalyptus or a touch of spearmint, and I think it helps round out the aromatics of a beautiful, elegant wine.Katy
And those are such qualities that make it happy here. So we’ve got the California sunshine, we’ve got ripeness, we’ve got warmth. We also have these cooling evening breezes, that kind of roll in off of the ocean. So we’re finding balance, balance to grow great grapes. That was a tongue twister.Chris
Yeah, but we love good balance. So here we go. Let’s have a look at this in the glass. Oh, my gosh, That’s gorgeous.Katy
Look at that color.Chris
That is more opaque than I thought it was going to be.Katy
Wow. So this is tells me it’s a youthful wine. We’re looking at that beautiful ruby. Really kind of purple deep core. What else?Chris
Well, I think it kind of tells you right away it’s Cabernet Sauvignon because there’s very few grapes that you’re going to get this level of extraction.Katy
Does it tell you it’s Cabernet Sauvignon?Chris
Yeah. What’s that, cap? Frank Rubino All right, Cabernet Sauvignon. And it smells like it, too, right away. So on the nose, huge hit of black currant like we talked about, you called it. Yeah, it’s right there. So it’s leaping out of the glass.Katy
Just dark fruit flavors that’s speaking to the brightness of the Napa Valley. That hint of maybe dried herbs, that pyrazine quality.Chris
Yeah, the pyrazine kind of wraps, like I said, like a little bit of mint. And I think there’s a touch of dark chocolate on here as well.Katy
It’s like a little hug.Chris
Yeah, it’s got so much going on that you just want to sit with this one for a little while.Katy
Shall we give this one a taste?Chris
Oh, we sure will.Katy
Awesome. Wow.Chris
What is that? That is so good. My God.Katy
Trying to make me spit it out?Chris
I was a little bit. Yeah, almost Got you. Next time I will. It’s incredible. The palate is great. It’s really long. There’s great tannins coating the top of my tongue, kind of chalky. And then also very. A little bit coarse, but not aggressive. It’s a myriad of stuff.Katy
There’s so much going on in this wine, so that dark bramble fruit flavor, I think at a kiss of mocha, a little bit of that minerality, just a framing of oak providing some of that vanilla texture. But it sits on the palate, it glides across the palate, let’s say. Yeah, it just it’s got plenty of body, but it’s going directionally towards the finish.Chris
Oh yeah, There is all the hallmarks here that say this is going to last for a while. Like there’s great acidity, giving it a little lively flavor, a bevy of different flavors and a great concentration of fruit, a lot of tannin that’s going to reduce micro oxidation. There’s everything we can have here to say This belongs in your cellar.Chris
Several of the bottles lying down, several of them standing up for you to drink whatever you want.Katy
Yeah, I think this is a wine that I would want with friends. Maybe take it to a dinner party or even just a casual gathering. This is one of our countdown wines for fall. So as we eagerly await the lot 950. This is a special wine, and it really stands out in the glass as having a good structure, a lot of intensity, but really well-balanced.Katy
I mean, the alcohol is kind of high on this, but it doesn’t stand out.Chris
Yeah, like when I saw the alcohol in the back here, which is 15%, by the way, it did not at all speak to me that that’s where this one was. This feels very well integrated and very balanced. So what are you pairing this with, Katy?Katy
Oh, aside from good friends and good company, I think a protein that has a lot of umami, maybe some fats. I think this would be lovely for some of the fall and winter fare. But what are you to pair with?Chris
Oh, I can already see it in my head. I’m at the white tablecloth. I’ve got the nice big white plate. I’ve got a strip loin that’s got grill marks perfectly. I’ve got some grilled asparagus to go alongside this and some garlic buttery mashed potatoes. That’s what this wine is for me. But you don’t have to be constrained to my taste.Chris
You can have this with lobster. You can have this with a barbecue. You can have this on your own while your kids are yelling at you that they want more candy. That’s a great reason to have some. It’s such a versatile wine. You can have it whenever you like.Katy
So it sounds like you’re doing the cooking. How about if I bring the wine and.Chris
Come on over? That sounds great. Okay, I’ll get the steaks on the grill.Katy
So we know where it’s going to sit in our cellar. But at home, probably a few years time, aging in your cellar. But if you’re like me, don’t wait. Why defer pleasure? I’m going to open my bottle today.Chris
Absolutely. And this is going to taste great whenever you open it. And as you lay it down, you’re going to get to see how it evolves over time. It’s going to be incredible. So I think we should go finish this and get some steaks.Katy
Doesn’t sound like a bad idea.Chris
And I will see you at the next class.Katy
And cheers. Until then.
