2006 Chateau Chevalier Cabernet Sauvignon, California

One of the few purchases I’ve made that breaks my budget rule; one could call this a splurge wine seeing as it comes in at $24.99. I don’t feel that this is that much of a splurge. Sure it breaks my rules, but I picked it up when it was on sale for 20 dollars; so I figured it would count. It pours a very dark red with midnight flecks throughout. Wafting from the glass are amazing aromas of spice box, black cherry, blackberry jam, and cedar. The attack is just as amazing as the nose, full of dark berry and stone fruit flavors intermingled with wood smoke, dust and a nice level of chalkiness. The mid-palate is exceeding smooth, with soft tannins that glide over the tongue tempering some of the sour cherry flavors that pop up, and leaving my tongue and gums with a wonderfully clean and tingly sensation from the perfect astringency. The finish is delicate and long, stretching out with flavors and textures of oak/cigar box, anise, white pepper, chocolate covered cherry, cola and dirt; then rallying back with hints of leather, ash and black tea. This is a full bodied wine that comes across just a little lighter in body due to the balance of flavors and textures, especially where tannins and alcohol are concerned. It left my tongue with a black cherry and burnt toast flavor that was actually quite nice.

Even though this is a little bit above my usual price point, I still love this particular Cabernet Sauvignon. It falls into a budget wine if you can get it on sale, if not you should still pick it up for a special occasion or when you have wine-discerning guests coming over. The complexity and overall smooth flavors/textures of this wine make it a truly special bottle. I would rate this a good QPR at 25 dollars, and good-to-great if you can find it under 20 dollars. For a fan of the Cabernet Sauvignon varietal this is definitely a winner and one to add to your list of Cabs to try before you die. Maybe add a bottle to your cellar, you won’t be disappointed.

Chateau Chevalier 

2009 Chateau Liversan Haut-Medoc Bordeaux, France

By now I am fully on board with the 2009 Bordeaux craze. After sampling several of them, I have figured out that even the most economical Bordeaux is quite satisfying and there are exceptional values to be found between 15 and 20 dollars. This particular bottle is available at my local Costco for 13 dollars among a few other bottles ranging in price from 10 to 20 dollars. This pours dark red into the glass, with a subtle violet rim. It carries aromas of black currant, chocolate, caramel and smoke with delicate nuances of brown sugar and anise. The attack starts with focused black fruit (blackberry and black currant mainly), followed by leather, cocoa and cedar. The mid-palate features chewy tannins, near perfect astringency and some nice acidity that takes the form of semi-sweet, chocolate and caramel dipped cherries. The finish is beautifully long, washing over my palate with flavors of plum, currant, smoke, damp earth, licorice and leather. This is a full-bodied wine that brings a whole lot in the flavor department and leaves an aftertaste of chocolate and black cherry. 

Overall, this is yet another great bottle of wine from Bordeaux, France. This particular bottle features 50% Merlot, 49% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1% Cabernet Franc. The fruit is definitely the best part of this wine; each fruit is represented wonderfully though none of the fruits lean too heavily towards the “sweet” area. This is beautifully complex though not on the same caliber as the Chateau Malrome, but it’s darn close. I give it a soli, good QPR, and would recommend it above most bottles of Cab or Merlot at the same price point. This really is a must buy.

