The 2012 Smoking Loon Cabernet Sauvignon is sourced from vineyards in the Central Valley of Chile. Smoking Loon is one of Don Sebastiani and Sons labels, others include Pepperwood, The Crusher and Project Paso. They are negociants, which means they own no vineyards, through their contacts and sources they find excess grapes or juice from other vineyards around the world and have their winemaking team produce the finished wine to Sebastiani’s standards. The Smoking Loon Cab was aged in American and French oak. This is a Cabernet Sauvignon that lists for $10 and is often discounted, I found it for $7.50. The alcohol content is 13.5%.
The color is purple with black cherry highlights. The nose is blueberry fruit roll-ups, lilac and Nestle’s Quik powder. This is a soft, smooth, easy drinking Cabernet Sauvignon with a bit of spice on the mid palate. It starts with ripe Black and blueberry, some Black Twizzlers (not sweet) and muted chocolate. The mid palate offers raspberry and a little curry spice. The tannins are soft and don’t bite and the acidity is covered up by the body of the wine. The finish starts off bold and slowly fades away.
I prefer a Cabernet Sauvignon that shows some tannins and a firm structure, but I can see the appeal of the soft and smooth Smoking Loon. This isn’t a toss an aged steak on the grill kind of Cabernet, this is a tasty Cab on a warm summers evening out on the deck kind of Cabernet Sauvignon. The Smoking Loon Cabernet Sauvignon has ripe, rich flavors, made in an easy-going style and is also easy on your wallet.
