Discovering Great Red Wines, One Glass At A Time
Sterling Vineyards sources 14 diverse vineyards spanning 1200 acres in California’s Napa Valley to create their Napa Appellation Collection wines, including this Cabernet.
First thing to notice is the beautiful bottle – as more and more wineries adopt brighter, flashier colors, the simple silver on black label of this Cab stands out a bit from the crowd.
Read The Full Review of Sterling Vineyards Napa Valley Cabernet
Part of Familia Durigutti’s entry-level line, this is a solid malbec for $17. The wine combines grapes from three different vineyards in Mendoza, Argentina, and spends twelve months in oak barrels prior to bottling.
Read The Full Review of Durigutti Malbec
Rodney Strong Vineyard’s Estate Series of wines is a vast improvement over their “Sonoma County” line – at least as far as Cabernet is concerned. At $27, it is a much better buy than it’s slightly less expensive counterpart.
Read The Full Review of Rodney Strong Alexander Valley Estate Cabernet
Rodney Strong’s Sonoma County Cabernet is, at $21 a bottle, a bit overpriced – despite being part of Rodney Strong’s entry level line.
As Cabs go, this one was pretty tame – might be good for someone that tends to like lighter flavored reds.
Read The Full Review of Rodney Strong Sonoma County Cabernet
Seghesio Family Vineyars’ Sonoma Zinfandel (one of many different Zins they offer) is a good $24 wine. It contains grapes from both the Alexander and Dry Creek Valleys in California’s Sonoma County, and some of the vines they are harvested from are over a century old.
Read The Full Review of Seghesio Sonoma Zinfandel
Cline Cellars’ Ancient Vines Zinfandel comes from the Contra Costa County section of the San Francisco Bay area. Most of the vines in these vineyards are upwards of 80 years old, and some were even planted over a century ago. All of that adds up to a rich, balanced wine with a bright red color.
Read The Full Review of Cline Ancient Vines Zinfandel
Clos du Bois’ Sonoma Reserve Cab is a deep, ruby red wine with a mild flavor. Although it is a Cab, it also has some Merlot and Malbec, with hints of Petite Verdot and Cabernet Franc.
Read The Full Review of Clos du Bois Sonoma Reserve Cabernet
Frei Brother’s Zinfandel is a solid wine for $19. It’s a medium-full bodied Zin with a nice, rich purple color.
Very smooth wine, from Sonoma County’s Dry Creek Valley, you will taste it’s higher alcohol content of 14.8%. Over all, this wine boasts a rich, full flavor that definitely didn’t disappoint.
Read The Full Review of Frei Brothers Zinfandel
This medium bodied wine with a moderate cherry-like red color is 100% Malbec. It is made from hand-harvested grapes in Mendoza, Argentina Overall, this is a decent wine for $16. It’s very smooth but it does have the peppery, slightly bitter flavor you expect from a Malbec.
While it was a reasonably high alcohol content (13.8%) it doesn’t have the same sharp bite that other wines of this percentage sometimes do.
Read The Full Review of Gascón Malbec
