Cameron Hughes Wine | Lot 500

Cameron Hughes is the first wine negociant to release 500 wines in the first 10 years of production.  There are hardly any producers who’ve released 500 wines period.  How does he do it?

For those of you new to the Cameron Hughes Wine business model here’s how he does it.  Cameron buys wine.  He doesn’t own a vineyard or a winery, he just buys wine.  The wine comes from well known high end brands, small production boutique labels and family vineyards.  He signs a non-disclosure agreement and keeps their name private because he is selling the same juice for a quarter of the price.  Some times he just buys the component wines and reblends and reformulates them into a more approachable “drink now” wine.  Other times he buys the same blend of the source and other times he even buys wine in “shiners” or unlabeled bottles.  But you can tell by the cork where the wine actually came from.

Cameron started out 10 years ago with Lot #1.  Selling wine out of the back of his Volvo station wagon to restaurants in the bay area.  Surreptitiously Costco came across Lot #1 and placed and order for over 2,000 cases.  Cameron suddenly had to scramble how to fill the order.  But he did.  Which led to a long relationship with Costco.  Which brings us to Lot #500

Lot 500 represents 10 years of producing what I believe to be the best values from the Napa area.  One thing that Cameron really knows is his Cabernets, Merlots and Meritages. His Pinots and Chardonnays are great too, but since I’m a big red wine drinker, I tend to favorite the Napa based wines in his portfolio.

Ever since Lot 100, Cameron has marked the centennial wines by going all out.  Lot 500 is no exception.  Here’s the quick facts:

100% Napa Valley

85% Cabernet Sauvignon

8% Petite Verdot

4% Merlot

3% Cabernet Franc

Alcohol: 13.9%  Production: 3,000 cases.

  Price: $29

The Taste

is incredible.  Still very young, drinkable now but really this wine will need bottle aging before it really starts to shine.  Right now it’s a big bold knockout punch but give it time to unwind and relax and mature and this will be drinking like a $100+ bottle.   I expect this to really impress in 2+ years from now.  As with the other Cameron Hughes wines  I’ve managed to store and age, this wine will really seem like a bargain in a couple of years and again I’ll be wishing I had bought more than I did.

You can find Lot 500 at select Costco’s in Arizona and California as well as on the Cameron Hughes Wine website.

Here are some photos from the Lot 500 pre-release party at the Pottery Barn

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