Lot 942 2022 Oregon Pinot Noir
Sometimes, there’s never enough of a good thing—like Oregon Pinot Noir.
In 2022, we ventured into Oregon to taste grapes from a dynamic winery that sources fruit from the Willamette Valley, Applegate, and Illinois Valleys in Southern Oregon. The 2022 growing season was spectacular—a cooler year until the end of harvest when things warmed up to aid ripening. The wines are perfumed and balanced by Oregon’s hallmark zippy natural acidity. We went back into the Cameron Hughes Wine cellar to taste through barrels of our Oregon Pinot Noirs from the 2022 harvest—all lots from the Willamette Valley—and emerged with a new blend of our favorite-tasting Lots.
Lot 942 2022 Oregon Pinot Noir is a top barrel selection of the base wine we used to make Lot 909, we like to call it a sister wine. If you’re a fan of Lot 909, you’ll love this even more. It’s a silky, satiny, zippy, zingy, coiled-up Pinot Noir that could pass for a red Burgundy, but bears the unmistakable ripeness of Willamette’s maritime climate, which enjoys dry summers with ample rays of grape-ripening sunshine. It has the refreshing, balanced, light to medium-bodied hallmarks you told us you love in Oregon-grown grapes. Maybe we should just call this a slice of Pinot Noir sunshine in a glass. Pair it with slices of your favorite pizza and slivers of hard cheese and thank us later!
Watch as Katy Long, Director of International Wines for VWE walks us through a tasting of this Oregon Pinot Noir.
Tasting Video Highlights:
- 00:00 Intro
- 00:12 Lot 942 Info
- 00:22 The Color
- 00:39 On the Nose
- 00:56 The Taste
- 01:33 How to Enjoy
Video Transcript:
Katy Long says:
Hi, I’m Katy Long and welcome back to the CH Wine tasting room. We have a fun wine today. This is an Oregon Pinot Noir light. Lot 942 is a 2022 Southern Oregon Pinot Noir. So this vintage is known for having a little bit less color. And Pinot Noir is already a thin-skinned grape. But look at that.Just a very pale ruby, almost a hint of garnishing at the edge. Very little color in the core. It’s a pretty looking wine, though. The aromas are just juicy red berries. There’s a bit of earthiness and minerality in this glass and an unmistakable baking spice. It almost feels a bit like fall. Oh, so this wine is just nice and light.
Let’s give it a taste. Mm.
That is a quintessential Pinot Noir for you. Light-bodied, fresh, juicy red berries that Minerality carries through. It’s almost like a dusty earth, but that baking spice is just right at the top. Framed in a little bit of oak. This is easy drinking, super fun sipping wine. This is the kind of wine you’re going to drink. Come home from work, take your shoes off and pour yourself a glass of this while you’re figuring out what you’re going to make for dinner.
This is the kind of wine that can transition from day to night. This Pinot Noir is going to be a lot of fun. I invite you to open a bottle, pour yourself a glass and kick back and enjoy. And until then, cheers.
Lot 941 2019 Sonoma County Zinfandel
In 2019, we had trouble finding a Zinfandel that pushed all the right buttons. And then, one day, we got lucky.
During one of our blending sessions with the Cameron Hughes winemaking team, we were putting together an exciting Red Blend from a host of grape sources when our noses all landed—and kept landing—in glasses of a particular Sonoma County Zinfandel.
It was wild—blackberry and red currant, tobacco notes, exotic spices, and sandalwood with firm, taut tannins. Could this be a complete wine, all its own? It took some convincing, but we peeled it off the source winery after convincing them it was so good that we had to have it for our own—as Black Label Zin.
With a few years of bottle age, Lot 941 has come into picture-perfect harmony. Punchy on the palate, with ripe crunch red and black fruits, balanced, racy, and loaded with a rich tapestry of baking spices from vanilla and fine cedar to sandalwood and tobacco notes. This is the kind of Zinfandel that makes you wonder why California isn’t producing more wines like it!
Historically, the best California Zins have come from Sonoma (just like Lot 941), and the top-tier wines that come to mind are icons like Martinelli’s Jackass Hill or those from Williams Selyem, Limerick Lane, or Turely—and they cost upwards of $65-$130 per bottle. Our Black Label Lot 941 is only $29 per bottle, and we’d put it right up against any $65+ bottle at the Tasting Table.
So, where does this fit in your collection? We’re pairing this Zin with Mexican fare and reserving a spot at the table for several bottles this Thanksgiving. Won’t you join us?
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 Black Label release.
