Cameron Hughes does not own a vineyard. They specialize in what is known as the "spot" market. If any of you have ever invested or worked in commodities then you pretty much get the gist. For the rest of us (yes, I was once a stockbroker, but I did not specialize in the spot market -- that's my cousin's gig), simply put, high-end winemakers always make more than what they need so they have enough to assemble their final blends thus they sell off and declassify wines that don't fit the quality parameters for a $50 bottle, but make an excellent $15 - $9 bottle of wine. That is essentially what Cameron Hughes has done. He gives us the $50 rejects for $15 - $9 bucks. Not bad! Even better when you taste. I was pleasantly surprised on a recent visit to Costco. This just may become one of my "house" favorites. Oh, and I really like the business model as well. I'll let Cameron Hughes speak for itself:

"Beautiful nose of toasty French oak, warm fruit, mocha and black olive.Medium-full bodied (hallmark of the 2005 vintage), this wine showsoutstanding overall structure and balance and great depth of varietalcharacter. Chocolate, blackberry, tobacco and expresso flesh out themidpalate and the wine finishes smooth with notes of cocoa powder andthat classic Rutherford “

Cameron Confidential: This is the bottle blend(meaning that it’s one finished wine from one producer and the exactsame wine as they will bottle that year) from a high-end, conscientiousRutherford producer truly focused on quality. Their bottling frontlinesat $45 on their website and has received 90-92 point scores for thepast 3 vintages from the Wine Spectator. 

A steal at $15 (or $13 at Costco)? You be the judge, go out sample and let me know.