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The Gambler’s Ghost North Coast Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 is a wine I found at Costco selling for $8.99, a check on the web found it sells for between $15 and $25 elsewhere. This wine was made by Fioe di Sole winery of Napa.
The Story
Fior di Sole is a family-owned and operated winery. They have their own brands if wine plus they produce custom wines.
I checked the California Wine COLA registry to find the winery. The wines in the Gambler’s Ghost line were made by separate producers.
The 2021 vintage of the Gambler’s Ghost North Coast Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 received 92 points from Wine Enthusiast and was #36 on their list of the top 100 Best Buys of 2024.
The Gambler’s Ghost is 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, and 5% Petit Verdot, making it a Bordeaux Blend.
The grapes came from vineyards in the Lake County AVA (North of Napa) and Sonoma (west of Napa). The North Coast AVA is Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino, Lake County, and a couple of small AVAs.
The Gambler’s Ghost North Coast Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 was aged for 10 months in 60% new French oak barrels.
60% new French oak barrels for a wine that can be purchased for eight bucks is rare and a very good sign for this Cab Sauv. French oak barrels can cost over $1,000 a piece, and nobody goes through the expense with grapes that are not equal to the task. The alcohol content is 14.5%.
The Gambler’s Ghost North Coast Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 Tasting Notes
The color is cherry red with black highlights. The nose is ripe blackberry, raspberry, spice, herbs, mocha, dusty tannins, and a light floral edge. The Gambler’s Ghost North Coast Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 is a juicy, tasty Cab.
This Cabernet Sauvignon tastes like blackberry, licorice, dark cola, faint chocolate spice, plum, herbs, sour cranberry, and sweet blueberry.
The tannins do their job well and the acidity gives this wine good length.
The Summary
- The Gambler’s Ghost North Coast Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 is a steal at Costco’s $8.99 price.
- This is a solid Cabernet Sauvignon; it is more on the fruit-forward side in terms of style, which is fine since it tastes great.
- This wine sips well and can be used to pair with the usual comfort foods.
