2009 Cameron Hughes Lot 266 Los Carneros Pinot Noir, California

Silky shades…Transparent garnet hues with a soft rose rim

Noble nose…earth, compost, black plum, cranberry

Elegant essences…Select Arizona Costco locations are currently receiving shipments of four new Cameron Hughes wines, when I read the email containing this information I just about jumped for joy. I have enjoyed every Cameron Hughes wine that I have tried up until now albeit with differing levels of excitement. To be honest they’ve all been pretty solid, some have been outstanding; therefore I decided I’d pick up two of the new offerings on my next trip to Costco. Surprise, surprise, or maybe not but this wine is definitely an enjoyable glass though it does offer some twists. First off, it pours light-to-medium in color but smells deep, dark and earthy. Then comes the first sip and I’m greeted with wonderfully subtle flavors that dance with equally deep, dark flavors. A perplexing adventure to say the least. First off, the attack is a multilayered journey of stealthy blackberry, plum and strawberry that can seem lost behind a blanket of cloves, oak, leather and wood smoke. These flavors seem reverse from what I’m used to, but they are very satisfying here though they do lead to difficulties when pairing this wine. The mid-palate tingles with alcohol acidity that fades into chewy tannins then shifts the flavors of this wine as the finish sets in. The finish itself is short-to-medium in length and more savory than I’d imagined it to be. I expected the fruit to come out more in the finish, but it takes yet another step back letting the savory, dark flavors move up yet another notch. Sour cranberry and light strawberry are the two fruits that show up in the finish; but they are nearly eclipsed by licorice, leather, wet leaves, potting soil and oak. These “dark” flavors are run through by the lighter fruit flavors in a way that makes this “heavy” finish very pleasant. This is a medium bodied wine with an aftertaste of plums and cherries and a tendency to truly perplex the person drinking.

Overall, this is yet another enjoyable wine from a negociant I have come to trust where quality wine is concerned. Where does this one rate against those I’ve sampled in the past? Closer to the bottom than the top unfortunately. It might be that I’m still not adept at reviewing Pinot Noir, but this wine seemed just a little too robust for me. I expected a lighter glass with strawberry and cherry flavors backed up by hints of vanilla, oak, chocolate and tobacco. I didn’t get that at all. Plus this was a nightmare to pair with food. I failed on three separate occasions, and resorted to finishing the last few glasses without any accoutrements. As for rating this, I believe I paid 13 dollars for this bottle; and I think that may be a little steep. It’s a pretty good wine and still drinkable, but as far as QPR goes this is merely a fair QPR. I’d rather get the Kirkland Signature Russian River Pinot Noir at the same price or the Kirkland Signature Carneros Pinot Noir for 3 bucks less. Both of those are equally as enjoyable as this wine but have better quality compared to the price they are offered at. I still recommend this wine, but have to preface that by saying there are better wines out there, especially if you shop at Costco.

Cameron Hughes Wines

2009 Cameron Hughes Chalk Hill Cabernet Sauvignon “Lot 230”, California

Color carnival…Dark purple with a bright purple rim and a black core

Aroma assembly…Red plum, licorice, coffee, compost

Palate presence…This is a recent addition to my local Costco; priced quite nicely at 14 dollars it is a quite inviting buy. I picked up a bottle at the same time I purchased the Los Carneros Pinot Noir. This emits more complex and inviting aromas and shows colors that are intensely dark in the glass. I immediately assumed that this would be of superb quality but might suffer from youthful tannins and an overabundance of alcohol. Upon the first sip I wasn’t quite far off in my assumptions. The attacks is concentrated dark berries and stone fruit, mingled with coffee grounds, burnt sugar and leather and floating along the top of those flavors a slight texture of creaminess. The mid-palate is relatively young featuring silky yet playful tannins, not a lot of alcohol heat but definitely a tingly, acidic alcohol presence and a slight sour cherry flavor as the mid-palate melts into the finish. The finish itself is medium-long, warm and made up of very dark, heavy flavors; licorice, wet earth, blackberry/cassis jam, black plum skins, chocolate and wood smoke co-mingle throughout the finish dancing in merry couplets and triplets as the finish fades away. This is a full bodied wine with a wonderful aftertaste of grapes and brown sugar.

Overall, this is an excellent wine though at times it can feel a little young. I would still recommend this over most 14 dollar Cabernet Sauvignon and rate this firmly in the good QPR category. With a few extra years of cellaring, I imagine this could reach all the way up to great QPR. I am looking forward to drinking a bottle of this in 5 more years just to see how it ages. I plan on putting a bottle of this away to cellar you should do the same, but only after you enjoy a bottle or three with dinner or all by themselves.

Cameron Hughes Wines

2007 Trivento Amado Sur (72% Malbec, 16% Bonarda, 12% Syrah), Argentina

Color classification…Ruby red with an even red rim

Aroma arrangement…Black cherry, currant, vanilla, buttered toast

Taste taxonomy…After two unsuccessful trips to Cost Plus, I had almost decided I wouldn’t return for a few moths so they could get in some new offerings. But I was in the neighborhood and dropped in not expecting to find anything that would pique my interest. I’m glad I stopped by since I picked up this Argentinean red blend featuring three of my favorite varietals. I let this wine get some air for a good 30 minutes before I went ahead and tasted it. I recommend at least that long as this wine is rather tight and leans toward flavors that are young and dense. Even after decanting the flavors were very focused and intense with some complexity in how the flavors played across my palate. On the attack this wine brings forth big flavors blackberry, burnt toast, leather and wood smoke; these flavors while intense are also somewhat unbalanced seeming to jump and bounce across my tongue rather than transition smoothly. The mid-palate carries this “sneak attack syndrome” to the next level by pouncing out of nowhere as the attack mellows in flavor. The mid-palate has a lot of heat from the alcohol though not enough to cause any undue harm to this wine’s flavor; it also features some playful, nearly perfect tannins that bring on subtle astringency and a smooth, smoke-like texture to the wine right as the mid-palate melts into the finish. Speaking of the finish, it’s long; very long. It’s also the most balanced part of this wine as the flavors play perfectly with one another. The flavors in the finish are even darker than those in the attack; dark, smoky berries complemented by chocolate mingled with tar and topped with vanilla and oak. This is definitely a full bodied wine; in color, nose and flavor. The aftertaste is somewhat lighter nicely mixing blackberry and brown sugar.

Overall, I enjoyed this wine, but it didn’t stand out like I wanted it too. The predominant flavors are of a rather young, dark Malbec. The Bonarda doesn’t make a very noticeable impact on this wine, though the Syrah probably adds to the already intense smoke/vanilla/oak present in this wine. At 12 dollars a bottle, this is probably priced right where it should be. I can’t see paying much more for this wine, though 12 dollars isn’t a deal here. So this gets a Fair QPR, just average where red blends are concerned. I can’t recommend this with a ton of enthusiasm, it’s an average wine at a relatively average price. If you want to make the call you can find this at your local Cost Plus, just don’t go looking to be “blown away”.

*As an aside, the Wine Spectator awarded the 2009 vintage of this wine 90 points and listed it on their annual “100 Outstanding Values”. Therefore I will be on the lookout for that particular vintage in the hopes that it fares better than the 2007.*

Trivento Wines