2009 Beringer Knights Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, California

A gorgeous glass…Dark, ruddy hue fading to pinkish-red at the rim

Stunning scents…Black currant, cedar, loam, compost, syrup

Fantastic flavors…To be quite honest, this was a desperation purchase on a quick trip to my local super market. I wanted something with quality and had heard this wine had particular depth and character for a wine frequently sold in grocery stores. So I placed it in my cart and came home. Then promptly forgot about it as I had placed it in my new wine cellar. After a few months I was rearranging my cellar to organize it by varietal and ran across this particular bottle. Once again my interest was piqued and while my wife sipped on a bottle of Sparkling Wine, I chose to pop the cork on this beauty. And beauty it what this wine is. It’s not a 92 or 93 point wine, but it has defined levels of complexity that you won’t find in many wines sold in the super market, particularly at the 20 dollar mark. Be warned, this wine needs a good day of decanting before you start to sip it; it’s big, bold and very dark in flavor and texture. The attack is full of heavy black fruits blackberry, black currant, roasted black plums and black cherry jam mingling with vanilla and butter all floating atop a foundation of oak, wet leaves and peat moss. The mid-palate has a whole lot of everything; chewy tannins rise in force shoving astringency across the surface of my tongue to battle against alcohol warmth and tingle that flees from acidity and flavors of leather and dust. The mid-palate seems overwhelming and long, when in reality it merely melds right into a long finish that is full of more dark fruits and heavy savory characteristics; the first of these show up in the form of dark cherry with vanilla buttercream layered on top, this melts into a very pungent oak and tobacco taste with just a hint of sour blackberry and finally comes the wet leaves, loam, chalk and compost bringing sensory overload to my palate. This is a full bodied wine with a wonderful aftertaste of wet wood, damp earth and cooked plums.

Overall this is an excellent wine with few failings. Sure it’s not for every palate. It’s a very heavy red wine with lots of tannins and particularly deep/dark flavors. It will assault many red wine drinkers and overwhelm their “softer” palates, but for a Cabernet enthusiast this hits the spot. It’s not overly expensive or immensely complex. It shows flashes of complexity above a 20 dollar wine but provides a lot of even quality. I recommend this and award it with a solid Good QPR. If you are in a hurry at the grocery store grab this bottle, it will pair wonderfully with those steaks, heavy stews or hamburgers.

Beringer Vineyards 

2009 Cincuenta Ugarte Rioja, Spain

I’ve been wondering for quite some time what has been happening to my Total Wine & More mailers. I hadn’t received one since the first of the year and wondered what good deals they were offering. I figured my daughter was probably hiding them from me or they had ended up on the bottom of a stack of junk mail. So it was with great surprise that I found the latest mailer when I was cleaning off my kitchen table of a few days worth of mail. Low and behold, such deals on some great wines. 2009 Bordeauxs under 15 dollars, 92 point Rhone blends for 12 and 90 point rated gem for less than 10 dollars. I have grown to love Tempranillo when it’s done right and that means from Spain, usually from Rioja. This wine fits that bill perfectly. It pours dark into the glass with swirling rubies, garnets and purples that at times edge into midnight black making for a mesmerizing glass to look at. The nose wafts strongly of sugared black plums, blackberry jam, vanilla and licorice with subtler elements of dust and charcoal. The palate itself is elegant and layered; stacking dark fruits (blackberry, currant and cherry) on top of caramel and cocoa in the attack. The mid-palate is wonderfully focused; featuring perfect tannins, crisp acidity in all the right places and beautiful astringency that pull the caramel and cocoa flavors through into the finish. And what a wonderful finish it is; long and luxurious where the fruits mix and mingle with sugars and savory flavors. Chocolate covered cherry and caramel tinged plums, with sweetened coffee and vanilla laced milk leave my tongue feeling as if I’ve gone on a pleasure cruise through a box of designer candies. Underneath these flavors are more pungent tastes of cedar and smoke with hints of ash and dirt, but they all build a wonderful flavor profile that is extremely gratifying. This finishes strong and though it feels heavy it is in fact a medium bodied wine that pairs well with just about any grilled meat, some spicy barbecue, sausages and especially hamburgers.

Overall this wine was phenomenal. I was amazed at the flavor and texture that it produced and just how complex this bottle really was. It paired so well I went through the bottle in three consecutive nights and came back on the fourth night disappointed I hadn’t saved a little for a few slices of pizza. At 10 dollars this is an amazing QPR. Sure it got 90 points from The Wine Advocate, but this one was a surprise to me. I frequently sample 90+ point wines (those that ring up at the register under 25 dollars and there are quite a few); this bottle is right at the top of the list of those wines. Complex, daring, with a depth that is hard to find; it is a truly wonderful wine that will slake your thirst and have you coming back for more. Highly recommended and if you find it purchase more than one because you are either going to want to add it to your cellar or you are going to want to sip it for several weeks!

