The Wines of Hug Cellars

Tasting Notes: The nose on this wine is unbelievably dark, dense, complex and brooding. Scorched earth, minerals, dark chocolate, smoke, chocolate covered cherry, espresso… the flavors keep on coming. A distinct graphite component, reminiscent of a young top notch Bordeaux, adds to the appeal. What really gets you with this wine is the texture. Oh so, creamy and rich with a velvety finish. It’s the type of wine that you just don’t want to swallow. Pair this with a nice ribeye steak.

Tasting Notes: This Casa Torres Vineyard Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir offers up generous notes of ripe Chandler strawberries, raspberries and blueberries while all the while entertaining a flavor beam of leather and cedar box. As with all of our wines, this will benefit greatly from an hour or so of decanting prior to imbibing.

Tasting Notes: This Syrah is Big! Full flavored with ripe flavors of blueberries and ollalaberries laced with roasted coffee and cocoa. On the nose you will catch violet and sage. This wine has great concentration with balanced acidity and a very long finish.

Tasting Notes: Think of boysenberries ripening in the warm, summer sun. Think of vanilla bean, of deep cocoa. Our Zinfandel does not hold back; it was made for California Zinfandel lovers and is not shy in its hedonism. Immediately drinkable in its youth, this wine does not need food to complete its pleasure profile.

Tasting Notes: This wine is very exotic. Moroccan spice, sandalwood and clove highlight the aromatics. On the palate, juicy blackberry and raspberry reward the drinker with a burst of flavors. Enjoy this wine with spare ribs right off the grill.

Tasting Notes: Aromatics of ripe cherry and strawberry trick you into thinking that this rosé is going to be sweet. On the contrary, this wine is all business on the palate. Cranberry, orange peel and rose petals, all framed by a lush, rich mouth feel. Use this as you would any Southern French Tavel or Provencal rosé. Great with rotisserie chicken.

Tasting Notes: Our Mourvédre has layered complexity with Moroccan spice, herbs, roasted meat and brimming with red fruits like raspberry and red plum. The finish is velvety with fine tannins.

Tasting Notes: Grown in the cool Arroyo Seco area of Monterey County. This Sauvignon Blanc is made from the Musque Clone which gives it the intense distinct aromatics of citrus flowers and gooseberry. The wine is abundant with flavors of grapefruit, kiwi and guava. We fermented this wine in small stainless steel barrels and inhibited malolactic fermentation. It has a steely, bracing acidity that makes it a perfect match for lighter seafood like oysters, scallops and red snapper.

Tasting Notes: This wine has distinct black fruit flavors that meld nicely with notes of spice box, boysenberry and cherry. Silky and smooth, with a long finish. This is a blend of 80% Grenache the Cedar Lane Vineyard and the Santa Barbara Highlands Vineyard 10% Mourvèdre and 10% Syrah.

Tasting Notes: Flamboyant and expressive aromatics that leap out of the glass. Cherry raspberry, kirsch, grilled breads and minerals…this gorgeous tribute to Châteauneuf-du-Pape delivers it all. A juicy and seamless blend consisting of 70% Grenache, 25% Mourvèdre and 5% Syrah from a meticulously farmed vineyard in Santa Barbara County. Try this with char-grilled flat iron steak.

Tasting Notes: Our Cedar Lane offering is one of the most “Burgundian-Style” Pinot Noir’s in our portfolio. Its structure is lean and definitive, with all of the flavor components landing in harmony. There is a bright beam of floral, fruit and earthy characteristics throughout that melds seamlessly into the body of this wine. We are particularly fond of the mouth feel of this Pinot with fine and elegant tannins that caress the tongue.

Tasting Notes: It is a challenge to ripen grapes to full maturity at this small, maritime-influenced vineyard, but the rewards, when a long, temperate growing season is in place, are many. This profound Syrah possesses great extraction and exhibits a bold New World style. A flavor strand of Kir and new leather weaves itself through this attractive wine.

Wine Reviews:
Laurie Daniel - San Jose Mercury / Telegram Tribune 4-25-07

"The 2005 Hug Bassetti Vineyard "Rena Block" Syrah ($45) is a stunner. Bassetti Vineyard, the source of the grapes, is tucked into the coastal hills off Highway 46, just three miles from the Pacific Ocean near Cambria. The wine is quite dark, concentrated and still fairly tight, with ripe blackberry, some meaty notes and accents of smoke and white pepper. The tannins are quite firm, and the wine could use some more time in the bottle. But if you can't resist, be sure to decant the wine to give it some air".


Stephen Tanzer's IWC - 91 Points
www.wineaccess.com/tanzer
Hug Cellars
2005 Bassetti Vineyard "Rena Block"
San Luis Obispo County
Syrah

"Deep ruby. Intensely perfumed nose offers vibrant blackberry and blueberry aromas complicated by baking spices, suave vanillin oak, violet and mocha. Smoky dark berry flavors are firmed by solid but harmonious tannins, which slowly build through the long, sweet finish. Very young but has wonderful material." Josh Raynolds (11/14/07)

Tasting Notes: Each vineyard has its own distinctive personality, but the Rancho Ontiveros Vineyard, managed and farmed by James Ontiveros, is immediately recognizable for its dark, brooding notes of wet forest floor, cracked white and black pepper and rose petals. This Pinot Noir manages to be both feminine and masculine, with forward, bold muscular strands of fruit tamed by genteel nuances of roses, violets and minerality.

Tasting Notes:

Tasting Notes:

Tasting Notes:

Tasting Notes: This Merlot has components of violet, kirsch and cassis that roll from the glass. Currant, black fruits and minerality add to the sexiness of this wine.

Tasting Notes: This wine is made from 24% Cabernet Franc, 23% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Mourvèdre, all from the Santa Barbara Highlands Vineyard. Included is 10% Merlot from the Cedar Lane Vineyard and 33% Petit Verdot from the Booker Vineyard. This wines first impression is of complex herbal undertones leading to blackberry, raspberry, cedar box and a trace of dark chocolate followed by more subtle nuances of black olive and cassis. Enjoy this wine with a nice rib-eye steak fresh off of the grill.