Video Highlights:
- 00:00 Introduction
- 00:13 Lot 941 Overview
- 00:35 Millerandage and Zin
- 01:53 Color and Legs
- 02:08 On the Nose
- 03:15 The Palate
- 04:17 Aging
- 05:15 Where Does it Fit in Your Cellar?
Video Transcript:
Chris
Hi, everyone. Welcome back to the CH Wine tasting room. I’m Chris Lafleur here with Katy Long. Katy, what are we drinking today?Katy
Oh, my goodness. Chris, we have got a fun one. I say that every time, but I love wine because they’re all fun. So today we have Lot 941. This is our Sonoma County Zinfandel.Chris
Beautiful. So Zinfandel.Katy
Are you infatuated?Chris
Oh, I am now. Oh, my gosh.Katy
I beat you to it.Chris
That’s good. It was there. It was on the table. Literally. One of the things I love about Zinfandel is that it’s such a cornucopia of flavor. And that’s because of Millerandage. Katy, I’m sure you’re familiar.Katy
Yes. So Millerandage hen and chicken. Yes. So what we’re talking about is the propensity for the grape clusters to grow and develop unevenly. And while this could be a bit of a challenge, Zinfandel is so primed for this. So what we get when certain grapes ripen on the same cluster with a different ripening capacity is some that are underrated, some that are slightly more raisin or just a little bit more developed.Katy
What that means is it’s almost like we get this blend of ripeness in a single bottle in a single grape. It just adds to the complexity.Chris
Yeah, and I’ve seen a lot of people deal with it in different ways. Some people will choose to ripen a bit longer to let those chicks become hens, and then the other hens become dried up grapes, and then some people choose to just put it all together and you get this wild selection of flavor like you’ll have like some under red cranberry.Chris
At the same time you have some big juicy blackberries. And I kind of love that. I love when, like, I don’t know where the flavor starts and ends as I’m tasting it.Katy
So this also helps preserve the acidity with that grape, you know, grapefruit flavor.Chris
Yes. You want to make sure that it still feels crunchy and lively at the same time. So it feels big and luscious.Katy
Thank you, sir.Chris
Oh, my pleasure. So let’s see where this one goes today.Katy
All right. So this beautiful kind of a ruby. It’s slightly garnet in color, not in a bad way. In any case, it is almost polished and just bright in the glass. It’s really pretty.Chris
Yeah. And, oh, I started smelling it right away, and I got super excited. So I think I’m going to jump right there because I got like, right away. I’m getting some nice crunchy cranberries. I am starting to feel like some big juicy plums too. There’s a lot of there’s a lot of stuff here and that kind of runs the gamut from being like slightly under ripe to being like fully ripe and a little jammy and rich.Chris
So there’s everything here and I think it’s going to be a delight. On the palate. What do you notice that I didn’t pick up?Katy
So I’m definitely pulling up some strawberries. There’s a hint of minerality in this wine that I’m wondering if it’s thanks in part to kind of the cool soils that we’re getting out of Sonoma County. There’s such a diversity here in this particular region. Old Venison is known for coming from Sonoma and there’s good reason for it. There’s just complexity in the nose, freshness, but also that ripe fun berry flavor.Chris
Absolutely. And when you get some good old vines, it naturally restricts how many grapes you’re going to have. So more energy is concentrated into fewer grapes, which means the bottle turns up being really concentrated and rich no matter what kind of flavor we’re dealing with, ripe or under ripe or what have you. So, I mean, I can’t stop because that.Katy
Would still give you a taste to it. Hmm? Mm hmm.Chris
Mm hmm. That’s great. Oh, man, that’s a little punchy. You know, like. Like fruit punch, in a way.Katy
This juicy fruit that. That raspberry, that strawberry. Oh, my gosh. It is just jumping out of the glass. What are you.Chris
Getting? I’m getting that. The palate is super racy. There’s great tight acidity here. There’s adding a lot of tension to a combo of beautiful fruit bouquet, like it’s a fruit punch and alongside that, everything is very lifted. It’s 14.8% alcohol. Yeah. Which I think you noticed as I did it.Katy
So to me that alcohol, it’s balanced for sure, but it’s helping to lift those aromatics and really just make that fruit come forward. So it’s a whole lot of fun as it just kind of wafts in your mouth.Chris
And I want to say normally I would say 14.8 is pretty high, but I feel it feels very integrated on this wine and it’s not leaping out past anything else to to really knock me over the head with it. So I love that crunchy fruit, ripe fruit, really rich plums here.Katy
That great resilience of acid that that under ripe, great quality. But then that really ripe grape quality that is so indicative of the Zinfandel grape variety. Absolutely medium to full bodied somewhere in between their balances the alcohol and then that oak provides I think a little bit of vanilla spice and this just really framing the glossy finish.Chris