2007 Valserrano Rioja Crianza, Spain

Easy on the eyes…Deep ruby red with a rusty rim

Heaven Scent…Strawberry, raspberry, vanilla

 Oh the flavors…Again and again I am drawn back to Spanish wines, particularly those featuring Tempranillo grapes (which in reds is the most common varietal). The flavors present in these wines are usually very distinct being fruit forward but not necessarily sweet as they are often tempered by hints of vanilla, cedar and spice box notes. This bottle is definitely a winner. The attack comes on with wonderful strawberry and raspberry fruits, followed closely by leather and vanilla and just a hint of smoke. The mid-palate is very smooth featuring mild tannins, perfect levels of acidity and astringency and just a tad bit of sour cherry flavors. This features a medium finish brimming with red fruit jams (strawberry particularly), blueberry, black pepper, burnt sugar and vanilla. This is a medium bodied wine that leaves an aftertaste of cherry, strawberry and oak/vanilla.

Overall, this is an excellent wine that is perfectly priced for the quality that you get. It easily earns a Great QPR. It isn’t immensely complex but it well balanced with layered fruit flavors and enough complexity to keep my palate engaged. More than anything it is very pleasing and easy drinking. I recommend drinking it with meat dishes but it is very food friendly and would do well with salad, macaroni & cheese and pizza. Truly a wonderful wine and highly recommended.

Valserrano

2008 Sebastiani Cabernet Sauvignon, California

Easy on the eyes…Intense ruby red nearly black at the core with a crimson rim

Olfactory detections…Black currant, cassis, cigar box, cedar, pipe tobacco

The yum factor…Being a Costco member has never been more pleasant than the last 3 months or so. I’ve been fortunate enough to drink some quite tasty wines and not had to pay through the nose for them. This happens to be one of those wines. I picked this up only because there was a two dollar coupon bringing the total of the wine down to about 11 bucks. Even without the coupon this is in my price range, but I wouldn’t have paid much attention to it had I not already had the coupon. Enough about my shopping habits, on to the review. Decant, decant, decant; unless you absolutely love your red wine to be heavily flavored/scented of wood (cedar, oak and cigar box aromas mainly) then you must decant this wine for at least 24 hours. Even with the aid of a Vinturi this wine was still very wood-y. I absolutely love Cabernets that feature lots of oak and cedar and this one has the perfect amount of those two flavors. Going forward I’m splitting this review into a pre-24 hour and post-24 hour review.

Pre-24 hour – The attack is heavy with a mix of blackberry, cassis, black pepper, cedar, cigar box and tobacco flavors. They are all piled on quite thick and play with my palate just as much as they play with one another. The mid-palate has a decent amount of heat and acidity from the alcohol and the tannins are quite chewy but the level of astringency is less than I’d expect. This is a full bodied wine and the finish is nice and long with mellowed flavors of blackberry, plum, tobacco, vanilla, and licorice with a backbone of wood smoke and cedar.

Post-24 hour – The amount of wood-like scents is much reduced now, though I can still smell cedar and cigar box hints they are not as overpowering as they were previously. The attack shows the same reduction in wood-y flavors now featuring blackberry, vanilla, tobacco, cedar and a lasting buttery flavor that turns into butter-like textures during the mid-palate. The mid-palate itself is far more balanced and mature than formerly; the alcohol is toned down a notch, tannins are still chewy but they don’t seem like they are on the cusp of running amok on my palate, and the astringency is more relevant though not cloying. The finish is still long and this is still a full bodied wine but the flavors on the finish have evolved some as well; licorice comes back strong with blackberry and black plum, then there are some tinges of vanilla and leather and finally a silky layer of smoke, dust, cedar and pencil lead (not pencil shavings just pencil lead).

Overall, this is a two faced wine; the pre-24 hour wine gets a good QPR and the post-24 hour wine gets a great QPR. Yes this wine is just that good. I would gladly pay 20 dollars for this bottle; and the post-24 hour flavors remind me of the Courtney Benham Cabernet Sauvignon I have previously reviewed. It has a balance and depth I’ve rarely come across in a sub-15 dollar bottle of wine. It just tastes of higher quality grapes than I’m used to seeing in anything less than 15 dollars. I’m delighted that I purchased this bottle and saddened that it’s gone, but on my next trip to Costco I’m picking up at least two bottles; one for my cellar and one for drinking. I HIGHLY recommend this wine!

