2010 Cameron Hughes Lot 275 Malbec Reserva, Argentina

This is my last bottle of my online purchase from CHWine.com, and while I’ve enjoyed finding the time to sample a wider variety of the wines available from Cameron Hughes I’ve decided that the wines themselves frequently fall short of my expectations. Again this may be due to my maturing palate but it could also be that their wines just don’t live up to the QPR test. Enough of my sidebar, on to the review.

This is a beautiful glass of wine to look at, dark purple with black flecks and violet tinged bubbles make an enticing picture to be sure. The aromas wafting from the rim of my glass are all fruit; cherry, plum and raspberry with just the slightest hint of vanilla. The attack is fruit as well, but darker; blackberry, black plum and currant pour over the palate in juicy waves leaving behind traces of black cherry-vanilla and oak. The juicy-ness and fruity-ness continues at all levels of this wine; relatively reserved tannins and astringency during the mid-palate are punctuated by sweet and sour cherry and super sweet raisin flavors. Then comes a very long finish featuring loads of plum, raisin and black cherry juicy-ness all supported on a foundation of oak, sage, ash, vanilla and very mild, wet leather. This is a full bodied wine that leaves the palate with an aftertaste of fruit skins and Band-Aids (weird I know but that’s what I taste, that funky plastic flavor of Band-Aids).

Overall, this is one of the few Cameron Hughes winners I’ve sampled recently. It’s a very young, juicy Malbec that’s an absolute pleasure to sip with hamburgers or steaks. Easily stands up to the fruity-er California Cabs or Chilean Merlots, though this has fewer tannins than the former and more tannins than the latter. All in all I found this closer to a Bonarda than either of those wines. I would rate this a good-nearly-great QPR as I believe I paid between 10 and 12 dollars for this particular bottle (though I think it was on sale at the time). Much better than their Lot 239 Chilean Meritage or Lot 248 California Cabernet Sauvignon; if you are a Cameron Hughes enthusiast this is a must try and if you are a Malbec lover than you should check this out. Otherwise this wine gets pretty high marks as a wonderful, fruit forward red wine that is a satisfying glass with food or by itself.

Cameron Hughes Wine 

2008 Munoz de Toro Valle Perdido Malbec, Argentina

Such a pleasure...Very dark purple with an exceptionally vibrant ruby rim

Sensual subtleties… Black currant, black cherry, vanilla, cedar chips

Just a tad bit lacking…I have been lucky enough to find this wine (as well as the Munoz de Toro Argie Bonarda) at a local olive mill. I say I’m lucky because this wine is an exceptional glass of Malbec, and for the nice price of 12.99. I haven’t done a lot of research on this except to find out that this is a Durigutti wine and while I wasn’t a big fan of the 2009 Durigutti Malbec; this is a much better pour. Be advised this wine needs time to breathe, even if you use a Vinturi or other wine aerator you need to let this sit out for a few hours preferably overnight. If you give this wine a chance to breathe it is quite a nice experience. The attack is all dark fruit layered one atop the next; cherry, plum, black currant with a smattering of blackberry and blueberry and just a touch of smoky wood underlying those fruit flavors. The mid-palate is just a little bit “weaker” than I’d like. I can feel just the mere hints of alcohol heat, and the tannins are very illusive. There is some nice acidity and some nice sweet-and-sour cherry/cranberry flavors. But overall the mid-palate isn’t what I’d expected in the least. While the mid-palate leaves me wanting, the long finish does not disappoint. Layer upon layer of black fruits (plum, blackberry and currant being predominant) are interspersed with cassis, vanilla, ash, loam, sage and leather; making this one of the more complex Malbec’s I’ve tasted in a while. This is a medium bodied wine with an exceptionally pleasant aftertaste of cherry and chalk that leaves me licking my lips and longing for another glass.