Yeah, if it’s really well with the fruit. So I think it’s got a couple more years to go.Katy
What about you? I agree. So we’re talking about a 2019. So it’s got a couple of years already drinking beautifully right now. But this has, I’d say, maybe five more years of optimal drinking window. And maybe with that alcohol at that level, I’d be a little bit concerned that some of that fruit will fall off in time. So I don’t want that to become out of balance.Katy
But this is by no means falling off any time soon.Chris
Yeah, yeah. This is going to go for a little while. So where does this fit in your cellar? Well, I think that I think this would go with something a little richer in terms of the meat. I think it’s pretty versatile. But I’d want to see this with, like, a pulled pork.Katy
Awesome. I was thinking maybe carnitas.Chris
Yes, carnitas.Katy
I like some some slightly fatty meats that are just going to have maybe a bit of that spice. I think we were talking could be something kind of grilled or roasted porchetta.Chris
I also think this is versatile enough that you can throw this in with like Thanksgiving.Katy
I agree that cranberry, that ripe red fruit quality I think is going to lend itself to the Thanksgiving table really, really nicely.Chris
I’m imagining with the turkey helping your mouth water to go alongside. Maybe, maybe you.Katy
Didn’t have to help me, but it’s happening.Chris
I mean, I’m imagining, like, maybe Aunt Muriel, like, overcooked the turkey a little bit. So if that’s the case, this is going to help a lot with that. And just think of this with the stuffing in the cranberry sauce. It’s killer. All right. Well, let’s let’s crush this bottle between. Yes.Katy
We might stop you from enjoying some now, but you won’t mind if we step away and continue to enjoy ours.Chris
Yeah, we’re going to be busy for the afternoon, so we’ll see you at the next glass.Katy
Cheers.
Lot 925 2021 California Rhone Blend
When we get our hands on a downright delicious Red Blend, it gets us extremely excited. After all, the art of blending is the secret behind some of the world’s greatest red wines—Bordeaux and Châteauneuf-du-Pape come immediately to mind.
We can’t wait for you to get your hands on this Lot 925 2021 California Rhone Blend because it fits right into that savvy red blend category, and its parts definitely make for a more expressive, cohesive whole.
Patterned after the best southern Rhône reds, Lot 925 marries Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre (the classic GSM Rhône blend!) into a ripe, juicy, complex sipper that leverages the various micro- and meso-climates across California, where each of the varieties ripens optimally (areas like Sonoma, and Contra Costa County). Not only that, but the winemaking was in impeccable hands: this Lot’s source winery is a long-time family producer that set up shop in the early 1980s and has been a leader among the “Rhone Rangers” movement in California ever since. Over the decades, they’ve racked up dozens and dozens of 90+ critic scores, along with Gold Medals and Best-In-Class awards from numerous wine competitions.
In Lot 925, the Syrah brings spiciness and blue fruit deliciousness, Grenache supplies rich fruit weight and floral magic, and Mourvèdre layers in warm baking spice aromas and structure. We are keeping a case around because it’s one of our favorite dinner-prep sippers (plenty of sipping in between dicing carrots, onions, and potatoes, and several more sips after the roast chicken goes in the oven). At only $13 per bottle, this is a screaming deal to have stocked up in your cellar for whenever you need a food-friendly red.
Watch as Katy Long, Director of International Wines for VWE walks us through a tasting of this California Rhone Blend.
Tasting Video Highlights:
- 00:00 Intro
- 00:12 Lot 925 Info
- 00:32 The Color
- 00:47 GSM Rhone Blend
- 00:57 On the Nose
- 01:25 The Taste
- 02:02 Wine Pairing
Video Transcript:
Katy Long
Welcome back to the CH Wine tasting room. I’m Katy Long, and today I have a beautiful Red Blend from California. This one is lot 925. It feels a little bit like the East Bay and that’s a bit of a California reference for some of my friends out there. This wine is a blend and it is coming from across California where we have these beautiful, diverse microclimates, these massive climates where all of these grape varieties ripen optimally.Take a look at that color. It’s purple, it’s ruby, and it’s inky in the glass, kind of staining the glass a little bit. So I love this blend. It is comprised of Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre so greater than the sum of their parts. Each of these grape varieties is contributing something to this particular blend and it is awesome.
So Syrah is kind of known for those dark, maybe blue fruits like blueberry, maybe a hint of leather, perhaps in black pepper. Grenache, on the other hand, brings these really beautiful, lifted red fruit flavors. So I’m thinking strawberry, maybe even some raspberry. And then Mourvèdre provides not only that tannin that structure, but also a hint of earthiness and maybe some cocoa or mocha in the scent.
