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The Trader Joe’s Reserve Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet Sauvignon Syrah 2023 is a $9.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. The blend is 74% Cabernet Sauvignon and 26% Syrah. The Horse Heaven Hills AVA is located in the south-central portion of the Columbia Valley of Washington. It got its name because the first settlers to the area found horses that had escaped from much earlier Spanish settlements in what is now the southeast United States.
The back label says Airway Cellars vinted and bottled this Red blend. Vinted and bottled means they bottled the vine and aged it a bit, it does not mean they sourced the grapes and produced the wine.
A wine with one grape varietal comprising 75% of the grapes in the bottle can legally be called a single-grape wine (except in Napa, where it is 85%). Since Trader Joe’s Reserve Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet Sauvignon Syrah 2023 missed by 1%, they wanted to focus on the interplay between the two grapes.
Horse Heaven Hills is an AVA that can produce 100-point wines and be a great value-priced wine source.
This wine did not make TJ’s Fearless Flyer, so no production or tasting information is available. I think I know who the actual producer might be, but I am unfamiliar with their wines, so I would have no insight into this Red.
The alcohol content is 13.4% which is balanced in this age of 14% and 15% wines.
The Trader Joe’s Reserve Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet Sauvignon Syrah 2023 Tasting Notes
The color is a dark Black Cherry Red with some serious black highlights. The nose is intriguing, there are blackberries, spice, chocolate, French vanilla, candy spice, herbs, and violets. The Trader Joe’s Reserve Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet Sauvignon Syrah 2023 is balanced and smooth.
This Red Blend tastes like blackberry, raspberry, black pepper, a shot of exotic spice, and ripe plum. The mid-palate adds a slight pull from the tannins, a little vanilla, bitter dark chocolate, and cranberry.
This is a medium-bodied wine with a decent structure and smooth easy-to-drink flavors.
The Summary
- The Trader Joe’s Reserve Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet Sauvignon Syrah 2023 is a well-priced Red Blend.
- I would not say it is a knock-out, but it has good flavor and delivers value.