Overall, this is a wonderful wine experience with just a few hiccups along the way. The attack is somewhat one dimensional and the mid-palate is a disappointment but this wine shines in the finish and pours on the depth and character. Due to the beauty of the finish and overall pleasantness of this wine I recommend it and give it a solid, Good QPR. For your money it’s a decent bottle, but if you really just want a great drinking Malbec for the best price than you’d still have to pick up the Kaiken Malbec. This isn’t as cheap as the Kaiken and the Kaiken is a better all around wine in my opinion; but this is pretty darn close.

D U R I G U T T I 

2008 Bridgman Cabernet Sauvignon, Washington

Honored hues…Black core fading to dark ruby red and finally a violet tinted rim

Fragrance of familiarity...Black plum, brown sugar, leather

Smooth swallows…I grabbed this from Total Wine’s Featured Cabernet Sauvignon section. I’ve slowly made my way through the sub-20 dollar bottle that they place in this section, but I hadn’t sampled this particular wine yet. As soon as I got it home I poured myself a glass and slowly sipped. First impression: this is a very balanced wine both in flavor and texture. The attack is quite smooth with equal parts sugary fruit (blackberry and black plum) and strong herbaceous flavors (grass, leather and straw). The mid-palate holds firm tannins, evenhanded alcohol heat and tingle and perfect astringency. The finish is long and the least balanced part of this wine as the flavors, fruity and savory, fight for prominence. Neither actually win out, though the fruit comes on first with more plum added to currant and black cherry. The savory flavors hit with cut grass, tobacco, sage and dirt. This is a medium bodied wine that sometimes feels like a full bodied red wine; but in reality it doesn’t have the weight to drive it all the way into full bodied territory. The aftertaste is somewhat oaky but also has hints of plum and bitter fruit skins.

Overall, this is not what I’d expected from a Washington State Cabernet Sauvignon. It has more in common with a well balanced Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon. The fruit here isn’t as forward, and the lack of spice box flavors left my palate longing for a different wine. What this wine does offer is a nice, smooth Cabernet Sauvignon with a fair price point. This particular bottle only merits a fair QPR even though it’s very balanced, it’s priced about a dollar or two above what I’d really want to pay for this wine. It does much better when paired with grilled red meat, even hamburgers; so if you do pick up this bottle make sure to pair it accordingly.

Precept Wines

2009 La Carraia Umbria Sangiovese, Italy

Quite the delight…Dark purplish-black core surrounded by ruby red fading to violet at the rim

Two-toned nose…Cherry and vanilla

Why do I feel so wishy-washy…This wine held my attention for the entire first glass. I enjoyed the look, aroma and taste right down to the last drop. Then I waited for a few hours while cooking dinner and sampled my second glass. My attention seemed to wander during this glass. ‘Maybe it’s the food’ I thought to myself. But the next evening I experienced the exact same thing. Finally it dawned on me; this wine is pretty darn good all by itself but takes a backseat when it’s paired with just about any food. Let ‘s talk specifics about the wine itself. It has a very narrow scope of flavors as far as the attack is concerned. Mainly I can taste cherry, some raspberry, and peppers (both black pepper heat and bell pepper zest). The mid-palate is moderately acidic with some pucker factor from both alcohol and tannins and minimal astringency. The finish is medium in length featuring more pepper, savory spices (sage and basil), tobacco and very muted berry/cherry notes. I get a definite “weight” to the wine but it’s really only a medium bodied effort. The aftertaste itself is long and runs mainly to sour cherry and plum pits. It’s a nice effort and shines by itself though it becomes demure when paired with food.

Overall, I write that entire review about how good the wine tastes by itself to say that I actually enjoyed it more when I drank it with a meal. Normally I would want my glass of wine to shine with every sip I took, but this wine did something completely different. While the flavors of the wine itself were somewhat undermined the food itself took on a whole new level of “good”. I liked drinking this by itself because I could taste the wine, but I liked it even better when I paired this with spaghetti because it made the garlic marinara taste so much better. I know it’s an anomaly and I never expect to have this happen again, but this bottle gets a good QPR all the way around but for totally different reasons. I think I paid 10 bucks for this and that’s not bad. I’d recommend this for your table on any night you want an Italian red to go with your Italian dinner. It’s not an amazing wine, but it hits the spot especially with a nice plate of spaghetti.