Let’s give it a taste. Mm. That wine is juicy and mouthwatering all at the same time. Wow. There’s so much going on in there. The fruit is really ripe. It’s that blue fruit, that raspberry and blackberry hint that plum. The tannins are firm and definitely present, but they’re smooth and really integrated. So it’s a really well balanced wine.
And what I love about blends is that it’s almost like there’s something in there for everybody. So whether you’re having folks over for dinner or if you’re popping over to their house, this is one you’re going to want to have by the case. I know I say this all the time. I say to get a case of wine stock up.
But with this one, I think you should get two cases. And there’s a reason for that. This wine is so versatile. You’re going to want to have a bottle whether people show up unexpectedly, if it’s a Tuesday night in this wine is going to go not only with whatever cuisine you can throw at it, but whatever occasion you’re going to want to serve it.
So having a couple extra bottles on hand, you’re going to definitely be thanking me later. And I invite you to drop a note in the comments and tell me so tell me what you enjoy it with. And in the meantime, I’m going to say cheers.
Lot 914 2021 Australia Shiraz
You’ve heard it all before… Australian Shiraz is over-the-top; it’s a “one-note” red that isn’t complex enough for discerning palates. Well, let us tell you – Lot 914 2021 Australia Shiraz is here to defy your preconceived expectations. Dark, layered, and lingering – it’s a wine that will leave you begging for more.
Lot 914 2021 Australia Shiraz is a symphony in the glass. Its overture is a glass-staining, inky dark, beautiful ruby color. Things get complex very, very quickly with aromas of pepper, dried herbs, fennel, cardamom, and spearmint all soaring and diving in fantastic harmony. The main theme is a bold statement of ripe red fruit flavor that crescendos into a savory, juicy, and emphatic climax. The finish sails gently on lingering notes of black tea and eucalyptus spices. It’s a wine that will defy your expectations of Shiraz and put it on the top of your shopping list.
This red’s awesomeness wouldn’t be a surprise if we could tell about its pedigree. Let’s just say that it comes from a major Australian family-owned producer that’s been in the game for over five decades. They’ve got plenty of Best-In-Class wine competition awards in their trophy case to prove that they know what they’re doing. You’re not going to be disappointed with this Lot (unless you buy too few bottles, that is).
Watch as Chris Lafleur, Sommeliers Creed for Cameron Hughes walks us through a tasting of this Australian Shiraz.
Video Topics Include:
- 00:00 Intro
- 00:15 About Australian Shiraz
- 01:00 Color and Legs
- 01:18 On the Nose
- 02:05 Taste of the Shiraz
- 03:05 In your cellar?
Video Transcript:
Chris Lafleur says:
Hi, everyone. Welcome back to the CH Wine tasting room. I’m Chris Lafleur, friendly neighborhood sommelier, ready to talk about Shiraz with you today. We have lot 914 Shiraz from Australia. Now, there’s lots of places in Australia that make Shiraz and very good quality Shiraz. One is probably better known above others, but since it’s not on the label, I can’t tell you which one.
But go ahead and look at the shelves in your local liquor store. You might be able to pick out which one is popping up more than others. So Shiraz, of course. Shiraz. Or is it Syrah? Huh? It is the same grape. In fact, you find Syrah in France and you find Shiraz in Australia. If you want to do a deeper dive on that, we actually talk about this in one of our Q&A videos.
I’m going to tell you to go back over there. But after you finish enjoying this one, because you’re going to want to have a glass of wine in hand while you watch these videos. They’re super fun. So let’s talk about this one. This is Shiraz. You can see from the color it is a little bit darker than some Pinot Noir that you might notice, but not quite as heavy and dark as some of the Cabernet.
So when you are Malbec, maybe, but it still has a great depth of color to it. Ruby, at its core for sure, with a nice pink note to the edges here on the nose. Oh, boy. On the nose on the nose. Okay, so here’s what I’m getting. There’s a lot to unpack with this one. There’s lots here. Here’s what I’m getting.
There’s some raspberry, there’s some bramble, there’s some blackberry, there’s some black currant, and it’s all in a very ripe expression. So it’s standing out pretty dramatically. But around that, I think I’m getting like a note of black tea, a little bit of black pepper, which is a key note for Shiraz. You normally find some black pepper here in a compound called Rotundone.
And I’m also getting a little bit of eucalyptus or spearmint with maybe a little bit of fennel and some cardamom hanging around the edges here. So what is starting off as a straightforward Shiraz is turning into a very complex wine. The more we dig into it, let’s taste it and see how complex it gets over there too. I decided to swallow it last minute.
