2009 Challis Lane Cabernet Sauvignon, California

Color - Deep red

Nose - Blackberry, blueberry

Taste - This wine is what I would call a "two-faced" wine. One face is fruity with a lot of dark berries that transition into loads of alcohol bite and a long finish that is astringent and sour. This is the face of the wine you see when you drink it by itself. The second face is much less fruity, instead it has wonderful floral flavors with vanilla and licorice hints that give way to some nice heat from the alcohol and a pleasant, long finish. This is the face I saw on the two occasions I paired this wine with food; the first time with a meaty lasagna and the second time with a rather mild cheese pizza. As you can imagine the second face is the one I prefer. That being said I would pay the price for this wine if I had it in mind to pair with a good meal, but I would pass on this if I just wanted something to sip on.

Overall, this wine has an OK QPR. There is nothing amazing about it, but there are far worse Cabs at this price. I would recommend you do a little more shopping and find something that's more balanced than this. You won't have to look long to be able to find a solid performer that outshines this wine. But if you want something new you are more than welcome to try this out, just don't expect it to take you on any adventures as this is a pretty run-of-the-mill Cabernet Sauvignon.

Challis Lane Cellars

2009 Callaway Cellar Selection Cabernet Sauvignon, California

Color - Dark red

Nose - Raspberry and cherry jam

Taste - This is about as plain as they come, not terrible, but quite forgettable and somewhat bland. On the first sip I find out the flavor matches the nose; cherry and raspberry fruit, then alcohol bite (just a little too much), and finally a red berry-like jamminess that is a little too fruity for me. There are some sour notes on the finish, but they aren't too noticeable as the alcohol and the tannins tend to mask them. Normally I like a decent amount of tannin and alcohol, but here they distract from the actual fruit and trample on what little depth of character this wine has. The wine has a medium body with a medium finish. Not much to speak of as far as mouthfeel goes and little complexity. This is a pretty poor QPR for an 8 Dollar wine.

Overall, the lack of depth, muddled taste, and mediocrity of this wine force me to recommend that you pass on this wine. As I said before this doesn't taste "bad" (like Lucky Duck, Manyana, Manina, or Double Dog); it just doesn't do anything that well and doesn't stand out either. You can get a lot of 8 dollar bottles that taste as good or better than this. Pick up a bottle of Anakena if you want something from the Southern Hemisphere or Columbia-Crest if you want something from the Northern Hemisphere. You can also do an "eeny-meeny-miny-moe" at the wine shelf and chances are you'll get a better bottle.

Callaway Winery