The Trader Joe’s Reserve Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 is a $9.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive, Cabernet Sauvignon blended with smaller amounts of Petit Verdot and Syrah sourced from vineyards (or vineyard?) in Sonoma County in Northern California.
I was going to do my usual “what is this wine” thing and deduce what this wine is about precisely. But, I found an article saying that the Trader Joe’s Reserve Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 was the favorite wine of Trader Joe’s employees. The listed producer on the back label is Pivot Enterprises LLC, which I do not recall seeing on a Trader Joe’s wine before.
This Cabernet Sauvignon seems to be a wine made for restaurants, but Covid destroyed dining out in 2020 and 2021. The original winery needed to move the wine, new vintages were coming, and they did not want to dilute the brand by offering it at a lower price, so it ended up as a Trader Joe’s wine.
Trader Joe’s pays cash upfront in these situations, which softens the blow of selling off wine at a lower price. SO, while we still do not know everything about the Trader Joe’s Reserve Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon 2019, we now have high hopes.
Selling someone else’s wine under your label is a Negociant, a common long-time wine business from France. The original winery profit from their excess wine, and wine drinkers get good wine for a bargain price. The whole system works if everything is hush-hush. People would not buy the original wineries offering if they knew they could wait for the Negoiciant to sell their version.
So, maybe the Trader Joe’s Reserve Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 is a wine that typically sells under a different label in the $20 to $30 range. We do not know for sure, but the buildup and the anticipation make this undistinguished ten buck no-name Cab Sauv a wine that needs tasting. The alcohol content is a heavy 14.7%.
The Trader Joe’s Reserve Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 Tasting Notes
The color is a barely see-thru cherry red with serious black highlights. The nose is ripe red berries, oak spice, vanilla, baking spice, blueberry, chocolate brownies, and blackberry. The Trader Joe’s Reserve Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 is smooth and flavorful with a solid structure.
This Cab Sauv tastes like ripe blackberry, sharp exotic spice, vanilla, and black pepper. The mid-palate adds sweet blueberry, milk chocolate, tart cranberry, and bitter dark chocolate. This Cabernet shows its tannins; they give a nice pull and add solid structure to the wine. I am starting to believe this is a Negociant wine that in the past sold for much more than $9.99.
The Summary
- The Trader Joe’s Reserve Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 is a very good California Cab.
- This is a tasty, well-made Cabernet Sauvignon and a steal at $9.99.
