Acronym Cabernet Sauvignon 2012

Well, they can't all be winners. Their subtitle says "great red wine." What a load of shit. The only part of that statement that is true is the "red" part. And I can only skeptically agree that they used cabernet sauvignon grapes in California, because I imagine there is some business rule that you can't misrepresent the what and where of your products.

Next time use grapes, instead of grapefruit. They are very different. Trust me.


Bottom line: No! No! A thousand times No!

Folie a Deux Zinfandel 2012

Yowza! I was surprised. We all were! Folie a Deux has nice wines. They are kind, and complex in their own way, but not necessarily upper-echelon sophisticated type razzmatazz. Well, I'm eating my words!

This blew us all away, even before it had a chance to fully open. Bravo!

Bottom line: Run, don't walk, to your nearest vino dispensilator!

The Path Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 Sonoma

There we were, on the path toward wine drinkin', and it was a big ol' caber-net sa-VIG-nun, the like a-which I ain't never seen. And then we saw it: The Path!

And it was very 50/50 for me. My housemate from New Zealand was a "no" on this one. I figured that some people may like it, you know, if they are on, say their sixth or seventh bottle of wine. I realize that isn't exactly helpful, but it is hard to make something of this wine, when there doesn't seem to be much there to begin with.

The Path is misleading, as in don't follow it, because it doesn't actually lead anywhere. Even on the bottle it suggests a route, but honestly I don't see a cairn or a destination. If you want to walk nowhere, I guess this is your jam (which it has no jam, so don't get your hopes up. When you arrive wherever the path leads you, there will be no jam, so do not expect it). Not that there isn't anything wrong with a good old fashioned "amble about," however, like an after dinner stroll, those typically lead you back home, or that you know eventually where you will end up before you even start, which says to me, why do I need a path at all?


Bottom line: don't say I didn't warn you! Because I didn't.

Catena Malbec 2012

No sooner had I planned my posting schedule, having convinced myself that "I can do this!," than I was sidelined by a trip, a rather intensive eleven-day excursion through seven national parks. Unfortunately, it all happened so quickly that I didn't have time to load up posts in the pipeline, so I just came off looking like the Flakiest Flake in Flaketown.

I would apologize, but it will probably happen again.

So back to wine: this wine was a gift, and it should have been cellared for several years. It was hard and tannic. It did open up a bit on the second day, but as far as malbecs go, it wasn't my favorite. It was good, but even for the price there are better options out there.

Bottom line: If curiosity is killing your cat, let it develop...for a couple of years.

Cameron Hughes Lot 467 Zin, Syrah, Petite Sirah 2012

Well, well, well... look who it is! It's me! Yes, I have been away from this for a while, sorting out my time, my priorities, and trying to turn it all into a life that will work for me. I have discussed new endeavors with people, and started to diversify my interests. But of all the things I have planned, I knew I needed to carve out time to resume this blog in earnest, learning via tasting, reviewing and generally talking shit about new wines.

I am intending to post every other day at 5PM, since it typically takes me two days to go through a bottle of wine by myself. If it turns out I am fortunate enough to have help, I may post more frequently. I remember a day when I would drink an entire bottle of wine in an evening and think nothing of it. But as years pass, the tolerance we have for some vices changes, but also our relationship with those vices changes, where we just don't need or want them in the same way. I think it is almost more accurate to say I don't want to drink an entire bottle of wine in an evening; it really doesn't sound fun. Whereas once I thought of it as an accomplishment, I now think of it more as a warning sign.

Anyway, all that fanfare for this. My first review here is not exactly returning with a bang, though I do have more tastiness scheduled later. I probably should have doubled up for my return and at least brought you a drinkable suggestion, but instead, here is more of a cautionary tale:

Don't.

This wine isn't the worst I've had for the price. We found it at Costco and it was less than $10. I found nothing spectacular hiding in these flavors. They were muted and blended to the point of having no distinctive characteristics, like mixing the wrong colors together. But do remember that wine is always subjective--one person's art, you know... If you are a fan of cheap wine-flavored wine, then you'll like this. It had a sweetness to it that made it drinkable, but I would say just get Menage--it's a way better wine and serves the same purpose as the 3rd or 4th bottle.

If this is your first time reading, I feel I should explain that last sentence a bit. In a given evening of wine drinking, I structure the presentation, the way they do for tastings, But I do so in reverse order of complexity. I typically start with the best (according to me), and gradually move toward something less nuanced. Partially because unlike a tasting, people are out and out drinking the wines, not just tasting, and it is easy to be distracted with good conversation. And it is easy for one's taste buds to get shot over an evening. A sip of even an exceptional wine may occur absently. So I start with something good, and by the 3rd of 4th bottle when people are just drinking to drink, I pull out the cheap stuff--anything that is good enough to enjoy, but not the subject of the conversation. By then, we are leaping from subject to subject anyway. The consensus among my friends is "If I have good wine, I'd like to remember it" so we start with the best when palettes are freshest.

Cameron Hughes does have many good wines. Though from what I am able to glean from their website, they appear to source wines from all over the world, receiving them three ways: in grape-form which they start wine-ifying from scratch; barreled wine which they then age, blend and bottle; or wine fully bottled and ready to distribute, where all they have to do is slap their label on it. These come from a variety of sources all over the world, and therefore they don't actually grow their own grapes.

Bottom line (because there is always a bottom line): Skip it. Don't be lured in by the pretty metallic teal on the label. It is a lie.