Decided to do it. Sorry, I didn’t mean to tease you there. If you’re about to spit your wine at the same time as me, which I know a lot of people like to do now, you can’t. So sorry about that. It’s really good. Really, really good. That’s. That’s not my whole review, but let’s start. There was great ripeness of fruit on the palate here.
There’s a really nice expression of tea in Rotundone a black pepper is also a touch of eucalyptus that really lifts this from its spot in the Shiraz category. I think eucalyptus you can find generally in a lot of Cabernet Sauvignon in Shiraz from Australia. But when you do find it on expectedly in a nice high quality expression, it’s delightful, mind blowing, a little bit of fennel as well.
Like I said, you can feel on the palate. This has got great length to it. It keeps going and going and going. So much to unpack with this. So where does this fit in your cellar? Anywhere you want to put it. In fact, I think you probably want to get a couple of bottles of this minimum so you can taste it against other people that are so used to Shiraz being kind of one note and then you can show them this is exactly how complex it is.
Similar to Neo. You should find out how deep the rabbit hole goes. Yes, that is a matrix reference. I know John Wick is more popular, but let’s think about it because we like that movie. So get a couple of bottles for your cellar. Put it anywhere you want into the cellar and open it up when you want to have a casual drink with someone and surprise them with how cool this wine can be.
And I will see you at the next glass.
We hope you enjoy this wine and video as much as we do. Cheers!
Lot 915 2021 California GSM Blend
The tried-and-true blending of Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre grapes (“GSM” for short) has been at the heart of the best reds from Southern France—especially Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Vacquereys, and Gigondas. There’s just no denying the winning combination of power, elegance, flavor, silkiness, and intensity that those three varieties deliver when they’re brought together.
But as Lot 915 2021 California GSM will prove, Southern France isn’t the only place where GSM blends thrive. These three grape varieties handle the California sun and heat without breaking a sweat—retaining balance and acidity as they reach perfect ripeness levels. Grenache and Syrah bring the layers and complexity of flavors, while the Mourvèdre provides the structure and backbone to the wine. It’s truly a wine where the sum can be greater than its parts. This wine is sourced from a variety of vineyards within California, meaning we can bring you an unbeatable price for your next on-hand red wine perfect for your next barbeque or any Tuesday night dinner.
Lot 915 is a deep red in the glass. Explosive flavors lift from the incredible nose, calling to mind a basket of raspberries and a bit of bramble intermixed with rhubarb, dried purple flower petals, and rosemary. The aromas alone are difficult to resist. All this re-emerges on the supple palate in a delicious and heady mix of crunchy red fruit and seductive flavors of cherry and even some blueberry, along with floral, black pepper, and baking spice hints.
At $13 price, getting this wine is an easy decision: buy a case or two—some to drink now and some to enjoy over the next 3-5 years.
Watch as Chris Lafleur, Sommeliers Creed for Cameron Hughes walks us through a tasting of this California Rhone Blend.
Wine Tasting Video Highlights:
- 00:00 Introduction
- 00:14 About Lot 915
- 00:28 Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre
- 00:57 Color
- 01:25 On the Nose
- 02:19 The Taste
- 03:09 Where does it belong in your cellar?
Video Transcript:
Chris Lafleur says:
Welcome back to the CH Wine tasting room, everyone. I’m Chris LaFleur, a friendly neighborhood sommelier. And we’re going to be tasting Lot 915 a GSM blend from California. It’s from 2021. So it’s still fairly youthful, but it’s got just enough development to give you a nice little sparkle as you’re tasting. So let’s have a look at it. I think it’s too much to not tell you about what we have here.
This is Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre. For those of you that are not familiar with the GSM blend, this is usually something you see in the south of France, usually in the southern Rhone region. Some of the great ones would be Chateauneuf du Pop. But what we’re talking about here are grapes that handle the heat of the southern Rhone really well.
So here we are in California. I don’t know about you guys. I’m from Canada. Feels pretty warm here to me. So I think these are going to be the grapes that match this climate and give it a little bit of balance. One of the things I love about a wine in this climate is that if you have grapes that adapt to it really well, you maintain acidity, which also translates to maintaining freshness, racing electricity on the palate.
Let’s look at it and I promise we’ll taste it real soon. So you can see this is a semi-opaque wine. If I put my hand underneath of it, I can still see it, but it’s a little bit fuzzy now. It’s not completely opaque. They can see through and it’s not completely clear. So we’re writing that middle, which is kind of where we want to be when you want to ride the tension of this wine on the nose, it’s incredible.
