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The Weed Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 is sourced from vineyards in the Central Coast AVA of California. The Weed Cellars website only mentions Paso Robles as the contributing region, but the label says Central Coast (Paso Robles AVA is inside the Central Coast AVA. I would imagine most of the grapes came from Paso, but not enough of a percentage to show it on the label.
Weed Cellars is a new wine, beer, and spirits company, and no, there is no cannabis or hemp in any of their products. They have a full and interesting line of wines. A $99 Stag’s Leap Cabernet Sauvignon, a Chenin Blanc/ Viognier blend, and a Prosecco. They also offer Vodka, Texas Whiskey, and beer brewed in San Antonio.
The wine, except for the Stag’s Leap Cabernet Sauvignon, is all listed for $14.99. I found the Weed Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 on-sale for $12.99. I have seen brands that offered a wide array of wine choices before, but I can not recall a wine brand that offered beer and spirits.
The Weed Cellars website takes a unique approach to explain the wine selections. Instead of detailed technical notes, which I love, and most folks probably ignore, they offer a Youtube video of their in-house Sommelier giving her tasting notes, short and sweet but informative.
The Weed Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 has a good amount of age for a $13 to $15 California Cabernet Sauvignon. You can tell a good deal about a bottle of wine by its vintage date upon release. A 2020 or 2019 wine in March of 2021 will most likely be a young wine meant to be enjoyed right away and not cellared. A 2018 or 2017 vintage wine had extensive production techniques and needed additional time to find its balance.
A 2017 Red wine in this price category is relatively rare. With value-priced wine, time is money, and the sooner the wine is ready for release, the better. The Weed Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 goes against that principle, which is a good sign. A quality California Cabernet Sauvignon needs oak barrel aging and the extra time for the flavors to come together.
The tasting video mentioned both French and American oak and offered a quick but useful description of the flavors each type of oak provides, so check it out. There are a couple of links to the Weed Cellars website sprinkled thru-out this write-up.
I am looking forward to the tasting portion of this review. Weed Cellars is taking a new and modern approach to marketing its offerings, which I enjoy. Most wine marketing is stuck 20 years in the past; it will be interesting to see if this model is the way forward. The alcohol content is 14%.
Weed Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 Tasting Notes
The color is clear, but dark black cherry red; there is as much black as there is red. The nose is ripe and juicy but also slightly dark and brooding. There is blackberry, molasses, mocha coffee, Altoid’s candy spice, black pepper, blackberry, and mint.
The Weed Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 is a full-bodied, full-flavored Cab Sauv. It has excellent weight on the palate. It tastes like blackberry, oak spice, toasty vanilla, licorice, black pepper, and plum. The mid-palate brings a sharp slap of orange zest, raspberry, a slight tug from the tannins (a welcome and good thing), and blueberry.
The tannins and the acidity are well-balanced, the flavors are strong and pleasurable. This is the first California Cabernet Sauvignon I have had since reviewing the Legende Bordeaux Rouge 2017. It is like tasting wine from two different worlds, 2 worlds that I love.
The Summary
- The Weed Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 drinks above its price tag, especially my sale price.
- I was unsure what to expect; if a brand wine is targeted toward you, you are in for a good wine at a good price. But you don’t know if you are in their focus group until your first sip.
- I am glad this is not a cannabis-infused wine; my motto is one high at a time.
- The Cabernet Sauvignon showed me enough that I will be on the look-out for their other wines, and maybe the spirits and beer, too.
