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 Cameron Hughes Chalk Hill Cabernet Sauvignon “Lot 230”, California

Color carnival…Dark purple with a bright purple rim and a black core

Aroma assembly…Red plum, licorice, coffee, compost

Palate presence…This is a recent addition to my local Costco; priced quite nicely at 14 dollars it is a quite inviting buy. I picked up a bottle at the same time I purchased the Los Carneros Pinot Noir. This emits more complex and inviting aromas and shows colors that are intensely dark in the glass. I immediately assumed that this would be of superb quality but might suffer from youthful tannins and an overabundance of alcohol. Upon the first sip I wasn’t quite far off in my assumptions. The attacks is concentrated dark berries and stone fruit, mingled with coffee grounds, burnt sugar and leather and floating along the top of those flavors a slight texture of creaminess. The mid-palate is relatively young featuring silky yet playful tannins, not a lot of alcohol heat but definitely a tingly, acidic alcohol presence and a slight sour cherry flavor as the mid-palate melts into the finish. The finish itself is medium-long, warm and made up of very dark, heavy flavors; licorice, wet earth, blackberry/cassis jam, black plum skins, chocolate and wood smoke co-mingle throughout the finish dancing in merry couplets and triplets as the finish fades away. This is a full bodied wine with a wonderful aftertaste of grapes and brown sugar.

Overall, this is an excellent wine though at times it can feel a little young. I would still recommend this over most 14 dollar Cabernet Sauvignon and rate this firmly in the good QPR category. With a few extra years of cellaring, I imagine this could reach all the way up to great QPR. I am looking forward to drinking a bottle of this in 5 more years just to see how it ages. I plan on putting a bottle of this away to cellar you should do the same, but only after you enjoy a bottle or three with dinner or all by themselves.

Cameron Hughes Wines

2007 Beringer Founder's Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, California

Color - Ruby red

Nose - Blackberry, smoke

Taste - I'm not going to mince words with you, this is a fruit forward wine, close to being too fruit forward for my tastes. In fact, it's right on the edge and on a few sips tipped over the edge just a little bit. There are TONS of dark berries, plum, raisin, a tiny hint of oak, and a slightly smoky aftertaste. The fruit doesn't overwhelm the taste on most sips but is reined in with a good balance of alcohol and tannins (there were a few times were the fruit did seem to flood my palate, but I think this was more due to mis-pairing of food rather than the wine itself). This is a medium bodied wine with a pleasantly long finish. This wine is easily enjoyable without food, in fact, I would go as far as to say this wine is better without food than when paired. It is balanced and smooth without food and can be finicky, in my opinion, when you pair it. The only thing holding this wine back is the lack of complexity and depth in the flavor transitions and the tendency of the flavor in the mid-palate to show a little too much raisin and plum for my taste. This wine doesn't hold any surprises, so don't look for any, nonetheless it is a good offering of a New World Cab.

Overall, this is a good wine with a good QPR. If you are a fan of inexpensive California Cabs (fruity without a lot of herbaceous or spice notes) this one is definitely for you. It is close to the Washington Cabs I have tried recently as well, only falling a little short in the complexity department. I'd say this is a wine you would want to at least try and perhaps keep a bottle around the house for those times when you need an inexpensive bottle of red to round out a meal.

Beringer Wines

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