Cameron Hughes Wine All Star Lineup!

This is a mixed case handpicked by Cameron and RadCru just for our members. We’ve got award winning wines, extremely limited wines and some phenomenal new releases in the mix!  Lot 41 2005 McLaren Vale Shiraz, Lot 46 2005 Hunter Valley Shiraz and Lot 58 2006 Santa Barbara County Chardonnay are all nearly sold out and are only available exclusively through this RadCru sampler.  With the summer heat still in full effect, we threw in Lot 26 2005 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc to help you refresh during the home stretch of sizzling hot days.

In the spirit of the Summer Olympics we give you some medal winners:

BEST OF CLASS, GOLD MEDAL Cabernet Sauvignon Lot 35 Yountville District 2005

GOLD MEDAL Cabernet Sauvignon Lot 61 McLaren Vale 2006

SILVER MEDAL Malbec Lot 52 Valle de Uco, Mendoza 2006

This is your chance to grab some of these limited wines and award winning wines as well as check out some of the hottest new Lot releases such as Lot 63 2005 Lake County Syrah, Lot 64 2005 California Red Wine (30% Tempranillo, 29% Carignane, 20% Grenache, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Petite Verdot from Lake and Napa Counties), Lot 67 2005 Russian River Syrah and Lot 69 2005 Dry Creek Valley Merlot (RadCru’s favorite of the bunch).

This All-Star Lineup wouldn’t be complete without the “Rat”,  Lot 49 2004 Priorat is one of Cam’s favorites.  You’ll be rewarded for letting it open up for several hours before drinking.

About Cameron Hughes Wine

Cameron Hughes Wine was founded by Cameron Hughes in November of 2001 as a wine negociant (wine trader) dedicated to providing exceptional wine values.

We currently sell wine under our “Lot” brand, which enables us to sell small lots of super/ultra-premium, luxury quality wines direct to large retail outlets at competitively fair prices. This “treasure hunt”, in-and-out concept maintains the initial high quality of the original wine lots by bottling them either as stand-alone wines or blends of comparable quality wines. Typically, these small lots are purchased on the spot market by large wineries or other negociants for blending into their lesser value wines to bring up overall quality. Utilizing low overhead, direct to retail shipping, we provide our customers “extreme value” at price points surrounding $10. By buying small lots of super/ultra-premium bulk wines off the spot market and maintaining their individual quality CHW is routinely able to deliver $20 to $40 quality reds at price points from $7.99 to $14.99 and $12 to $25 quality whites at price points from 2/$10 to $8.99. All that, and we deliver it in a nice looking bottle bearing the Cameron Hughes name, a name and logo we want to be synonymous with killer quality and value.

Fine wine doesn’t last forever, but now your fine crystal can. The world’s brightest and most durable crystal is the new titanium-based series from Schott Zwiesel. Schott Zwiesel is built on 130 years of innovation and excellence to develop a new patented process that replaces the lead oxide that other crystal manufacturers use with titanium oxide, resulting in brighter crystal that is truly break resistant, practically unscratchable and virtually unstainable.

The Viña range presents a clean, clear philosophy: a concentrated collection capable of enhancing the presentation, aroma and flavour of the widest possible range of wines. Eight bowls in a pleasing, complimentary design bring order to any table setting. Viña’s subtle details and robust design, mean it is suitable for everyday use and wine appreciation, while conveniently fitting into the racks of most household and industrial dishwashers. An ideal starting collection for savouring fine wines at home or professional use in hotels and restaurants. Tumblers and other accessories add the finishing touches, enabling Viña to grow with your evolving tastes and needs.

This sultry dessert wine is dripping with clove, blackberry, blueberry and brown sugar. It tastes like the decadent essence of zinfandel, without being too cough-syrupy like many after-dinner offerings. So bring a bottle to a dinner party and feel free to toot your own horn. You’ve got impeccable taste.

