2009 Courtney Benham Courtney’s Angels Cabernet Sauvignon, California

Tempting tints…Very dark red with a garnet rim

Wild whiffs…Blueberry, cherry, plum and baking spices

Typical tastes…I thoroughly enjoy Courtney Benham wines, though they are mostly out of my price range. The Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is one of my favorite wines and their Sauvignon Blanc is one of the few North American Sauv Blancs that I’ll drink. That being said, I’d not given this wine much thought when I shopped at Total Wine & More. It’s a 10 dollar bottle sourced from Paso Robles grapes. I figured it would be a fruit forward Cabernet Sauvignon with few redeeming qualities and absolutely no complexity or depth. I was 100% right about it being fruit forward but dead wrong about complexity and depth. The flavors here are blackberry, plum, black cherry and raisin with underlying nuances of cinnamon, anise, vanilla, all spice and chocolate. The mid-palate is light on tannins and astringency, though there is a vein of acidity that runs throughout this wine that shows up stronger in the mid-palate giving this a slight sour alcohol flavor. The finish is medium in length with returning cherry and blackberry flavors mixed lightly with grass, cocoa, and mint leaves. This is a medium bodied wine with a fresh fruit skin flavored aftertaste that will compliment just about any dish from salad to pizza to steak.

Overall, I’d purchase this wine again. It’s a little above average in flavor and complexity and about average in price. I give this a good QPR, though I’d say this has typical California flavors for a 10 dollar bottle this might hold just a little more depth than your average grocery store red wine from California. This is an easy drinking Cabernet Sauvignon, not too heavy but very food friendly. Pick up a bottle on your next visit to TW&M.

Martin Ray Winery

2008 Tamas Estates Double Decker Red, California

Color Spectrum…Red with a cool violet rim

The nose knows…Currant, cherry, damp earth

Nice and tasty…Grabbed this one from my local supermarket just on a whim when I was picking up a take and bake pizza. I liked the idea of a Cabernet Sauvignon/Petit Sirah/Barbera blend paired with a slice of pepperoni. So after the pizza was done I poured myself a small glass of this wine; unfortunately I wasn’t too impressed. It was an ok pairing but the wine needed more time to breathe (I’d poured the glass 30 minutes prior and had it sitting in my 60 degree wine cooler waiting for the pizza to bake). So I put the bottle back and ate the rest of my pizza with a Malbec that I needed to finish off. I came back to this wine over the weekend after my wife purchased a Vinturi for me at Costco. This was the first wine I poured through my Vinturi. Sure the wine had sat open for a day and a half now, but I wanted to see what the Vinturi would do to the wine. One word: yum. The attack is perfectly proportioned raspberry/cherry flavors mingling nicely with some black pepper and tar built on a foundation of sharp cut grass and enigmatic wood smoke. The mid-palate holds a decent amount of alcohol heat and bite, but that suits this wine just fine; and the tannins seem a bit muted but they are present more towards the finish than the mid-palate itself. Speaking of the finish, it’s smooth and medium length with wonderfully subtle flavors and textures. I can taste black and red currants, cherry jam, leather, cinnamon and more of the aftertaste of vanilla rather than the full effects of that spice. The aftertaste of this wine is exceedingly pleasant; very mild cherry skin and wet grass flavors seem to cool the tongue of the lingering heat from the alcohol. This is a medium bodied wine that edges just a hint into full bodied territory.

Overall, this was a huge surprise. I didn’t expect to find so much complexity in a 9 dollar supermarket red blend. Sure I’ve gotten great red blends from my supermarket before, but most of those were from vineyards that are very recognizable for their quality and price. This threw me for a loop. It’s a very good bottle with flavors that will hold your attention and enough complexity to lift it above other wines that are double the price. I enjoyed the bottle to the very last drop; the only beef I have is that it is just a little difficult to pair with food. In fact, I gave up trying after my third attempt (2 failures, 1 success) and just finished the last two glasses without food. And this sips just fine all by itself. This gets a good QPR rating, almost getting a great stamp but the pairing failures I had took that away. Even so, I have to recommend this as a must try and a must buy if you enjoy complex yet balanced red blends on a budget.

Tamas Estates

2006 Adler Fels Russian River Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, California

Artistically colored...Black tinged ruby red with a rust hued rim

Masterful aromas…Blackberry, black currant, molasses, oak

Savor the complexity…Those three words sum up everything about this wine. You just have to savor the complexity and textures that this wine has to offer; anything less does this wine a terrible disservice. Firstly this wine benefits from 2 ½ years of oak cask aging, by that I mean the tannins are tightly packed and come out throughout this wine smoothing the attack and finish just as much as they bring vibrancy to the mid-palate. The attack is intense, heavy and dark brining out the best in blackberry, black currant and black cherry flavors; then mixing in flavors of brown sugar, cedar and tobacco around the edges of this wine. The mid-palate features crisp acidity and astringency that pull down the alcohol heat that mingles nicely with dense tannic acids that swirl over the tongue nicely. The finish is brilliantly crafted and long enough to enjoy even the smallest flavor it holds. The fruits come back first this time led by sugared black plum and blackberry jam. This is followed by just a little licorice and smoke. And finally more tobacco, cedar and a hefty dose of chalk dust right at the end. This is a full bodied wine that covers every base and truly brings and enjoyable drinking experience.

Overall this is a superb glass of wine. It was a featured wine at my local Total Wine & More and was recommended by one of their staff on a recent visit. It’s definitely underpriced at 17 dollars. I’d pay 25 for this bottle and be happy. It’s because of that reason that I rate this a solid Great QPR. To be honest this wine is not for everyone. It is very oaky and definitely a “heavy” red wine; but I love everything about it and it is firmly in my top ten. Keep an eye out for this if you enjoy big red wines with a lot of oak aging, you won’t be disappointed if you pick this up.

Adler Fels Winery