Today’s wine was a sample kindly provided by Joshua Duyan from RiotWine, which is currently running it as a club selection.

For starters I should tell you that I hate Cameron Hughes. Okay, that’s too strong — not really hate, but I’m pretty mad at him, because he’s stolen one of my dreams. Okay, not really stolen, more like shared, and not really a dream, more like an idle daydream. It’s the one where I think boy, wouldn’t it be cool during the current grape glut to take a third mortgage out on my house and cruise around the state looking for small lots of unwanted wine, taste everything out there, buy only the best stuff I find, then blend it, bottle it, and sell it cheap to good people looking for great value wines. Yeah, well, that would indeed be cool, and that’s what Cameron Hughes is doing. Maybe I had the idea first, or maybe he did, but no matter — he’s the guy with the experience, palate, and cash, and, if this bottle is any indication, he’s doing a darn good job turning my idle daydream into his reality. Oh, well, I’ll get over it, especially if he keeps putting out wines like this.

The Lot #21 Zinfandel, an equal blend of Lodi and Amador fruit, is just 1% over the varietal name threshold at 76% Zinfandel, 16% Petite Sirah, & 8% Merlot (merlot?)

There’s lots of good briary fruit in the nose, blackberry and boysenberry, as well as black pepper, sweet anise, and wet earth.

The mouth is fleshy, ripe, and juicy like boysenberry cobbler with a cinnamon sprinkle, yet not at all overpowering. Tannins are soft, and the finish is quite dry and framed by toasty oak. This is pleasant, drinkable, and excellent for this price.

Price: $11.00 (from CH website, or available to RiotWine members and maybe at Costco)
Score: 175%

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