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Price: $9.50 This light to medium bodied wine has a dark garnet color and a bouquet of blackberries and spice. I found it to be high in tannins but had a long, smooth finish. It was an okay wine but not very memorable.
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Columbia-Crest Two Vines 2008 – Washington State
Nov 25
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From the label: Columbia-Crest Merlot Cabernet is a delicious, fruit-forward wine with a rich, silky finish. Generous blackberry and raspberry flavors are wrapped around a core of warm vanilla from extended aging in small oak barrels. The “Two Vines” designation is a tribute to the special trellising of our vines. Like all great wines Columbia-Crest’s […]
Double Dog Dare Cabernet Sauvignon – California
Oct 21
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Bottled by Livermore & Ripon, California same as Little Roo Merlot from Australia Price: $3.99 (Yes, it was under four bucks!) I’ll be honest with you, I bought it for the label, the name, and the price. The guy at my local Total Wine told me it was a really good seller and when I […]
Edgewood Estates 2007 Tradition – Napa Valley, CA
Oct 14
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From the label: ‘At Edgewood the name ‘Tradition’ has real significance. It pays respect to Bordeaux, home to three varieties used in this proprietary. It represents stability and honor. Our 2007 Tradition includes Cabernet Savignon, Petite Verdot, and Malbec. It is a significant wine of texture and breed. Three to five years should make a […]
Mouton Cadet Bordeaux 2007 – Bordeaux, France
From the label: ‘Created in 1930 by my father, the legendary Baron Philippe, winegrower and poet, Mouton Cadet Rouge combines the Bordeaux winemaking tradition with the values of authenticity and exacting standards that have always been the pride of our family. In an elegant bouquet of flavours, it thus unites several fine appellations of the Bordeaux region, planted with classic grape varieties: Merlot 65%, Cabernet Sauvignon 20%, Cabernet Franc 15%. Through its balance, roundness and ageing capacity, the fruits of generous Nature and the work of human hands, Mouton Cadet Rouge expresses all the richness and diversity of one of the world’s foremost winegrowing areas.’ – Philippine de Rothschild
Website: http://www.MoutonCadet.com
Price: $10.99
I received this bottle of Bordeaux from my brother as a Christmas gift. He told me that this was on of the first real bottles of wine that he had bought when he first got into wines. He also stated that he always has a bottle of Mouton Cadet in his wine collection to be called upon when he has a bad day. It offers him comfort and he hoped it would do the same for me. I loved the fact that this bottle of wine meant so much to him that he wanted to share it with me and enhance my new found passion for wine.
I decided that I would have this bottle of wine for a special occasion so I chose to have it with a special Valentine’s Day dinner with my love, Matt. I served it with Spaghetti Carbonara and a dessert of Creme Brulee.
This clear, ruby red wine boasts a fruity bouquet of plums, grapes, and vanilla. The taste was full of plums with a hint of vanilla and a slight dash of spiciness. It had a nice light and quick finish as well.
Overall I really liked this wine and have ranked it in my top red wines. I rated this wine at 96 points. I really enjoyed this wine and will do the same as my brother and keep a bottle in my wine rack for those days when I want a dependable wine to celebrate with or comfort me.
Sterling Vintner’s Collection Meritage 2008 – Central Coast, Sonoma, California
From the label: ‘Our Meritage is a classic blend of Cabernet Sauvignon 57%, Merlot 37%, Cabernet Franc 3%, Petit Verdot 2%, and Malbec 1% from some of California’s best appellations. This richly textured wine has flavors of cherry, chocolate, black raspberry and vanilla, which lead to a full, lingering finish. Enjoy our Meritage with grilled or roasted meats and hearty vegetables.’
Website: http://www.sterlingvineyards.com
This nice Meritage from the Central Coast of California (Sonoma) was a really nice wine. It was my first experience with a Meritage and I found it quite nice.
The color was a deep but clear garnet color and the bouquet was jammy, with hints of vanilla, cherries, and tobacco.
This medium bodied wine had a taste was heavily jammy. I used to wonder what people meant by ‘jammy’ in reviews but trust me once you have a wine that is actually ‘jammy’ you’ll know it immediately. It also tasted slightly of oak.
It had a medium finish. I found this wine to be very enjoyable. I would definitely buy it again. Also, I like to mentioned that this wine was also vinted and bottled at Sterling. I like wines that are produced and bottled at the vineyard they were grown at. I feel it creates a more predictable and dependable wine because the people producing the wine know exactly what to expect from their own grapes.
I give this wine a rating of 86.
Bridgman Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 – Columbia Valley, Washington
From the label: ‘In 1917 W.B. Bridgman introduced European wine grapes to the Yakima Valley near Sunnyside. Bridgman wines are dedicated to this visionary man who helped make fine Washington wines what they are today.
Our Cabernet Sauvignon has rich aromas of berry and cherry fruit with a fine layer of sweet oak and a hint of walnuts. Excellent with red meats or pastas with a hearty tomato sauce. Try it with garlic stuffed leg of lamb rubbed with rosemary.’
Price: $13.99
This estate grown and bottled wine from Walla Walla, Washington (I just love saying that town name…makes me giggle…but I digress) is a nice clear garnet colored medium bodied Cabernet Sauvignon.
The bouquet (or smell, for us common folks) was very fruity and most definitely accentuated by cherries. The taste I found intriguing though. I have read reviews by people claiming that their wine had a ‘buttery’ taste and I admit up to now I had NO IDEA what they were talking about. I mean it’s WINE! How can it have a buttery taste? Well this wine, my friend, showed me what that meant. My first taste was so buttery and nutty that I had to really think about it for awhile. I’d never tasted a wine like that. After I finally got over that buttery punch the next thing I tasted was, of course, the cherry. This wine had a nice medium finish to it as well.
