Winey Tasting Notes: Cameron Hughes Chardonnay

I seem to be a weather driven wine drinker. To me, a snowy, blowy night just begs for a big warming glass of something red, to be sipped on next to a roaring fire. But now that the weather has turned to warm breezes and green trees, my taste buds are guiding me to the white side of things. Crisp and cooling works just fine for me when the temperatures rise. So when I saw that Cameron Hughes wines were being featured at one of my wine stores, I was naturally drawn to the Chardonnay. (Did I mention that it was 90+ degrees here that week…well it was. And Memorial Day hadn’t even arrived yet.) Also, a friend of the Winey Hubby’s loves the wine, so I figured it was high time to try some.

Cameron Hughes Chardonnay (2009, 13.8%, California) is a golden color with some medium bodied legs sticking to the glass. It smells of pear and oak. It tasted of pears and oranges with a little starfruit tang to it. I also got a hint of vanilla and oak. Wow! Lots going on here. I’d call this a buttery Chardonnay because it was very lush in my mouth. And while there was definitely some oak going on, the fruit and the vanilla kept it from being one of those big, obnoxious Chardonnays that can really annoy me at times. (I drink wine for pleasure, not to be annoyed. I have teenagers for the annoying part of my life.)

This definitely is a great sipping wine. It will hold up well in refreshing you now that the summer months are upon us. It would also be so yummy with what I call “summertime eats”. You know, the grilled salmon with herbs that NEVER tastes the same when you grill it indoors, or the shrimp skewers that are so impressive when you bring them directly from the grill to the table. (And as the chief family griller, I’m all about impressing people with my grill skill.) This wine would also be so good with berries: strawberries and raspberries come to mind. If you’re feeling adventurous, skewer some of those berries and place them in your glass of wine – summer in a glass!

I liked this enough that I’m going to head out and try some other Cameron Hughes offerings. Their Lot Series looks intriguing. These are premium wines (numbered by lot) that are taken directly from their lot and bottled instead of blending them with other lots. In a sense, they’re leftover premium wines that get to keep to themselves instead of being blended to help out some “lesser” wines.

Stay tuned and Cheers!

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