Black Friday-Cyber Monday Wine Sales: We begin with Cameron Hughes

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BestWinesOnline, Cameron Hughes, San Diego Wine Co.

Well, I only have one online sale for you right now…I’m hoping readers will chime in if they hear about any good wine sales over the holiday!

Just got an email from Cameron Hughes about their Black Friday Sale. So far they have not revealed the discount (last year it was 30%) so we’ll see.  Update: (sorry it took me so long…busy holiday weekend) Yes, the sale is 30%. Cyber Monday is the last day so get your order in if you are interested!

 

I will update this post once I have heard what the sale entails!

The 2013 wines I’m looking at:
Meteor Vineyard Cabernet
Stagecoach Vineyard Cabernet
Monte Rosso Vineyard Cabernet

If you are in the San Diego area, San Diego wine CO is having some pretty good sales too. It makes it worth it if you are local and don’t have to have it shipped. One of my favorite Tempranillo labels is on for a good price (normally $16.95 here):
http://sandiegowine.net/Bodegas-Volver-2012-Single-Vineyard-Tempranillo-Bodegas-Volver-12-Tempran/

Best Wines Online (AKA WineX) is also doing some Black Friday sales:
http://www.winex.com/default.php

 

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Cameron Hughes Lot 600 2013 Oakville Cabernet $29.00

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Cabernet Sauvignon, Cameron Hughes, Oakville

I have another Centennial Release Cameron Hughes wine for you guys to try!

Cameron Hughes Lot 600 2013 Oakville Cabernet (out of Money Road Ranch vineyard, producer unknown to me). [Full disclosure, I received this wine free of charge from CHWine.com. It is the first time they’ve ever sent me something to review, but since I usually always end up reviewing 2 or 3 of their annual Cabernet releases, I was happy to try it and offer my opinion.] I opened this with a group of friends who are also big CH fans.

The first thing we noticed was the deep, dark, inky color. Always a promising sign to me.

Fragrance was a mix of blue and black fruit…I could smell blueberry right away but after a few swirls, black currant kept moving to the forefront. Cocoa also was evident in the fragrance.

I tasted it freshly poured and then again much later, as the wine was super tight straight out of the bottle. We decided to wait to serve it (and let it decant). My first impression is that it very young and could do with more time in the bottle. That being said, after decanting for 2 hours…here is another highly recommended (especially at the $29 price tag) wine from Cameron Hughes.

So, for the flavors: blackberries, tobacco, dark chocolate and a hint of earth were first things everyone mentioned. It is fruity but it’s nicely balanced by the tannins. Body weight is great for a Cabernet. Silk and spicy on the palate. It evolved even more as the night progressed which makes me think it could be a cellar candidate.

Thumbs up from everyone here! If I were scoring it, I’d put it at a solid 91-92 points.
As always, if you have tried this wine, I’d love to hear what you have to say in the comments.

While I don’t have a coupon for this particular wine today, I do have a 20% off coupon for the Cameron Hughes Thanksgiving Wines sale. And there is a new Monte Rosso (2013 vintage) in that bunch that I’m sorely tempted to try out.

Edit: Sale is over. Will be posting any new ones as soon as I hear they are happening. Last year CHWine offered a 30% Black Friday sale so…keep a lookout!

 

Happy International Tempranillo day!

We are celebrating the day with some (relatively) local Oregon Tempranillo from Abacela Vineyard.

Abacela is one of the Wine Enthusiast’s American Winery of the Year nominations and one of our favorites.

Today we are serving the 2011 Fiesta Tempranillo, but we have many different options from this vineyard in our cellar.

How are you celebrating International Tempranillo day? Leave your favorite wines in the comments and if we can, we will try them!

Grocery Outlet Bargain Alert! 2012 Giormani Amarone Della Valpolicella $16

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Amarone, Grocery Outlet

I stopped in at Salem OR Grocery Outlet – 2879 Lancaster Dr NE, Salem, OR 97305 (503) 370-8500, during their semi-annual wine sale (Nov. 4-11). All wines are 20% off.

They had available a wine tasting table and the 2012 Giormani Amarone Della Valpolicella was open to taste test. It was very smart on their part…their price is normally $20/bottle for this wine, so even at the sale price of $16, it’s a higher price point than normally seen for Grocery Outlet wines.

After tasting, I purchased 3 bottles (would have purchased more but I have overly stocked my reds this year). Mind you, this was just a quick taste from a tiny plastic cup…but the quality of the wine was very evident and at the $16 sale price, it is (IMO) a steal. When I was there today, Sue, the owner, mentioned that they have only about 2 cases left in stock.

When I was reading the 2012 Amarone harvest report, I had pretty much decided not to purchase any from that year. However, at the end of the report (see link) Amarone buyers were just advised to choose carefully when buying a 2012. This write-up is to say, not only is this Grocery Outlet find a nice 2012 but it’s an excellent value. If you aren’t familiar with Amarone, Wine Folly did a short write-up, a while back.