Overall I liked this wine. It was surprising to my palate and let me know that there really are wines out there that are distinct and new tasting (at least to me anyway).
I rate this wine at a score of 88. It’s a nice wine with a soft buttery taste. I drank this wine without the intervention of any specific food but due to it’s buttery, nutty flavor I would say that the recommendations on the bottle would be correct. This wine needs a strong, hearty meal to be able to stand up to it.
Winery Website: www.apexcellars.com
Porta Cabernet Sauvignon – 2009 Valle Central, Chile
From the back label:
‘Bright red in color, this particularly fruity wine features red fruits, strawberries and blackberries. Very soft and fruity on the palate with ripe tannins and good balance.
This fruity Cabernet Sauvignon pairs well with roasted meats. The ripe tannins accompany the cooking spices, bringing out the flavor of the dishes it is served with.’
Price: $6.99
Forgive me for my rather short post lately but I am loaded down with work and I am working under the supposition that any short blog post is better than none at all. I hope you agree.
Now this wine was originally bought with the intention of being used in a Pasta Bolognaise recipe so I didn’t want to spend too much dinero on something I was going to cook rather than drink.
This estate bottled Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile was a really nice surprise given the fact that A, it has a screw cap (I bet you thought I’d never admit to that one right?) and B, the more expensive wine I bought to actually drink with the dish that never got made was awful (see last week’s Sunday post: Montepulo Red Wine 2008, Abruzzo, Italy). So, of course, this one cost less so my logic would say it’s got to be a dog right? Wrong!
Though I have other inexpensive wines that are my typical standbys when I’m looking for something nice to drink and I don’t want surprises (two of which are Lindeman’s Bin 40 Merlot from Australia & Barefoot Merlot from California) this wine would come in nicely in third place should my other two regulars not be available.
This was a nice light red Cabernet Sauvignon that made a nice impression. It was enjoyable and I have nothing bad to say about it other than ‘It has a screw top, man!’ 🙂
Winery website: http://www.portowinery.cl
Penfolds Koonunga Hill – Cabernet Merlot 2007 -South Australia
From the back label: ‘Elegantly structured Cabernet Sauvignon is complimented by generous Merlot in this classic blend. Spicy oak seamlessly integrates with the redcurrant, plum, and summer pudding aromatics.’
Price: $11.99
This was the first time that I am aware of that I’ve drank a wine with a mix of Cabernet Sauvignon (67%) and Merlot (33%) so I didn’t know what to expect. I mean I like them both separately so I took the leap of faith that it would have to be at least decent plus the brand was a recommendation from a friend who shares similar taste in wine.
The color of this wine is a dark burgundy/garnet color and the bouquet is heavily slanted in the plum direction. It also has a very spicy, oaky aroma. It’s a medium to full bodied wine that tastes of lovely plums and chocolate as well as a slightly peppery slant. It ends with a medium lasting finish.
This wine paired very well with my warm goat cheese salad with cranberries, pears and field greens. The bold flavors of this meal stood up well to the bold flavor of this wine. The wine also paired quite well with the Lindt Milk Chocolate Truffle that I ate afterward. 🙂
Overall I found this wine to be quite nice especially after aerating it once. It does need a little breathing room to develop it’s flavors and aromas as well as to tone down the spiciness a bit. I gave this wine a score of 87. It’s a very enjoyable and nice wine.
Stone Cellars by Beringer – Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 – Napa, California
Last night I sampled this Napa Cabernet Sauvignon by Stone Cellars (Beringer). I found the color and clarity to be dark burgundy and clear.
When I inhaled its bouquet I could have sworn I smelled brown sugar. Is that possible? (I’ve really got to get to that wine course next week 🙂 ). I also detected dark berries and almost what seemed like damp leaves. Not too appetizing probably but that’s what I was smelling.
The taste was very spicy as well as gave me the impression of overripe grapes. I sat there for awhile trying to come up with a better description of what I was tasting but it just came back to a vision I was having of overripe fruit/grapes. I don’t know if this is actually the case with this wine but it’s what I was tasting and visualizing every time I took a sip.
This Cabernet had a long smooth finish though.
My overall feeling for this Cabernet Sauvignon was that it could have been a really ‘Wow’ wine had it not been for the overripe fruit that I was tasting. Now I’ve heard that sometimes this is a desirable thing in wines and that it pushes the limits of the grapes and proves for a more mature tasting wine and maybe that’s the case with this wine. I really don’t know what the intention was for this wine when they made it. I just know that I must prefer a more youthful wine. I generally like fruits and veggies when they are in their prime not when they are starting their demise. I feel like this wine was starting it’s demise before it was even made. Again, that’s just my opinion folks and it’s really more of a theory at this point.
I do know that I’ve recently read in magazines such as Wine Spectator that 2008 was a very trying year for most Napa wines. The growing season was less than ideal and many of the crops and therefore the wines were affected by that. I think that it may be possible that that’s the case with this wine. It is a 2008 vintage and it would really make sense that that is what happened here.
Overall I found this wine to be okay. It was drinkable but I wasn’t thrilled by it. I’ve heard that Napa is known for it’s Cabernet Sauvignon so I won’t let this turn me off at all. Like I said it was drinkable but it just didn’t ‘wow’ me. I’ll try other Napa Cabs and see how they rate (I’ll make sure it’s not a 2008 though).
Buzz factor: 5, it gives a bit of a buzz but not much.
Overall likability: 7, I give it this high of a score because I really can see the potential of this wine. It’s smooth and I want to really like it but something is just off to me.
Price: $9.99
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