About Roshambo
Roshambo Winery was born of the simple idea that serious wines became, well, a little too serious. It’s the brainchild of maverick Wine Hero Naomi Brilliant, granddaughter of the late and great Sonoma County grape grower, Frank Johnson. Our small, independent winery was named after the West Coast slang for the ancient children’s game, “Rock, Paper, Scissors,” and with our annual RPS Tournaments, Pirate Proms and Roshambustops, we like to think we are fighting for fun in a winey world.

Buut… it’s important to note that while we take pride in our storied history of creative branding, we know that it’s what’s inside the bottle that really counts. We have to appeal to your palates and senses as much as your spirit. Because no matter how slickly we package the stuff, we know we can’t pull the wool over the oenophile’s eyes… nor can we lure the beer and booze set to the Other Side of the Vine with a bogey in the bottle. The whole point of this adventure was to welcome a new crowd of people to the party - Gen-Xers , Boomers, Millenials and Unidentifiables alike - by providing a disarmingly fun context in which to encounter serious wine. Our offerings have been fortunate enough to catch critical praise - most recently, in Wine Enthusiast’s March ‘08 Buying Guide (FJV Syrah: 93 Points, Reverend Zinfandel: 92 Points, “Rock” Rhone Blend: 90 Points).

About Naomi

After spending much of the 90s in Portland, Oregon, pursuing my own brand of twisted food photography, I moved to Healdsburg to create a unique winery. Why wine? For me, it was a natural choice. In the early 70s my grandparents retired to a small town north of San Francisco. They sought a simpler life and my grandfather, Frank Johnson , devoted his golden years towards the cultivation of grapes. Most of my childhood summers were spent on his vineyards, playing hide and seek or riding four-wheelers with my younger brother, Morgan. I simply fell in love with wine and the vines, so after my grandparents both passed away, I felt an impulse to leave Portland behind to fulfill Frank Johnson’s dream of building an extraordinary family winery on his land.

Of course, if I were going to pick up and go, and throw my heart and soul into this vast undertaking, I knew that not only would the wines have to be of incredible quality, but the winery would have to reflect a certain playful and adventurous spirit. It had to be a living, breathing artistic endeavor. My goal was to cultivate a snob-free, approachable wine culture that would appeal to people like my friends who had always assumed the grapestuff was too esoteric and exclusive. And I believe we have succeeded in creating incredible wines for those people who resonate with our passionate and free spirited approach. Roshambo has always been about a brazen spirit, a sea change, a new wine culture, and most importantly… You! I hope you enjoy the wines and can sense not just the craftsmanship and nuances of the flavor, but the personality imbued in each bottle.

Grape Tamer - Syrah 2003 Stags’ Leap Ranch Vineyard / Napa Valley
Aromas of warm licorice, pomegranate and exceedingly ripe blackberries. The palate is supported by dark red fruits and an allure of autumn spice. Persistent and seductive. 70 cases produced

Bad Habit - Petite Sirah, Syrah, Grenache 2005 Priest Ranch Vineyards /Napa Valley
A firm yet polished structure of spice and cocoa. This wine has a soft yet powerful appeal giving it an inviting and habitual style. It should evolve stylishly for 3 to 6 years. 400 cases produced

High Flyer - Viognier 2006 Borra Vineyards / Clements Hills
Essence of Lemon meringue while citrus and honey add to the wines refreshing yet rich palate feel. Complimented by 10 months in neutral French oak to achieve an idyllic level of integration. 900 cases produced

Highflyer Wines are a totally uncompromising approach to vineyard sourcing and winemaking while choosing only to work with select growers across the state of California. Although this means that the precise composition of our wines may change from year to year, the expertise of vineyard sourcing and winemaking will remain steady.

Highflyer wines were established by Craig Austin Becker (winemaker/pilot) who anxiously flies his plane in pursuit of California’s finest vineyards and making great wines that have an extraordinary point of view.

They celebrate their fifth year of winemaking this year and are located in St Helena, California in the heart of the Napa Valley.

