Cameron Hughes Mixed Red Pack (6)
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
We decided to pick three lots, make them into two packs, and put them in a case of six total bottles. Why? Because we wanted to learn what happened when Lots stopped trying to be polite… and started being real.
LOT 224: Me and Gertie, they told us we had to be preps. Just because we were from the High Valley Lake Country. But me and Gertie… we don’t wanna be preps! We wanna be greasers! How else will I show off my black fruit, licorice and roasted meat flavors?
LOT 291: Man, those preps. They act like they know, but they don’t. Jackie and I grew up on the streets of Lodi, where it’s either kill… or be killed. They call it Zin City. Or they did, till they got beat up. People on our streets don’t take kindly to puns.
LOT 258: All I know is I want to keep my head down and not cause trouble. Those two Lot 291s can have their spicy parties all they want, but that isn’t our way, not for me and David. We’re well-balanced, lively but deep. Maybe complex, but not in an awkward way.
LOT 291: Hey, we don’t deny it! We’re sexy, fully of fruit, maybe some pepper! But I ain’t knockin’ Lot 258. They’re nice people, even if they are a little… well, linear. But that’s their thing, you know? They wear it well.
LOT 224: I just hope the other lots eventually accept that Gertie and I aren’t as old-world as we seem. We’ve got the qualities, sure, but there’s more about us than that. We’re as American as any of them.
LOT 258: I guess we’ll get along. I guess we have to.
LOT 291: Whatever. I just hope whoever buys us drinks me and Jackie first. Then we’re outta here, see ya!
Lot 224 – 2009 High Valley Lake County Syrah 750ml 2-Pack
- Vintage: 2009
- Appellation: Lake County
- Grape: Syrah
- Alcohol by volume: 14.9%
- Production: 4,700 cases
- Release date: September 1, 2011
Lot 224 2009 Syrah is sourced from the High Valley AVA of Lake County. The vineyards for this project start at 1800 feet and run up to 3,000 feet above sea level. It’s an incredibly remote property that has remarkable vineyards. They recently brought in a new winemaking team and a deservedly famous consultant to turn around the winemaking, they are turning out lush and inviting wines. Winemakers often espouse that they are just guardians of the terroir and their job is simply to stand back and let the wines make themselves – nonsense. Winemakers matter and Lot 224 proves it.
- Vintage: 2010
- Appellation: Mendoza
- Grape: Malbec
- Alcohol by volume: 13.9%
- Production: 5,000 cases
- Release date: November 30, 2011
- Drink/Hold: Now and through 2018
This is a winery that we are very fortunate to be partnered with and also produced Lot 275 Reserva Malbec for us. They boast beautiful vineyards with excellent terroir and impeccable wine-making practices. This is some of their top-tier wine and it shows. 55% of the berries come from a vineyard located in Agrelo, planted in 1994 and managed with vertical trellising. The other 45% come from a vineyard located in the Uco Valley planted in 1992 and managed with vertical trellising. They sit is beautiful soil, Deep silty base, and rocky in depth, with good drainage. It’s aged for 12 months, 80% French oak and 20% American oak barrels.
- Vintage: 2010
- Alcohol by volume: 15%
- Production: 5,000 cases
- Drink/Hold: Now and through 2019
Lot 291 is the result of a vineyard and winery partnership with one of Lodi’s best growers. Effectively, grapes are farmed to our specifications, sold to a winery and made under our winemaker’s guidance by the winery. A famous and very high-end Zinfandel and Petite Sirah brand sources one half of this particular vineyard and sells the wine for $ 40/bottle, we buy the other half of the vineyard and sell the wines for under $ 12. Sure, they crop theirs in at two tons to the acre versus our four and they use a higher percentage of new oak but, beyond that, there isn’t much difference. We are doing the same deal out of 2010 and extremely excited about this model of making wines and creating exceptional value.
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