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The Caretaker Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 is a $9.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive bottled for them by Miller Family Wines. Bottled for them means just that, they officially bottled the wine, and who knows who did the rest. Miller Family Wines are the parent company of the Central Coast Wine Warehouse which 10 to 15 years ago, along with Bronco Wines, seemed to produce half of Trader Joe’s exclusive wine.
They are a fifth-generation family wine business founded in 1871 and they own some of the most acclaimed vineyards in the Central Coast AVA. I first became aware of the Caretaker brand with the Caretaker Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir 2017 (Santa Barbara AVA). We also reviewed the 2020 vintage of this wine and found it to be an excellent bargain.
There are no technical notes for the Caretaker Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon 2021, but the back label has a surprising amount of information. They used 8 different Cabernet Sauvignon clones in the making of this wine. The growing season was from early March to late October, so the grapes had a full growing cycle. They described the type of soil in the vineyards, which would indicate the grapes came from the same area. The grapes were fermented in small lots (the 8 individual Cab Sauv clones?) and were then blended together. Almost all wines are blends of some sort. This Cab was aged “on” French oak with 20% new oak.
I never know what aged “on” oak means, don’t they mean in a barrel? There are other methods of adding oak influence to a wine other than oak barrels, such as adding oak staves to the stainless steel tank with the wine. Maybe “on” oak is just another of those wine terms that don’t seem logical. Paso Robles is halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco. This wine was sustainably farmed and produced. The alcohol content is 13%.
While Miller Family Wines are only on the record of bottling the wine it is likely one of their divisions had a hand in producing this wine.
The Caretaker Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 Tasting Notes
The color is bright, shiny black cherry red. The nose is blackberry, dark chocolate, black pepper, spice, and strawberry, with a faint whiff of spring flowers. The Caretaker Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 is a well-balanced, flavorful Cab.
This Cabernet Sauvignon tastes like ripe blackberry, juicy raspberry, a slap of dark spice, plum, and chocolate powder. The mid-palate adds soft, but chewy tannins (Cabernet Sauvignon wines should have tannins), tart cranberry, and blueberries. The acidity is nicely balanced and gives this Cab Sauv a good length.
The Summary
- The Caretaker Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 is an excellent $10 Cabernet.
- It is well-made and is very tasty.
- This wine is a bargain.
