The 2012 La Playa Estate Series Cabernet Sauvignon is 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Cabernet Franc sourced from La Playa’s 600 acre sustainably farmed vineyard in the Colchagua Valley sub region of the Rapel Valley inside Chile’s Central Valley. The Colchagua Valley is one of Chile’s premier growing areas for Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Carmenere….
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The 2011 Carnivor Cabernet Sauvignon is 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Petite Sirah, 5% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc sourced from vineyards in more than one California grape growing AVA, but mainly from Lodi and the San Joaquin Valley (east of the San Francisco Bay in the Central Valley) in Northern California. Carnivor is one of…
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The 2011 Rickshaw Cabernet Sauvignon is 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc sourced from vineyards in Napa Valley, Sonoma, Paso Robles and Mendocino. Rickshaw Wines are sourced from up to 24 different lots of grapes (different vineyards, different sections of a vineyard, aged for varying times in new or used oak barrels),…
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The 2010 Columbia Crest Grand Estates Cabernet Sauvignon is 96% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet Franc and 1% Merlot sourced mainly from vineyards in the Horse Heaven Hills AVA and the Wahluke Slope AVA inside the larger Columbia Valley AVA in Washington State. 99% of the grapes grown in Washington are grown in the Columbia Valley…
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The 2010 California 37 Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the band Train’s line of wines, though you would not know it by looking at the label unless you happen to know their 2012 album was named California 37. California 37 is one of Under Dog Wines many labels, which also include Cupcake, flipflop, Big House,…
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The 2010 Leese-Fitch Cabernet Sauvignon is 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Alicante Bouschet, 5% Cabernet Franc, 4% Merlot, 4% Syrah, 1% Carignane and 1% Petite Sirah. If you are asking yourself, why with all the different grapes used, is this wine called a Cabernet Sauvignon? In California, as long as 75% of the grapes are of…
Read MoreThe 337 Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 is a single clone (#337 also known as FPS 47), single Estate vineyard (Clay Station Vineyard) wine grown in the Lodi AVA of California’s Central Valley (east of San Francisco Bay). The producer, Noble Vines is one of Delicato Family Vineyards many labels and Clay Station Vineyards is one of Delicato’s…
Read MoreThe 2008 St. Francis Red Splash is a blend of 27% Merlot, 19% Petite Sirah, 17% Syrah, 17% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Zinfandel and the other 14% made up of Cabernet Franc, Alicante Bouschet and mixed blacks (various red grapes, I don’t know why the accounting is so impercise). Some of the 2008 vintage labels say…
Read MoreOk, the 2008 Franciscan Estate Magnificat Meritage is not anywhere near cheap, it lists for $50, but sometimes, a big Napa wine is called for and the Magnificat Meritage is actually well priced for a Oakville AVA, Napa wine. The Franciscan Estate winery is just down the road from Silver Oak, Opus One and Groth….