If you’d like to read a more detailed write-up on the tasting notes (the contents of which I heartily concur), EHL from the Guest Contributions page of the Grocery outlet wine blog, did a very nice job of covering the highlights.

As always, if you try any wines from the blog and want to report back your own findings, I’m quite happy to hear your comments!

 

Costco Bargain Alert! Tres Picos Borsao Garnacha 2013 $9.99

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Costco, Garnacha

Saw this at our Costco today…it’s a great buy, if you like a decent Garnacha for a good price. $9.99 (normally $18.99).

This vintage scored really well too. 90/91 points. Earthy & spicy really does sum it up.

If you’d like to read about it:
http://www.wine.com/v6/Borsao-Tres-Picos-Garnacha-2013/wine/141625/Detail.aspx?state=CA

Cameron Hughes Private Reserve Collection Available now!

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Cameron Hughes

This is just a FYI post. I haven’t made up my mind whether or not I think this is a bargain, however, I am a fan of Cameron Hughes. He always seems to pick up great Cabernet for very decent prices.

For a limited time, Cameron Hughes is offering a vertical collection of Cabernet from “one of the best Cabernet producers in the Napa Valley”.

They go on to say that the winery recently “quietly changed hands”.

So, putting 2+2 together, I’m guessing this is Jamieson Ranch Vineyards that sold in mid-Sept. Jamieson is the southernmost winery in Napa Valley. Regarding the wine origin, I could be wrong, it is just a guess. However I cannot find any other wineries in Napa that recently changed hands. (edit: there has been a lot of speculation as to where this wine comes from, so I will just point out again…my thoughts are also just that…speculation)

Jamieson’s single vintage (not-private-reserve) Cabernet sells for $780/case of 12. So a vertical (2006-2011) at $369 may or may not be a decent price for 6 (depending on the individual year ratings). I’m considering it though. So far I’ve never been disappointed by his Napa Cabs. No coupon codes are allowed for this sale.

Costco Alert: Beaulieu Vineyard BV Napa Valley 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon

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Beaulieu Vineyard, Cabernet Sauvignon, Costco

Beaulieu Vineyard BV Napa Valley 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon
14.9% ABV
While I know it is Beaulieu’s lower end Cabernet, Costco’s wine buyer rarely lets me down; so I picked this up yesterday for $14.99. If it’s even half as good as their higher end wines, it should be an absolute bargain for holiday and winter evenings. I’m waiting for cooler weather to sample.

Let me know if you’ve tried it & what you think!

From the label:
“I am pleased to offer this elegant and balanced wine, which expresses velvety layers of blackberry, ripe plum & chocolate” ~ Jeffrey Stambor, Winemaker

Steve Heimoff’s Current Round of Wine Reviews

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Cabernet Sauvignon, Cameron Hughes, Steve Heimoff

If you are like me, you have wine writers that you like to follow (either they are entertaining, informative, their palate seems to mesh with yours or all of the above). I like to follow Steve’s page.

He recently posted a new round of wine reviews and some of my favorite Cameron Hughes Cabernet were listed (along with many other interesting, but not quite as inexpensive, wines).

Steve Heimoff’s Wine Reviews

Cameron Hughes Lot 515 Monte Rosso Vineyard Cabernet

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Cabernet

Cameron Hughes Lot 515 Monte Rosso Vineyard Cabernet is back in stock, limited quantity…don’t know how long it will last but as I have written before, it is an amazing wine. I just made an additional purchase to “pad the cellar”.

If you would like to read more about it, it made the highlights in several of my blog articles.

Also Lot 421 (Non vintage blend) is an absolutely excellent value purchase. You’d never know by tasting it that it was a $15 wine. I know many don’t like to try the “Franken-wine” blends but this one is worth every penny, IMO.

 

 

And as always, I have some coupon codes for you. If you’ve not yet used either:

TMOS (20% off and free shipping)
or
greatwine (15% off your purchase)

Cameron Hughes Wine Forced into Receivership

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Cameron Hughes

Well it was a sad day yesterday (and it appears that I am way behind on my wine industry news) when, for the first time, I read that back in early May, Cameron Hughes Wine had been forced into receivership. The linked article gives a breakdown of the info and links to the original report (which has been corrected 2x to my knowledge).

As many of you know, I’ve been a huge advocate of theirs…the the way they offer excellent wine from pedigreed vineyards (my favorite are their Napa Cabernets…incredible prices on top-notch wine) at just above wholesale prices.

Yes, I do have a nice stock of CH Cab to last me for a few years…but I really hope that somehow, Cameron and Jess are able to salvage their business. I’d hate to see it pass into someone else’s hands. Especially someone who will lower the quality and raise the prices…as too often happens. Rumor has it that they are trying to restructure their debt. Here’s hoping they are successful (and that those who are seriously indebted to CHWine will actually pay their outrageously outstanding bills).

All the best to those at CHWine!