The Exquisite Collection Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 is a $13.99 Aldi wine exclusive. The Exquisite Collection is essentially Aldi’s version of the Trader Joe’s Reserve wines. Wines from the high-end growing regions at a bargain price.
Paso Robles is located inside California’s Central Coast AVA and is halfway between Los Angeles and San Fransico. It has long been known as the California wine AVA that does not follow the rules, they do things their way. Recently wine critics have noted that some of the Paso Robles Cabernet Wines rival Napa Valley Cabs.
The Exquisite Collection Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 is made by a winery in Greenfield, California inside the Monterey AVA just north of Paso Robles. There is a large family-owned winery headquartered there that makes several other Aldi and Trader Joe’s wines and may be involved in the production of this Cabernet.
The Exquisite Collection line of Aldi wines routinely wins awards in European wine competitions. Wine competitions are not a thing in the US, they do hold them and wines do wine awards but nobody pays too much attention to the results.
We do not have any useful information concerning the Exquisite Collection Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon 2020. We can only trust Aldi’s reputation with these wines. The liner notes on the back label offer very basic information.
What we do know is this wine is the 2020 vintage so it has a little bit of aging for a fall of 2022 wine. They say it is a bold wine so the grapes went through a thorough extraction process. It was probably aged in oak barrels, as a typical $14 Cabernet Sauvignon should be. And the alcohol content is reasonably 13.5%.
The Exquisite Collection Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 Tasting Notes
The color is still see-thru scarlet red. The nose is extracted blackberry, black pepper, brewing tea, spice, toasted vanilla, and ripe plum. The Exquisite Collection Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 is a mostly mellow Cabernet Sauvignon with spikes of flavor.
This Cabernet Sauvignon tastes like a mix of blackberry and tart cherry, chocolate powder, vanilla, soft spice, and juicy plum. The mid-palate adds a slap of sharp spice, tart cranberry, faint herbs, chewy tannins, and blueberry.
This is a well-balanced wine.
The Summary
- The Exquisite Collection Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 is a good California Cabernet Sauvignon and well worth the price.
- It is close to being an excellent Cabernet which is high praise for a fourteen-buck supermarket brand wine.