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The 2010 Revelation Cabernet Sauvignon (55%), Merlot (45%) is a Trader Joe’s $4.99 exclusive sourced from the Languedoc region in southern France. The wine is produced by Badet, Clement & Co., 4th generation winemakers working in Burgundy and the Languedoc. This wine is “Mis en bouteille dan nos caves,” meaning bottled in our cellars, indicating just…
Read MoreThe Stonehedge Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon seems to be a Trader Joe’s ($7.99) exclusive bottling produced by Stonehedge Winery of Napa Valley. Stonehedge is a family owned winery that has been making wine for 30 years, this Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon is not listed on their website. Paso Robles is located roughy half way between…
Read MoreOutlander Paso Robles Meritage 2022-Aldi-$8 Of Juicy Goodness If you like your California Bordeaux ripe and juicy this is your wine. It is a Blend Of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Malbec, and Merlot, the only Bordeaux-approved grape missing is Cabernet Franc. Meritage is a California organization dedicated to the research and education of Bordeaux grapes,…
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The Trader Joe’s Platinum Reserve Saint-Emilion 2022 is a 414.99 Trader Joe’s import exclusive. Saint-Emilion is on the Right Bank of the Garonne River in Bordeaux and along with nearby Pomerol is arguably the best place in the world to grow Merlot. The Merlot grape comprises 79% of the vines, 15% of Cabernet Franc, and…
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The Belhara Estate Single Vineyard Malbec 2021 is an $8.99 Trader Joe’s import wine. Belhara Estate is a family-owned winery in the Uco Valley inside Mendoza in Argentina. They own three vineyards and this wine is sourced from one of them. This wine seems to be the same or very close to Trader Joe’s Grand…
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The Aldi Specially Selected Cremant de Bordeaux Brut Rosé is a $11.99 Aldi import exclusive. The Aldi Specially Selected brand includes at least 55 wines in Europe, my local Ald’s never had more than 5 or 6. They had Cremant wines from France’s (8) Cremant AOP areas. Cremant translates to “creamy” but it stands for…
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The Trader Joe’s Petit Reserve Maule Valley Carmenere 2021 is a $7.99 exclusive sourced from vineyards in the Maule Valley in the south-central portion of the Central Valley in Chile. The back label says this wine was vinted and bottled by TerrAral Wines and here is a link to their website, they seem to own…
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The Kirkland Signature Napa Valley Red Blend 2021 is a $10.99 Costco exclusive. Costco often names the producer of their Signature wines, but not here. This is a Bordeaux Blend with 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 10% Malbec, 6% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Petit Verdot. Carmenere is the other Bordeaux-approved Red grape, but it is…
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The Dearly Beloved I Thee Red Lodi 2021 sells for $7.99 at Trader Joe’s stores and seems to sell for as high as $14 in places that TJ’s does not cover. This is a wine that returns to Trader Joe’s vintage after vintage. We typically review the latest version of this Red Blend at this…
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The Shannon Ranch Big Horn Red Blend 2020 sells for $5.99 at Trader Joe’s and has sold for around $15 at wine shops previously. This is a wine produced by the Shannon Family of Wines a sustainably farmed, family-owned winery located in the Lake County AVA of Northern California. As of 2023 Shannon wines are…
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The Trader Joe’s Reserve Paso Robles Meritage 2021 is a $9.99 TJ’s exclusive. The back label says this Red was “vinted and bottled by Healdsburg Wine Cellars.” That is a division of Delicato Family Wines, they make Gnarlyhead wines, along with many other brands. They recently purchased Coppola WInes and also have holdings in Napa….
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The Outlander Meritage Paso Robles 2021 is a $7.99 Aldi exclusive. The Meritage in the name indicates that this is a Bordeaux blend, with Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Merlot, and Malbec grapes. To be a Meritage wine a license is purchased from the Meritage Alliance. They are an industry group promoting education and working on…
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The Vin De Bordeaux B by Fonbadet Bordeaux 2019 sells for $7.99 at Trader Joe’s though it is widely available elsewhere, we will get to that later. It is a blend of 40% Cabernet Franc, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 30% Merlot. It is sourced from a Chateau Fonbadet vineyard that was surrounded by First Growth…
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The Trader Joe’s Platinum Reserve Napa Valley Petit Verdot 2021 is a $14.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. Petit Verdot is one of the five grapes approved to be included in the blend for the Red wines of Bordeaux, France. The other Red grapes are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Malbec. The name Petit Verdot roughly…
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The Dearly Beloved I The Red 2020 is a $7.99 Trader Joe’s wine sourced from vineyards in California’s Central Coast AVA. There are 3 wines in the Dearly Beloved line, another Red with a different blend of grapes from California and a North Coast Chardonnay. These wines are made by Precept Wine, the largest privately…
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The Petite Sirah vs Petit Verdot Red Blend 2021 is a $7.99 Trader Joe’s wine sourced from vineyards in the Lodi AVA. This is the first wine that I can remember where I was not sure what the name was. It could be Rough & Ready or Two Heavy Hitters or it could be all…
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