I have to tell you about it. And that’s the only reason I will, because I want to just sit here and smell this on my own. But I’m getting a lot of red fruit, I’m getting raspberries, I’m getting like bramble, crunchy fruits here. I think I’m getting a touch of apple and plum, but also a great note of rhubarb, which is really cool.
I’m also getting a slight lavender hint and that to me says that we’re dealing with proper Grenache. Grenache usually is defined by notes of Grieg, and some people will say it’s because in the south of France you’ve got a lot of scrubby bushes that give you lavender notes in the final wine. But I think this is also a key to showing that Grenache just has this character unto itself because I’m getting it here with maybe a touch of Rosemary.
It’s great. Very well-balanced with Serrano Mourvedre. I normally expect a little more pepper, but this is really Grenache dominated and you can feel it when you smell it. Let’s taste it. I’m not going to take it any longer. I promise. Mm mm. There we go. I’m only spitting because you’re watching. I have other things to do today. Wow, that’s really good.
It feels crunchy on the palate. That red fruit character really coming through. I’m also getting a lot more fennel in a nice than I did before on the nose, and it feels wonderful on the finish. I’m getting some tannins here. Likely from the more veg in the Sierra, so I would say medium. They’re not overpowering, but they’re nice and coarse, a little chunky and I’ve also got a little bit of that lavender rosemary note that we want when we’re talking about a grape-driven wine like Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre.
So I mean that’s incredible to me and I think you’re going to find it good as well. But let’s talk about where it belongs in your cellar. I think this is going really well right now, and I think it can age for a little bit. So let’s say 3 to 5 years for a wine like this one, even though I think it’ll last.
Well past that. I think if you’re going to put this with any kind of food, you want to put it with something weighty as well, but also perfumed a little bit. So let’s say some pork tenderloin with some rosemary to go alongside it for some spice, to give it some lift, some air. And that’s going to meld really seamlessly.
The tannins here, like I said, are just enough that it’s going to offset the richness of that tenderloin. Oh, I can’t stop talking about this wine. It’s incredible. But I think that’s enough to sell you on it. So I’m going to stay here with this bottle and I will see you at the next class.
Wine Q&A with Sommeliers from The Tasting Panel #2
Frequently asked wine questions answered by Chris Lafleur, Sommeliers Creed for Cameron Hughes, and Katy Long, Director of International Wines for VWE.
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 Chris and Katy will answer some of your wine questions in this lovely video.
Today’s Wine Q&A topics include:
- Is it always beneficial to swirl my wine?
- What are the most common wine misconceptions?
- Can a novice appreciate the nuances of wine as it ages?
- What’s the deal with aeration and aerators?
- How do wines get their color?
- What are the different ways to age wine?
- Is there a “wrong” way to drink wine?
- What is malolactic fermentation?
- Submit your own questions
We love answering your wine questions! Keep the conversation going by sending us your questions about wine!
Lot 912 2022 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc
A Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc that satisfies the insatiable demand for the zesty, piquant style of Sauvignon Blanc that New Zealand helped to pioneer.
As you might have heard, there’s been a shortage of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc on the international market. This is due to a couple of low-yielding vintages (particularly in New Zealand’s Sauvignon capital, Marlborough) combined with an insatiable demand for the zesty, piquant style of Sauvignon Blanc that New Zealand helped to pioneer.
If you’ve been feeling the Sauvignon pinch, Lot 912 is coming to the rescue. This New Zealand white comes from a multi-decade, certified sustainable producer who farms some of the best vineyard sites in the country, combining Old World/European winemaking techniques with ultra-modern style. What’s more, it also comes from a 2020 vintage whose Sauvignons Decanter lauded as punching “above their weight (some well above) in terms of concentration, purity, balance and complexity.”
That certainly describes Lot 912! Zesty to the core, yet also rounded and smooth on entry, this is an exuberant white that effortlessly combines flamboyant aromas of fresh herbs, grapefruit, starfruit, and lemongrass with exotic tropical fruit and citrus flavors—all lingering for what seems like forever on an expressive finish. It’s exactly what NZ Sauvignon fans have been missing during the international shortage, so grab it while you can.
Watch as Katy Long, Director of International Wines for VWE walks us through a tasting of this Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc.
