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The Aldi Specially Selected Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 is a $14.99 Aldi exclusive. The back label says Isolated Cellars bottled this wine, which is the least important factor for wine drinkers. There is no mention of exactly who produced the wine and exactly where the grapes are grown, Napa Valley is a large growing region.
Isolated Cellars is an entity of Precision WIne Wine Company with long ties to Napa Valley and was the company behind Trader Joe’s Diamond Reserve Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon from last year. So while we do not have any information for the ALdi Nappa Valey Cab, they made an excellent Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon for Trader Joe’s.
As a store brand, the Aldi Specially Selected Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 has price advantages over retail wines. With private brands, the winery is typically paid in full on delivery where they might have to wait a full year to get their money in a retail situation. This allows the buyer to negotiate a better deal and often store rands have a lesser mark-up than retail wine shops.
One interesting detail about the Aldi Specially Selected Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 is the bottle has a real cork. real corks are increasingly rare in value-priced wine, with composite and synthetic corks being the norm. That a real cork (it was branded Specially Selected) may indicate that a high-end winery was involved at some point.
When it comes to Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon all the AVAs are not the same, with Napa wines where the grapes are grown is very important. This is a $14.99 wine so we do not expect the expensive vineyards, but having a little more information would be nice. The alcohol content is a balanced 13.5%.
The Aldi Specially Selected Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 Tasting Notes
The color is raspberry jelly with black highlights. The nose is bold the aromas hit you from over a foot away, there are dark berries, spice, herbs, dark chocolate, black pepper, orchids, and black cherry. The Aldi Specially Selected Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 is a medium-bodied, well-balanced wine.
This Cabernet Sauvignon tastes like blackberry, sour cherry, a hit of sharp exotic spice, black pepper, and juicy plum. The mid-palate offers soothing vanilla cream, chocolate powder, cranberry, and orange zest.
The tannins are sweet and stay out of the flavor profile, the acidity is balanced and gives this wine good length.
The Summary
- The Aldi Specially Selected Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 is a good wine.
- I preferred a less expensive Napa Red from Costco and a more expensive Trader Joe’s Oakville Napa from last year, but this wine is a good wine at a good. price.
- It is great to find a bottle of this quality from Aldi.
