The Benefactor Cellars South Eastern Australia Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 is one of Trader Joe’s $4.99 special wines. All Trader Joe’s says about the making of this wine is that they were able to purchase several lots of finished Cabernet Sauvignon and they blended the various lots together. I don’t know if that means Cabernet from one Producer sourced from several vineyards or wine sourced from multiple Producers. They also mention “well-integrated oak flavors,”so, some or all of the Cabernet Sauvignon was aged in or with oak. In Australia, you can call a wine a Cabernet Sauvignon if at least 85% of the grapes are Cabernet grapes and you are not required to list the other 15%. (In California, to be a single varietal it has to contain 75% of one grape) The alcohol content is 13%.
The color is raspberry jelly red. The nose is blackberry, along with a slight green stick scent, strawberry jam and a hint of menthol. This not a soft and smooth Cabernet, the tannins are a bit too strong and harsher flavors overpower the fruit flavors. NOTE: I let the bottle breathe for an hour and then poured another glass, this time the results were slightly better. The starts out with strawberry Twizzlers upfront followed by Nestle’s Quik powder and plum, there are some not quite ripe fruit flavors in the mix that take away from the drinking experience. Not the most balanced wine, I think it could have used some more time in the aging process. Put a bottle away for a year and see if straightens itself out, this time next year the Benefactor Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon may be a huge bargain, but as of today, not even skeletons on the label can save it.
