Liberty School Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

I like cab, but I don't seem to drink very much of it.  You can get a great cab for $50+, or a bad one for $15, but a good quality cab at a decent price is a rare bird.  So at $24 the Liberty School cab is a welcome find.  This is a very solid cab with good varietal character in a New World style, but without being overdone.  Kelly says "Full, smooth, fruity, with an edge of tannins for balance - blackberries with a bit of menthol or evergreen."  I'd score it around 88, which I would say is a 4/5 for value for a cab.  Perfect for drinking now with a steak.  It would be very interesting to see how it ages.  At the price I wouldn't expect much, but it seems to have good structure and plenty of fruit. If it does improve with age it would be great value.

Sandalford Estate Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

Wow!  I haven’t had much cab lately, as I’ve had a hard time finding one I like at a price I’m willing to pay.  So this is a great find.  It’s drinking beautifully already – great nose, perfectly integrated tannins, excellent fruit and depth, without being the stereotypical Aussie fruit bomb.  I’m very sensitive to the green flavour of under-ripe cab, and there is not the slightest hint of that.  But it isn’t in the least jammy either.  These grapes must have been picked when they were perfectly ripe.  Good complexity already, and only three years old.  This is excellent value at the price.  I will definitely be picking up a bunch more of this, both for drinking now and to see how it evolves.

Rymill Coonawarra Yearling Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

After the early spring we're back to red wine weather, so here's a red wine review.

(BTW - tancred, I know this wine is right up your alley, so leave a comment and let us know if you agree with Iron Chef.  No excuses.)

— Iron Chef’s Review —

Recently I had an aged (1999) Coonawarra Cab and was blown away; I had to try another, not aged though.
Nose- Very pronounced Menthol and Mint. Somewhat Hot. Grenadine mixed with coffee and cocoa. Had an aroma of a very good wine.
Taste- Very peppery, hot alcohol and rich cassis. Again loads of menthol and mint. Smooth tannins and a slight red apple taste. Very happy with the reduced levels of sweetness, drier and peppery.
Overall- highly impressed with this wine- a real step up from the ‘animal wines’ of Yellow tail and Little Piguin. At this price point, comparable to the Merlot Trio from Concha y Toro, Dona Paula Los Cardos Malbec, or  The Wolftrap.  Can’t wait to try the Rymill Coonawarra MC2 this weekend.

Price: $14.99
Value: 4.5/5
Score: 90
Alcohol: 14%
UPC #9315128051010

Santa Rita Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva 2006

I see the word “vanilla” appears many times in this review.  Doesn’t sound like my kind of wine, which is good to know - the mediocre reviews are as useful as the raves.

— Peanutman’s Review —

Smell - At the start, it was wonderful. Very blackberry(ish) with a hint of vanilla. Four hours later, very vanilla(ish) with a hint of blackberry. It was nicer at the start.

Taste - Very much a Chilean fruit bomb Cab at the start with a hint of vanilla. Decent tannins with a medium length finish. After four hours, same as the smell as it became very vanilla(ish), but it had a longer finish. It seemed smoother, a little less fruit bombish and a little better. For a wine that spent 8 months in American Oak, I found it a little surprising that it was so vanilla(ish). I'm wondering how this wine would taste in a year or two as it evolved a lot over four hrs.

I have a hard time rating this wine as I was not expecting that much fluctuation in smell and taste. Therefore, I'm not giving a rating. Having said that, it would be somewhere in the 80's for a Chilean Cab, but I don't know where in the 80's. I might make up my mind if I try it again; doubtful.

I was expecting more, but at the same time I wasn't upset with the wine. I just wished it would have had something to talk about (and no not a song). I believe the 2005 was a value red at a previous wine festival, but the 06 leaves me puzzled.

$18.99
Valle Del Maipo, Chile
UPC 089419007152

Sandalford Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

Australian wines generally are known for being "big." That can be a good thing, depending on your tastes, but sometimes it just gets overdone, and they end up with "big" but lose everything else.