Philosophy: Wine - Our standard is to make wines of purity and distinction. Using both classic and cutting edge techniques, we allow the grapes to show their caliber by doing as much as possible to preserve their freshness and flavor. We look to extract the richness while maintaining the energy and persistence of acidity. As for barrel aging our wines, we find a small place in our heart for oak. We use French oak for a note of complexity, a light veiling, enhancing the overall character of the individual wines. We only fine or filter our wines where we feel appropriate.

Vineyard: Foremost in our minds we look for excellence in the vineyard. This means in short leading edge viticulture, and concentrated yields. In long, we look at the vineyard initially from a macro perspective, understanding its soil and climate and carefully making decisions, with our team of consulting experts, along the way. On the micro level, we meticulously monitor the vines during the growing season. This ensures we are on the offensive side of wine growing. It isn’t uncommon for us to drop fruit on our vines down to one cluster per shoot to gain the optimal ripeness and balance in the vine.

Intense aromatics of honeysuckle, white peach, ripe pear and hazelnuts. This full bodied Chardonnay, balanced by refreshing acidity, resonates lychee and candied lemon, while focusing on its salt, mineral and slate characteristics.

2005 Chardonnay is a combination of three sites from The Donum Estate, the oldest of which is Ferguson planted in 1974 to the famous Wente Selection. The old vine depth of the Wente is what provides the back bone of our Chardonnay. A younger block of Dijon clone brings sweetness of ripe fruits, and lastly our Southern exposed block at Donum planted to Wiemer is what provides crisp acidity and perfume.

Weather Conditions
The 2005 vintage tested our patience (of course, we had no idea what was to come in 2006, but that’s another story). With temperatures on the cooler side and soils fully saturated, our controls to limit vigor were minimal. Those tools we had, such as cover crop and heavy canopy management, did help greatly. Flowering was a bit later than normal, but cool, more moderate weather prevailed, slowing down the season. A minor heat spike at the end of August got us excited and we expected to start harvesting shortly thereafter, but Mother Nature had a different idea. Cool temperatures marked most of September bringing ripening to a stop. We often talk about hang-time, but rarely do we have the luxury to practice it without sacrificing moderate alcohols. The 2005 vintage showed us what hang-time really means. Our normal version-to-harvest interval is 40 days; in 2005 the interval averaged 50-plus days for most of our blocks. As you can imagine, harvest did not really get started until the third and fourth weeks of September. Tasting the wines now, we can see that 2005 gave us rich flavors with depth and intensity, so I guess it was worth the wait.

About Robert Stemmler
Robert Stemmler is a pioneer, an early and passionate producer of outstanding California Pinot Noir. He is also a dear friend of the Racke family. And that is why our label bears his name.

Robert arrived in Napa Valley in 1961 after making wine for nearly a decade in his native Germany. He worked at the prestigious Charles Krug Winery with the Mondavi brothers, then became winemaker at historic Simi in Sonoma County. He also consulted for other prominent wineries like Inglenook, St. Clement and Raymond, and in 1976, founded his own winery in Sonoma’s Dry Creek Valley. In 1982, having found a cool-climate Russian River Valley fruit source, he released his first Pinot Noir to great critical acclaim.

Meanwhile, Marcus and Anne Moller-Racke arrived from Germany in 1981 to work at their family’s Buena Vista Winery in the Carneros region. Anne was named vineyard manager in 1983, and she learned her craft from, among others, legendary winemaker Andre Tchelistcheff. At the same time, Robert was mentoring young Pinot Noir producers like Davis Bynum and Gary Farrell.

Robert traveled widely, tirelessly promoting his Pinot Noir at tastings dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay producers, and he steadily developed his own following. It was in Aspen, Colorado, in 1984 that Marcus Moller-Racke introduced him to Anne and their friendship began.

In 1989, weary of travel, Robert retired from full-time winemaking after 35 years. His friends, the Rackes, purchased his label, maintaining it as a wine club and tasting room brand within Buena Vista.

