Weekly Wine, Lot 164
Cameron Hughes, Lot 164, 2007 Napa Valley Rutherford Cabernet
The Technicals:
100% Cabernet Sauvignon
Alcohol: 14.5%
Production: 650 Cases
Cameron Hughes sourced this wine from a “very famous” wine-maker from Rutherford who had intended this for his $85 program but the economic conditions called for a change of plans. Lucky for me, and for you-dear reader.
I picked up on the “Beautiful nose of violets” and a hint of cherry and plum. This after only being decanted for about 10 minutes. I took a sip…
Yea! It had been raining all day in Phoenix and I suddenly felt a ray of sunshine burst through the clouds and hit me in the forehead. Full bodied? Absolutely. Lots of black cherry on the palate, and SUPER smooth. I mean flawlessly smooth. Surgical grade smoothness. The wine is still young, and tannic, squeaky teeth tannins but very rich with concentrated fruit.
Ran a few errands, all in all it took about an hour, came back and poured a glass. The nose had opened up a bit more, the “dusty” tannins were more present on the back end now, which I like. This wine is still just a bit young for me, (imagine Randy from American Idol saying that) for me, dog, it’s still just a bit young. But give it time and this wine will blow your mind. It will blow your mind that you paid twenty bucks for this. In fact you’ll look like a genius. I was thinking about that while I was on my errand trip, at Chase bank. I was trying to figure out how I would word my request for a loan to buy a few dozen cases of this wine and a home improvement loan to build a cellar to store it. But I knew the answer the second I walked in the door.
6 hours later this wine is still incredibly full bodied, it actually seems even bigger than before, like it’s still opening up and beginning to ignite. It is a fiercely good wine. I would recommend this to any wine drinker who says they like big monster California cabs but done with an uncommon elegance for something so powerful.
(Update)PART TWO:
I saved about 2 glasses of this wine for the next night. It tasted every bit as good as the first night, if not better. The pretty nose is still very present, and so is the smooth rich concentrated fruit. I was sad when it was all gone.