--- Iron Chef's Review ---

Smell- Very deep and complex. Herbs of ground cloves, dried sage and mint. Nice coconut aromas mixed in with the oak and densely extracted cherry stew.
Taste- Compared to nose, it was a little disappointing and almost boring. Cassis and cherry brandy. Loads of dark fruit. Palate numbing heaviness.
Overall- it started great, but the palate was too thick without much more than cherry brandy.

Price: $32.48
Score: 83
Value: 1/5
Region: Australia, Margaret River
Alcohol: 14.5%
UPC: 9312175008011

2004 Montalto Nero d'Avola/Cabernet Sauv.

Here's one for Peter, who seems to like the negative reviews.

--- Michelle's Review ---

Have you ever tried a wine that you really hoped would be a good review? I really wanted to like this wine. It had all the right "ingredients" for a good review. But I came away with mixed emotions. I think it’s the style of wine. I truly believe I do not like the "hot afterglow" on my palette or the alcohol. Something tells me that this is typical of warmer climate wines. The wine and the grape are from Sicily. It’s a blend of Nero d'Avoloa (80%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (20%). At one time they used the Nero d'Avoloa grape to bump up some for their weaker reds. Some say it compares to a Shiraz. It does have the peppery, black currant flavor but I cannot get past the alcohol. I tried this wine on more than one occasion and now believe that I really don't like it. Its in the value price range and I had hoped I could add this one to the Value List. Perhaps this wine really does need food to mellow it out or bring out some other nuances. Occasionally you do come across one that does. I could picture it with pasta and a bold red sauce or perhaps a nicely grilled steak. Don't take my word for it. Some people like that afterglow. I didn't like the Stump Jump for that reason but others do.

Price: $11.79
Value: 3/5
Rating: 75
Grape: Nero d'Avola/Cabernet Sauv
Region: Italy (Sicily)
UPC: 8030423000754

Wolf Blass Premium Selection Cabernet Sauvignon 2000

Did you get turned on to wine with Australian Shiraz? What are your your views now? I'll be interested in the comments on this post.

--- Iron Chef's Review ---

Confession time, I don't even go down the Australian aisle at ANBL any more. I find the whole area over done and boring. Every now and then I am surprised, the d'Arenberg's often surprise and now I see the Reynella is back, but for the most of that country…boring.
My best friend often says that I should lay down one of the WB Prem Selection Cabs each yr. I have ignored those recommendations …. Unfortunately.

Nose: new American oak, Mocha, mocha, Mocha. Cola favours and hot cherries. Deep aromas.
Taste: Highly extracted, Latte. Lots of cherries mixed with cedar wood. Great favours. Smooth and integrated tannins.
Overall: This still tasted young, no age at all, could easily sit for another 5 yrs or more. I will be buying one of these every year.

Price: $29.99
Value 4/5
Score 92
Alcohol 13.5%
Region: South Australia
UPC: 087000308503

E+J Gallo Frei Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon 2002

Here's a review I received from tancred. It turns out that Kelly and I reviewed this wine last fall (there are enough posts now that it's getting hard to keep track), but I think it is interesting to have an independent review.

--- tancred's Review ---

Lush and rich with lots of black licorice, dark berries and hints of toasted marshmallow. Spicy, almost peppery. Nice integrated oak, lots of tannins, and a very long finish. No green capsicum taste at all, a flavor note characteristic of (cheaper) cabernets. Overall a very nice wine, and a bargain at the price. I hope more recent vintages are listed.

Price: $22.50 (marked down from $28 or so)
Score: 90
Value: 4/5
UPC: No longer available

Beringer California Collection Cab Sauvignon 2006

Of course reviews of high priced wines are useful because you want to know what you're getting before you shell out. But reviews of lower priced wines are just as useful, because there are so many on the shelves (and so many bad ones) that you can spend a lot of money before you find one you like. Here's one of the latter from Peanutman:

--- Peanutman's Review ---

Tonight we opened the above. $12.99.