By the late 1990’s, Anne was vice president of vineyard operations, managing a thousand acres of vines and replanting half of them. During the same period, Kenneth Juhasz honed his skills making Pinot Noir at Flynn Vineyards in Oregon.

When Buena Vista sold to Allied Domecq in 2001, the Racke family kept one jewel of a vineyard they called The Donum Estate, where Anne launched an “ultimate Pinot Noir” project to create wines of exquisite quality. With the addition of Ferguson Block and Nugent as estate vineyards, Robert Stemmler became Donum’s sister brand.

In 2002, Kenneth Juhasz joined a devoted team of professionals who share Robert Stemmler’s passion for Pinot Noir and who also enjoy his counsel during his periodic visits to talk and taste with them. Today, Stemmler wines are available at fine restaurants and retail shops in key markets throughout the United States.

Stone House Tempranillo 2005

Tempranillo is perhaps one of the most versatile red grape varieties in the world. Known as the Spanish Cabernet Sauvignon, this wine has a floral note, with a slight perfume of frangipane and a little mint. Its rich bramble berry, violet and red pepper palate is as alluring as is the wonderful rich purple hue. It has long fine soft tannins on the palate balanced with sweet fruit flavors.

This wine produced from excellent Barossa fruit is as well at home with rich veal cutlets as it is with fine medallions of lamb or game.

Tempranillo is perhaps one of the most versatile red grape varieties in the world. Known as the noble and celebrated Spanish varietal, its rich bramble berry violet and red pepper palate are as alluring as is the wonderful rich purple hue.

Awards
Tempranillo 2005
DOUBLE GOLD San Francisco International Wine Competition

Special Reserve Shiraz 2004

Colour:
Dense saturated purple color lingering around the meniscus

Nose:
Penetrating aromas with big, sweet, blackberry, cherry, camphor, and French oak-scented bouquet

Palate:
There is a terrific purity, dense and sweet, a multilayered texture, and an opulent, heady, long finish

Awards
Special Reserve Shiraz 2004
SILVER MEDAL San Francisco International Wine Competition

STONE HOUSE SPECIAL RESERVE GRENACHE/SHIRAZ 2005

Colour:
Dense saturated purple color

Nose:
Penetrating aromas with blackberry,strawberry, black cherry, and French oak-scented bouquet. The fruit is offset by fresh acid and further complemented by the mouth feel.

Palate:
This medium-weight wine has a firm consistency, a tight structure and a harmonious, agreeable complexity. There is a gorgeous purity, a heady, southern Rhone-like peppery herbal spiciness. It has smooth, unobtrusive tannins and a long savoury finish and perfect balance.

Fermented in open fermenters as separate parcels of fruit, each wine was transferred to 100% mature French oak hogshead and aged for 12 months before bottling.

Unfiltered, unfined. A pure expression of the small, hillside vineyard on the edge of the Barossa Valley.

Awards
Special Reserve Grenache/Shiraz 2005
BRONZE MEDAL Riverside International Wine Competition

Our 2005 Old Vine Zinfandel is full of rich blackberry and raspberry fruit, with wisps of black pepper, a hallmark of old-vine zinfandel. Aging in slightly used French oak barrels imparts a subtle accent of vanilla spice and allows the supple fruit tannins to blend nicely with the soft wood tannins.

Winemaking:
Our stylistic vision was to make a balanced Zinfandel that is both fruit forward and food friendly. To achieve this style it was important for us to subdue the high sugars present at harvest. We de-stemmed whole berries prior to fermentation to preserve the fruit forward nature of the varietal. We then cold soaked the must for 4 days before inoculating with yeast, as another means of promoting the up-front fruitiness. Our Zinfandel is aged for 9 months in mostly used French oak barrels to soften and impart a subtle spiced nuance.

