Competition Winners Announced

The winners of the 70th annual Los Angeles International Wine & Spirits Competition were announced today and the list is an impressive one! A box wine, a Scotch whisky, repeat winners (Armida Winery and baseball legend Tommy Lasorda) and so much more! Take a look at the winners here then check out the buzz on [...]

Source: http://blogs.fairplex.com/blog/wine/?p=78

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Wine Word of the Week: Tannins

This week?s Wine Word of the Week is tannins. Official definition from Jancis Robinson?s The Oxford Companion to Wine: Tannins are a diverse and complex group of chemical compounds that occur in the bark of many trees and in fruits, including the grape. Strictly speaking, a tannin is a compound that is capable of interacting [...]

Wine Word of the Week: Tannins was originally posted on Wine Peeps. Wine Peeps - Your link to great QPR wines from Washington State and beyond.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WinePeeps/~3/d_o2H9AunqA/

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Canonica A Cerreto Sandiavolo 2004

I just had this lovely Italian wine the other day. It's a so called SuperTuscan so its made of other grapes that the local Sangiovese. The Canonica A Cerreto Sandiavolo 2004 is made of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Sangiovese. Canonica A Cerreto is located in the heart of the Chianti Classico area in the town of Castelnuovo near Sienna. They also make traditional Chianti Classico but this one is their top wine only produced in the best vintages.

Source: http://www.wine4freaks.com/46/canonica-a-cerreto-sandiavolo-2004/

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Gawker, Starbucks, stinky Brett, sequences ? sipped and spit

SIPPED: imitation as flattery? From the coffee threatdown files: Starbucks will extend its wine bar concept with up to seven locations in Chicago. Make it a venti vino? [SeattleTimes] SPIT: stinky reporting A microbial enologist laments the lack of rigor in Decanter and Wine Spectator’s recent reporting of sequencing the genome of Brettanomyces, a cause [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/GuSC/~3/y07zj175oRQ/

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Tasting Report: 2009 Cameron Hughes Russian River Valley Pinot Noir Lot 271

Costco in Waltham, MA had a road show featuring wines from the Cameron Hughes portfolio this past weekend. Strangely, the wines weren't open for tasting but I did take note of the inclusion of a Russian River Valley wine in the portfolio - their Lot 271 Pinot Noir.
Cameron Hughes is the original American re-labeler who pioneered the art of bringing outstanding wines to consumers at a fraction of their original cost by working with wineries looking to shed excess finished wine inventory without tarnishing their brand. Over the past ten years they've expanded their endeavors into other labels and have become more involved with the winemaking progress. But the flagship "Lot Series" is where the majority of the action is and it's the wine we see around stores most frequently.

California's Russian River Valley in Sonoma County is one of the most prestigious appellations for Pinot Noir in America, so it's worth taking note of this bottling from Cameron Hughes. It is not necessarily the most consistent however, so as you're considering bottlings across appellations from a given producer be sure to sample wines from other areas. There's fantastic Pinot Noir being made in the Sonoma Coast, Anderson Valley, Carneros, Santa Lucia Highlands, and the Santa Rita Hills in southern California to name a few.

Here are my notes on this wine:

2009 Cameron Hughes Russian River Valley Pinot Noir Lot 271
14.4% Alcohol
7,205 Cases Produced
$15 Release Price ($11.99 at Costco)

Medium bodied visually, the wine seemed impaired aromatically when I first opened it. However, after about 4 hours of breathing in the bottle it came around nicely. Varietally correct aromas and flavors for the appellation (the Russian River Valley of Sonoma County in California) - strawberries, black cherry, florals and a touch of cola. I'd like it more if it had more depth and intensity. It kind of hints in the right direction but fails to make a confident statement. That said - I like it a lot at the price point.

86/100 WWP: Very Good

Buy it directly from the Cameron Hughes website
Get other opinions on CellarTracker
Find it for sale on Wine-Searcher

Lots of reviews coming up in the next couple weeks here - I'd love it if you subscribed to the site to get regular updates!

Question of the Day: Have you tried this wine? If so - what did you think?


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WellesleyWinePress/~3/OK1gGQxRcHI/tasting-report-cameron-hughes-2009.html

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