Tasting Video Highlights:
- 00:00 Introduction
- 00:12 Lot 912 Info
- 00:30 Wine Color
- 00:44 The Nose
- 01:18 The Taste
- 01:55 Enjoyment
- 02:04 Pairing
Video Transcript:
Katy Long
Hello. Welcome back to the CH Wine tasting room. I’m Katy Long, and today I have lot 912. This beauty is your quintessential New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. For those of you who know, you know, Sauvignon Blanc is an oak. Fresh, grassy or basis and so satisfying. And this wine delivers on all those points. Look at that. Beautiful. Just lemon green color.It has star bright clarity. I mean, it’s pretty to look at. Not that you’re going to be spending too much time looking at it for sure. Wow. For those of us who like Sauvignon Blanc, there is good reason for it. It is pronounced on the nose. It delivers grassy gooseberry, some might say lemongrass and or baseness. That is really just so fresh.
It almost smells like spring. And that complements the lovely aromas of citrus lemon, maybe even a hint of lime. But then there’s also there’s also this tropical note, this passion fruit, perhaps, maybe even a slightly underbite pineapple. It’s just really pretty on the nose. Let’s give it a taste. Wow. Team, that is a porch pounder. What I mean by that is it’s not necessarily complicated and it doesn’t have to be.
It just delivers pure pleasure in the glass. That roundness of the Mano proteins. Technical term, it is just really nice to balance. Those are basics and citrusy notes. The finish is slightly mineral, almost a hint of salinity. That sea spray. Wow. It’s fresh. It’s refreshing. This is a wine for everyday enjoyment. And I know that I’m going to get a few of these to enjoy whenever the sun is out or even when it’s not.
Pair this with a salad. Goat cheese is a traditional food pairing with Sauvignon Blanc, but it doesn’t need anything. You can enjoy this with friends or by yourself and I encourage you to find all the fun ways that this wine fits into your cellar. So tell me about it in the comments. And until then, cheers.
Lot 907 Napa Valley Blanc de Blanc
A sparkling Napa Valley 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 Katy Long, Director of International Wines for VWE walks us through a tasting of this Napa Valley Blanc de Blanc.
Tasting Video Highlights:
- 00:00 Intro
- 00:12 Lot 907 Info
- 00:51 Opening the Bottle
- 01:43 The Pour
- 02:02 In the Glass
- 02:23 On the Nose
- 02:58 The Taste
- 03:24 Serving and Pairing
Video Transcript:
Katy Long says
Welcome back to the CH Wine tasting room. I’m Katy Long and today lot 907. This gem is a Napa valley 100% chardonnay. It’s a block to block. What does that mean? This is a sparkling wine made in the traditional method right here in the Napa Valley. This is a beautiful wine that has been aged for at least 15 months on its lees in this bottle.So this traditional method, unlike the Prosecco, is that you can also find in our store this wine is made in a way that hearkens back to the old list of winemaking traditions fermented and re fermented in this bottle. So I’m going to go ahead and give it an open. I encourage you when you’re doing this to go ahead and chill the bottle pretty well.
It’ll not only make the wine more enjoyable and then you do drink it, but it’ll make opening it just a little bit easier. So we got to unwrap our cage, and when I open this wine, I’m going to be really careful. I like to open it on the countertop itself, but I’m going to rotate the bottle and not the cork.
So our goal is to make this as quiet as possible. Some might say make it sound like a nun whispering in church. So let’s see if I can do that. Nailed it. So Lot 907. Let’s see what it looks like. I have to pour myself a bit of a generous pour. I have to say I am a fan of sparkling wines.
Of all kinds, but I particularly love method Champagne more so this wine has a beautiful mousse. It is also this gorgeous kind of pale golden color. It is 100% chardonnay, but again, that long aging on leaves is going to give it a bit more of a golden color. And I don’t know if you can see what I can see, but these bubbles are tiny, They are delicate.
They are persistent. These are all hallmarks of a really special sparkling wine. Let’s give it a sniff, huh? Wow. There’s something about a traditional method. Sparkling wine. It has brioche notes. It has kind of a baked biscuit like character to accentuate these really ripe citrus flavors yellow, apple, green apple and almost a hint of, like, sailing minerality. Wow, that’s fun.
And of course, have it. I have to swirl. You don’t necessarily have to swirl in the sparkling wine, but sometimes habit takes over. Let’s give it a taste. Mm. Oh, that is fantastic. Mouthwatering, juicy yellow and green apple. It’s like Meyer lemon, bitter tangerine. This is showing that Napa Valley ripeness of fruit, but a provenance of winemaking quality.
Wow. I know that there are only 500 cases available. This is a wine that is suitable for wonderful everyday celebrations. Pair it with maybe chips or fried chicken even, but it can also be quality enough to show at your most fun, big festive gatherings throughout the season. So I know I’m going to be stocking up on this and I encourage you to do the same.
So until next time, cheers.