Food Paring:
Zinfandel and barbecue is a match made in heaven and our 2005 Zinfandel is no exception to this long held wine rule. But there’s more to pair with this wine than grilled meats. The balanced fruit and light-handed oak treatment make our Zinfandel a chameleon when it comes to food pairings. We recommend that you think outside the box and fully enjoy the versatility that this wine has to offer. From spicy Indian curries, to Pizza with the works, our Old Vine Zinfandel makes a great accompaniment to many full-flavored meals.

About Judd’s Hill:
Handcrafted wines from our garage. That’s how it all started in the early ‘70s in Los Angeles. The lure of the wine country caused us to abandon our primary vocations (I taught ESL and Art practiced architecture) to pursue the joys of winemaking and farming in the Napa Valley. In 1979, along with Art’s brother’s family, we purchased a ranch about halfway between Rutherford and St. Helena, on which we built Whitehall Lane Winery where we produced some great wines in the ‘80s.

The next chapter in the story leads us to Judd’s Hill where we devoted ourselves to creating small lots of premium handcrafted wines. It was here on our hill that we pioneered Napa Valley Custom MicroCrush, where we make small lots of custom wine for grape growers and wine enthusiasts. Judd had been living in Southern California and handling our sales there. In 2003, he married Holly and they moved here in 2004 to create a full and wonderful family business experience. Her MBA and passion for doing things right has made her a perfect CFO and partner.

The development of the JUDD label added more variety to our lineup of Cabernet and Merlot. Judd produces Petite Sirah, Pinot Noir and Syrah, and his creative eye, astute nose and discerning taste buds keep us anticipating what the next new wine might be.

This 2005 Petite Sirah, sourced from Eaglepoint Ranch in Mendocino County, California, reveals deep garnet hues, a lovely fruit length and the delicious aromas of red berry, chocolate and pomegranate. It’s delightful now but easily lays down for 8 to 10 years. Great for parties, dinner, or simply relaxing as you pour a glass and savor the sunset. (only 25 cases produced)

The Vineyard
With a small operation, we are able to maintain a focus on quality and are committed to producing premium wine grapes. We currently farm five acres of our 40 acre property. Petite Sirah is perfectly suited to the warm days and cool nights of Paso Robles. We believe strongly in sustainable agricultural practices and hand harvest and hand prune all our grapes. A permanent native cover crop plays host to beneficial insects. We are members of the Independent Grape Growers of the Paso Robles Area.

Wine Makers
Michael Zitlaff - Head Winemaker

Michael brings 20 years of international winemaking experience to Crushpad, including his role as CEO and Chief Winemaker at Yarra Valley’s Oakridge Estate – a company he took public in 1996.

Michael’s award-winning wines have been internationally recognized with the Warren Winiarski Stag’s Leap Trophy for Best Cabernet Sauvignon of Show, the Wolf Blass Trophy for Best Australian Red Wine of Show at London’s International Wine and Spirit Competition, and the award for Best New World Pinot Noir at the International Wine Challenge in London. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Oenology from Australia’s Famed Roseworthy Agricultural College.

Kian Tavakoli - Consulting Winemaker

Kian started his winemaking career at Opus One and after four years moved on to Clos Du Val where he spent nine years building their red wine program to over 30,000 cases. Kian brings a strong set of sensory skills and production experience and is a master blender.

Vineyard notes include:

“This 82 acre vineyard is situated at an 1800 foot elevation that keeps temperatures down 5 to 10 degrees cooler than Mendocino’s flatlands. Hillsides of decomposed sandstone with veins of red loam keep vigor in check. Petite sirah is what sends this vineyard into the stratosphere.”

“Cropload is kept at moderate levels either naturally or by manual thinning, yielding fruit with extreme concentration and intense varietal character.”

2006 HALLBERG PINOT NOIR

Beautifully oaked and full of tightly coiled fruit strength, the nose of this clearly very youthful Pinot offers scents of sweet red and dark cherries, panetone, subtle smoky notes, vanilla and hints of white pepper in a focused and intriguing mix. It is tighter on the palate, but just as focused, with Bing cherry, panetone and lots of tobacconist shop spice. Needing three to six years to reveal all its dimensions, it will drink brilliantly within the next twelve to eighteen months. 295 cases produced.

