The 2009 Liberte
‘ Cabernet Sauvignon is a Trader Joe’s ($9.99) exclusive made by Familia Nueva from grapes grown in Paso Robles, California. Familia Nueva is a label owned by Ancient Peaks Winery and the packaging here is a step or two up from the usual ten dollars wines. The bottle is a heavy Cabernet bottle and the label was designed by the Proof WIne Collective who do top notch work on the labels of some of the best wines to come out of the Central Coast. Like most Trader Joe’s exclusive wines there is little information available on the making of the wine, but one tip they give is to decant the wine 15 to 30 minutes before drinking, that usually indicates the wine has a full complement of tannins and oak barrel influence. The alcohol content is 14.1%.
The color is an opaque black cherry red with a strawberry rim. The nose is blackberry, strawberry, cedar, cocoa powder and menthol. Full bodied and silky on the palate, it starts with chocolate covered cherries, oak vanilla, cassis and licorice. The mid palate shows firm tannins, they are definitely there, but they do not bite, along with blueberries in cream and a slight touch of oak spice. There is also a nice dry sensation that hits on the mid palate, it will have you smacking your lips. The finish is fairly strong and fairly long.
The 2009 Liberte’ Cabernet Sauvignon is a solid bottle of wine regardless of the price. It does everything you want a California Cabernet to do, stand up to a perfectly grill aged steak, yup, be a very satisfying glass of wine after a hard day of work, yup, be a bottle you will want to share with good friends, yup, all while being a terrific value, nice job.