La Carraia

2009 Domaine Du Riaz Cote-De-Brouilly, France

Color – Very dark purple

Nose – Strawberry, blueberry, flowers, leaves, bubblegum?

Taste – Again I’ve come back to sample another Beaujolais Cru, this one a Cote de Brouilly that sells for 15 dollars at Total Wine. I didn’t rely on the advice of a member of their staff but read through their offerings and randomly chose this wine. All of Total Wine’s Beaujolais Cru’s are between 13 and 20 dollars, and of those most are rated 90 points by one of the “Wine Journals”. This particular wine is rated 90 or 91 from one such magazine. First off the wine is definitely good. It has wonderful depth of flavor from the beginnings of the first sip. I can taste strawberry, grass, dirt, lavender, dandelion, sage and salt. These flavors simply edge into a mid-palate of perfect alcohol tingle mixed with some sour berry flavors and intense astringency. The finish is medium-to-long and made up mainly of leftover sour berries, salt, floral undertones, and of all things grape. I hesitate to call this wine complex, the flavors are diverse, but the wine itself doesn’t feel complex. It is medium bodied and the aftertaste is pleasantly cherry and grape-ish. But the wine seems a little watery, without any real weight. The astringency is just a little over the top, though the alcohol and sour berries are perfect. I began this wine liking it, but by the end of the bottle this particular bottle of Gamay grapes had soured on me.

Overall, this is an OK QPR, certainly a good wine for the price. Are there better examples of this wine? You bet, and quite a few are much cheaper. I’d take a bottle of Georges Du Beouf Beaujolais-Villages or Morgon Flower Label over this wine and both of those are cheaper. This wine has too much going on and not enough connecting all the dots. The flavors taste great and are the only saving grace for this wine, but it’s not enough for me to buy it again. I’d say pass on this one.

2009 Urban Maule Red Blend (50% Cabernet Sauvinon, 25% Cabernet Franc, 20% Merlot, 5% Carignan), Chile

Color – Very dark purple, almost black in the glass

Nose – Blueberry, pepper, herbaceous nearly green bell peppers

Taste – This wine is really something of a conundrum to my palate. By the looks of the color I’m expecting big flavors. The nose hints at fruit, but pushes more in the realm of sharp and savory vegetal notes. And the flavor is basically a mish-mosh of both. The fruit comes on quick and is gone just as quick, personified by smoky, somewhat charred blueberry and blackberry flavors. This is very quickly overtaken by some very herbaceous flavors; sage, thyme and pepper as well as black tea leaves. These flavors linger through the mid-palate which is fairly acidic from the alcohol and equally astringent. The finish is medium-long and is the most straightforward part of the wine with flavors equal parts tart berry, smoky pepper and savory herbs. The wine leaves and aftertaste in my mouth of cherries and a spice cabinet, as if I’ve been licking the lids of every spice/herb container I have on hand. Not that pleasant of an experience. I will admit that I tried this over several days and only sat down to take the majority of notes on the last day rather than the first. My memories of day one are more pleasant, though the wine tasted very young with big tannins and flavors more closely in line with blackberry, green bell pepper and some hints of sage. That being said it wasn’t an amazing glass of wine then but it was slightly better than it is right now.

Overall, I’d say I wasted about 10 bucks on this bottle, and advise you don’t even bother with this wine. It’s a poor, nearly bad, QPR. Maybe it’s the blend, maybe it’s the grapes, maybe it’s me; but this wine just doesn’t work at all. It tastes convoluted on the attack and mid-palate, the finish is just barely passable, and the aftertaste is downright bad. For the same price you can find a myriad of good-to-great red blends, most of them available in your local supermarket (yes even the supermarket red blends taste better than this). Trust me, this is one wine you want to skip.

Bodegas y Vinedos O. Fournier