Sebastiani Vineyards and Winery

2008 Columbia Crest Horse Heaven Hills H3 Cabernet Sauvignon, Washington

Harmonious hues…Very dark red (nearly black) with a ruby red rim

Sensationally scented…Black currant, blackberry, molasses, cedar

Quintessentially quaffs…Quite some time ago I went on a Columbia Crest kick and picked up just about every red wine with their label on it. At the time I could only find the H3 Merlot at my local Costco which was a wonderful wine and opened my eyes to what a decent 10 dollar Merlot should taste like. This recently showed up at my local supermarket and I just had to give it a taste. I will be honest and admit that I didn’t have a lot of preconceptions about this wine. I knew going in that this is a relatively inexpensive wine (though it is at the mid-to-high range as far as Columbia Crest is concerned). That it might not rate that high against other wines at the 10-12 dollar price range. But most of all I expected this to be a rather straightforward but big, oaky Cabernet Sauvignon that would be pleasantly drinkable with just about any hearty foods. I was right on that last point though I would rate this a little higher than wines in the same price range. That being said; the review…The attack is interesting, layered and more complex than I would expect from a wine that only cost me 10 dollars. There are the obligatory blackberry and currant flavors, “sweeter” than I had expected but they are mixed with warm oak and minimal licorice flavors. Normally this mix would be a little cloying but the mid-palate comes on with a healthy dose of alcohol warmth and rather robust tannins that tone down the fruit and wood flavors of the attack. The mid-palate doesn’t last long; it soon fades into a medium length finish that again brings to mind blackberry and oak, and then adds raisin, plum, vanilla, tobacco and brown sugar. This makes for a pleasantly warm, full bodied wine with a medium finish and an aftertaste of grape skins, vanilla and tobacco. Honestly this wine has more going for it than I had given it credit for.

Overall, this is a good QPR. I want to rate this higher than good, but it’s not great it just doesn’t show the depth that a wine should show for it to be rated that high even when considering Quality-to-Price ratio. It is certainly a more complex red wine for the price; you won’t find many wines that are this layered for less than 15 dollars. But it’s also a pretty big, robust red; so you also won’t find a lot of people seeking out this wine. Those of you that enjoy these types of reds already have your favorites (though this should be considered if you are still looking or just want to try something new). I’d be interested to see how “wine snobs” would rate this if they came over for dinner and you served them the wine without telling them what it was. I would hazard a guess they would guess this was a 15 dollar Argentinean Cabernet Sauvignon or Malbec or a 20 dollar California Zinfandel. But they’d probably enjoy the wine in and of itself. I recommend at least giving this a try if not keeping it in your cellar at all times.

Columbia Crest Winery

2008 Anakena Cabernet Sauvignon Single Vineyard, Chile

Color - Nice even red

Nose - Creamy blackberry, plum, mint

Taste - Initially this has a very nice flavor of currant and blackberry with some cedar in the mid-palate and then hints of vanilla and pepper on it's long finish. The tannins are definitely present in this wine though they aren't too overpowering. There is an even level of astringency that coats my gums and teeth. The cedar notes and vanilla are quite pleasant, a mix I've found in a few wines and have grown to like them.There is only a small amount of vegetal flavors or heat from the alcohol. I wouldn't call this bland or subdued, just a rather mellow Cabernet Sauvignon. I enjoyed it, just not as much as I thought I would. It has some small complexities, but is more a "safe" wine than a big bold red wine.

Overall, this is kind of a letdown as far as QPR and comparison to other Anakena wines go (at least for my palate). If the Indo wines weren't so good, this would be a pretty good wine, but at several dollars more than the Anakena Indo and in my opinion, having far less complexity and depth than the Indo; I'd say pass on this. That is however, based on my palate that craves big, bold red wine flavors, and lots of spice box aroma. For a very clean, easy drinking red wine, that is pleasant and smooth, this is probably one of the best out there. It all depends on your perspective.