Winemakers Notes: These grapes were picked at night, hand-sorted and destemmed. They cold soaked for 5 days before going through whole berry fermentation receiving 2 punch-downs per day. Fermentation took 12 days in a open top 5 ton fermentation tank and the wine was then racked to barrels.

2006 Clone 828 Pinot Noir

Deep, dark and impressive, the aromas of this distinctive Pinot are of boysenberry, red plum, cherry liqueur, minerals, black tea, smoke, earth and a panetone-like hint of bready-fruity spice. It is full and quite forthcoming on the palate and has a sinewy mouthfeel, as its flavors of black tea, minerally-earthy spice, crushed rose and boysenberry fan out on the palate. Super long and well braced with tannin, the finish reinforces the wines general impressions of deep flavor and coiled strength. It should be brilliant right now with a great beef roast, but will surely improve for several years. 266 cases produced.

Winemakers Notes: These grapes were picked at night, hand-sorted and destemmed then cold soaked for 5 days before going through whole berry fermentation and receiving 2 punch-downs per day. Fermentation took approximately 12 days in a open top 5 ton fermentation tank and the wine was then racked to barrels.

2006 THE FARM PINOT NOIR

Much tighter than the flamboyant 2005 Farm bottling, this one should prove bigger as well, and for the time being its aromas of floral-accented strawberry, dry rose and dried orange peel lag slightly behind its rich vanilla, smoke and earth notes. It is round, rich and firmly structured on the palate, showing polish and style, but plenty of tannin and strength as well. The finish is long and dense, with emerging cherry, boysenberry, vanilla and earth notes. This is a very fine and obviously ageworthy bottling, but it may take a year or two to become as forthcoming as last years version. 250 cases produced.

Winemakers Notes: These grapes were picked at night, hand-sorted and destemmed. They cold soaked for 5 days before going through whole berry fermentation receiving 2 punch-downs per day. Fermentation took 12 days in a open top 5 ton fermentation tank and were then racked to barrels.

Connoisseur’s Guide Reviews:
Pinot Noir Clone 828 Sonoma Coast 2006
92 Points

Intense and concentrated yet so full of bright red cherry scents and the engaging smells of wild flowers, creamy oak and even a hint of berries, the aromas accurately presage the young, vibrant flavors that follow with great exuberance on the palate. Balance and precision are equal partners as well, and the wine does not let down anywhere from front to back. Withal, it is bit tight at this writing, and we would commend this wine to the cellar for several years while it grows into itself.

Pinot Noir Hallberg Vineyard Russian River Valley 2006
89 Points

The clear winner among its mates if ripeness and concentration is the first order of business, this expressive, full-bodied, fleshy-textured bottling has somewhat sweeter, deeper flavors than its mates and, not unexpectedly, is considerably more compelling for nearer-term drinking. The late-arriving heat is also expected, and it will not be a problem when this wine is served alongside savory beef roasts with a rich gravy.

Pinot Noir The Farm Vineyards Russian River Valley 2006
91 Points

The lightest of the Halleck four, this wine is an elegant, complex wine whose mix of sweet red cherry fruit comes with attractive notes of loam, cola and mild hints of cocoa. It is almost full in body but is also very well-balanced and has a nice lively quality to its ripe fruit and oak-enriched flavors. Those looking for more strength and sap in their Pinots need only choose either of the other Hallecks, but those in search of something to accompany a thick-cut veal chop will be happy.

2003 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
This wine is a smooth rich blend of complex cabernet flavors. Fruity complex aromas and smooth taste with moderate tannin and mild astringency make this wine stand out in competitions and taste good with food and happy times.

