It was a pleasure to try the CAMERON HUGHES Wines of California and Spain earlier this November, 2009 with Jay Conway. I enjoyed most of them immensely for their balance and focus and often finesse. I also really liked them when I heard how reasonable they all were : they are affordable and over-deliver each and every time. That's a grand thing. The 2007 Lodi Ancient Vines Zin really spoke to me. It's as smooth and bright in red berry/cherry fruit imaginable without being heavy or cloying. It's really nice all by itself as it is with a meal.
I tried the seven or so bottles put before me and I enjoyed them all pretty much as I just said. This coming Saturday, November 28th, 2009 we will have Chris of the Monument Selections portfolio at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 20008 Tel : 202-363-4265 anthonyquinn@clevelandparkwine.com www.clevelandparkwine.com ) to pour three of the wines : 1) Lot 115 Chardonnay from the Russian River Valley, CA., the 2) Lot 88 GSM ( Grenache/Shiraz/Mourvedre- though it could be Merlot instead of Mourvedre? ) and the 3) FLYING WINEMAKER " Old Vine " Zinfandel 2007.
These three wines this weekend just after Thanksgiving will give us all something to talk about. I'm looking forward to this and seeing the response we get from our customers. Everyone is welcome at our in-store wine-tastings. Join us, there is never any charge.
These are some of the artsy photos that I have been taking recently as more and more people are coming out of the woodwork and presenting more and more interesting wines that we might like to buy and sell at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 20008 Tel:202-363-4265 anthonyquinn@clevelandparkwine.com www.clevelandparkwine.com ).
P.S. : The three wines that Chris tasted really showed beautifully. The 2007 Spanish red blend from Campo de Borja ( a red blend of 60% Garnacha, 30% Syrah and 10% Mourverde ( also called Monastrell in Spanish ), $11.49 was perhaps my favorite of the three. I loved how it tasted like fresh grape juice just-turned-to-wine. It was so bright and fresh and it improved as it breathed more. I liked it at first and even more as it was open over the course of the tasting. I brought it home and it showed really well with my turkey dinner that my wife had waiting for me.
The Lot 115 2007 Chardonnay ( $19.99 ) from the Russian River Valley in California had great balance and finesse. A bit too much oak for me but it was all very well-focused and it would be perfect for someone that likes that amount of oak in their wines. This Lot 115 would give that person a really great example of that style as well as a great value, too.
The Flying Winemaker 2007 Lodi, CA. Ancient Vine Zinfandel( $13.99 ) showed fabulously and was the hit at the beginning of the tasting. As the Spanish Lot 98 opened it caught up with the Zinfandel and they were pretty much tied at this point in popularity.
But I should not have added this here as I was on another train of thought :
I was talking about my artsy photos and tasting and discovering happily all these " new " wines that I was never aware of before until the moments like this when I try them.
Because of this : because there is so much good wine to chose from it sometimes takes us awhile before we get it into the store but we keep a running list of those things that we would like to sell and once there is an opening or a space for them we order them and give them a turn in our Cleveland Park spotlight. They become center stage in our store and we see how everyone responds to them.
But this also means that we see so many things that we rarely have the same wines in stock for very long. It's fun to give our customers a constant stream of " new " wines to try on for size, fit and feel.
It's now Wednesday morning ( just at 12:11 AM ) on November 24th, 2009 as I write these last few words and post this. I still have more pictures to add and more of the story to tell. I am sure that this weekend's tasting on Saturday just after Thanksgiving will inspire me to tell more of this interesting story. Cheers and Happy Thanksgiving to one and to all. TONY
Stay-tuned for more really soon ...
As I said above the Saturday tasting with Chris was a big success and we are thrilled to have these CAMERON HUGHES wines at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits. It's now Monday night, November 30th, 2009 and I am sure I will be giving Chris another order for these wines. We may very well taste some of the others in this series on his next in-store wine-tasting which I believe is the first Saturday of December 2009.
Cheers and see you all then ... TONY
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