Most Négociants focus on sourcing wine from one region or country. Cameron Hughes takes a different approach. They source wine for their label from the entire world. This achieves a number of things. First of all it makes their potential portfolio at any given moment quite vast and diverse in terms of wine types, secondly it also allows a broad spectrum of price points. Today I'll look at their current release of Malbec.
The Cameron Hughes 2006 Lot 52 Malbec is sourced in Mendoza Argentina. This wine is 100% Malbec. 1,800 cases of this wine were produced and the suggested retail price is $13.
There are some things that go together so naturally that you can't think of one without the other coming to mind. Argentina and Malbec are two such things for me. Certainly there are many other fine varietals coming out of Argentina, but Malbec is their calling card, it's the wine that shines most prominently, and often in their country.
The Lot 52 from Cameron Hughes has a nose that exudes plum, blueberry, and most prominently, smoky characteristics. Throughout the palate there is a rich and mouth-filling core of solid dark berry fruit notes. Black Raspberry and Blackberry are the most extroverted of these. The finish has all the earthy charm that's wonderfully typical of Malbec from the Mendoza region. These characteristics are joined by a fair sized wallop of bacon fat. This wine has firm tannins that yield with some air, and a solid backbone of acidity that keeps everything in check. Grilled meats are the classic accompaniment for this wine.
The two things I like best about this Malbec are that it's a traditional, well made example of the varietal with all the charm that comes with it. This Malbec from Cameron Hughes also happens to over deliver for its $13 price point.