Awards
DOUBLE GOLD BEST OF CLASS
2006 San Francisco Chronicle Wine judging Competition

Production notes:
The 2003 growing season was excellent and harvest conditions were near perfect. The Cabernet Sauvignon grapes for this wine came from Larry Paraday’s Vineyard on Ink Grade Road in the Aetna Springs area of the Napa Valley. The Merlot grapes came from Thompson vineyard located at the end of Second Avenue in east Napa. The Cabernet franc Grapes came from the Loomis area of Placer County. Each variety was made separately and aged in oak barrels for 18 months. The varieties were blended prior to bottling.

The Blend was made to improve overall wine structure and balance. The flavor components from each variety are meant to complement each other and to add complexity of the wine. Aging potential is estimated to be about 15 years.

2004 Syrah Sierra Foothills
Floral Syrah nose with hint of candy, brisk acid with mouthwatering tannins make for a long smooth finish. Ruby red color, mineral tastes. Not a heavy syrah, but lighter and distinct reflecting the warmer growing areas of Placer County.

Awards
DOUBLE GOLD
2006 SF CHRONICLE WINE JUDGING COMPETITION

Production notes:
The syrah grapes for this wine came from the Granite Bay area of Placer County. The Cabernet franc Grapes came from the Loomis area of Placer County. The Cabernet Sauvignon come from Napa Valley. The 2004 crop was light and harvest season was warm so the grapes were picked in early September. Each variety was made separately and aged in oak barrels for 10 months. The varieties were blended prior to bottling.

The Blend was made to improve overall wine structure and balance. The flavor components from each variety are meant to complement each other and to add complexity of the wine. This Syrah wine is a lighter style, made to be smooth and drinkable now. Aging potential is estimated to be about 5 years.

The wine style is light floral smooth, good for beginning red wine drinkers, but complex enough for experienced professional connoisseurs.

2005 Cabernet Franc
This wine continues in the style of the Murphy Vineyards Cabernet Franc. It is fruity with a candy nose, the taste has a touch of sweetness with smooth acid and mild tongue coating tannins that leave a soft lingering finish. Nice starting red wine, smooth and easy to start a tasting series.

Awards
GOLD METAL
2008 SF CHRONICLE WINE JUDGING COMPETITION

Production notes:
This wine was make from Cabernet Franc grapes from Clos Du Lac Estate Development near Loomis, California and Monarch Mine Vineyards on Forest Hill Road near Auburn, California. The final blend included Syrah from Monarch mine Vineyards, and Cabernet Sauvignon from Wilms Ranch in the Aetna Springs area of the Napa Valley.

The wine was aged in french and american oak barrels fro 10 months, then blended and bottled. The wines were crushed, fermented and bottled at GV Cellars under the direction of Winemaker Richard Mansfield. Blending, barrel selection and winemaking was directed by Peter Murphy.

Winery details:
After graduating with a degree in Fermentation Science from UC Davis in 1973, Peter Murphy decided to make Napa Valley his home. After working in the cellar and in the vineyards for several wineries, Peter decided to form his own vineyard management and development company in 1987. Installing and developing vineyards all over Napa, Sonoma, Placer and Nevada counties gave Peter a personal relationship with many of the wine growers throughout Northern California. So much so, Peter decided to put his degree to work and make his first wine in 1995. The first vintage of Peter Murphy Vineyards was made from a special select lot of Cabernet Sauvignon grapes from the Rosequist vineyard located in the Mt. Veeder appellation in Napa Valley.

The distinction of our wines come from the vineyard specific selections, the quality control of the vineyard operations, careful winemaking and barrel selection, and the judicious blending of wine varieties. The goal is to create an aromatic wine that is smooth and drinkable now.

Just as the grapes continue to grow, so has the interest of the second generation of Murphys in the wine business. Kevin is out in the field building trade relationships while Melissa manages the consumer direct marketing efforts and Michael helps with winery operations. As Peter and Nancy proudly explain “This is a family business now, so we’re changing the name to Murphy Vineyards to include everyone.”