I saw this wine and for the price I said why not. I wasn't expecting much, but I have to tell you this would be a decent summer red to drink. I had to look at the bottle twice when I first took a drink because I taught I was drinking something from the Cotes du Rhone. It was light, tasty and peppery. I let it decant for about 45 minutes and then it became a light, tasty cabernet sauvignon. For those that do not really like Cab Sauv, this might be one of those to start with as it is light and easy to drink. It has a nice red fruit taste and the bouquet is very much blackberry and vanilla. Pretty much as described on the bottle. I also bought the Merlot therefore I'll have to see if there is much of a difference. I have to give this two different values, one for the long winter nights = 3.0, and one for the summer 4. Score 83.

Price: $12.99
Score: 83
Value: 3/5 (winter); 4/5 (summer)
Region: California
UPC: 0089819068227

Marques Casa Concha Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

I like to try a variety of different styles of wine, but a solid cab or shiraz with a few years on it is still a classic favourite. When you can find one of those in the low $20s, that's gold. I'm thinking of wines like the Gallo Cab or Wynns Shiraz. From this review, it sounds like this wine might be another one in that category.

--- A Review from Peanutman ---

The sommelier in the Moncton Vaughn Harvey Blvd store recommended this one to me. Great recommendation. I did a search on the internet to see what people were saying about this wine and most of the reviews are very similar. Bouquet: blackberry, chocolate (I got those two), black tar and smoke (missed those). My first impression of this wine was that it was very smooth, silky and with an good flavour. I noticed a little vanilla with some nice tannins that aren't too aggressive. While the internet search revealed most of this as well, the bottle mentions coffee which I couldn't taste (probably because I drink too much coffee as is). Wine Spectator rates this wine as a 90 and it is hard to argue the contrary. I thought this was different that the Carmen as I didn't find it as aggressive and I thought it was more "polished" than the Carmen. I gave the Carmen an 88 score and a 4.5 for value, therefore I'll go with WS and give it a 90 and a value score of 4.6.

Price: $23.99
Score: 90
Value: 4.6/5
Region: Chile
Grape: Cabernet Sauvingon
UPC: 7804320333175

Jacob's Creek St. Hugo 2003

Here's a review from Vasco da Gama that I lifted from the Make a Suggestion thread. Despite the review, because there are so few bottles left I haven't listed it as "Recommended" in the price range.

--- Vasco da Gama's review ---

Secret Opportunity for Fredericton readers of this blog!!!

Last week I tasted the 2003 Jacob's Creek "St.Hugo" Cabernet from Coonawarra. This was at a restaurant and I heard NBLC was sold out of it.
I found that actually there were 11 bottles left in Saint John, so I had them bring in 3 for me. They ended up shipping in all 11, so there are 8 more up at Prospect St NBLC, as of this afternoon.
This is a blockbuster beautiful cab with rich layered fruitiness, and possesses great new world characteristics, along with licorice...mmmm. This has a proportionate amount of tannins and acidity to carry it another few years, should you wish to hold a bottle or two. One of the nicest Cabs I've had. Coonawarra region can produce some awesome Cabs...I would highly recommend!!
Looking at the NBLC website, this no longer shows up, so I can't give you the UPC code

Price: $37.99
Score: 5/5
Value: 4/5
Grape: Cabernet Sauvignon
UPC: 9300727483232

Carmen Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

Welcome to another contirbutor! Here is review from Peanutman that I've lifted from the "Make a Suggestion" thread. And by the way, if you have a review that you wouldn't mind having me post, you can either post it as a comment on the "Make a Suggestion" thread, or you can e-mail it directly to me at nbwines /at/ gmail /dot/ com.

Here is Peanutman's review:

During the holidays, I've tried two bottles of Carmen Reserve Cab Sauv 2005. It is around $20. The bottle states intense bouquet. I agree. I'd go a little further and state wonderful bouquet. Blackberries were evident. My better half indicated coffee and cherry, and we both thought we smelled vanilla (not totally certain) The taste; somewhat complex but evidently cab sauv with oak. Pretty good finish with an intense first minute on the palate. We never got to the second day on either bottle. Value 4.5 out of 5. My score would be an 88 and when I looked it up in Wine Spectator they also had it as an 88. I will be buying at least half a case and leaving it to rest for at least a year. My conclusion is very good for the price.

Price: $19.99
Value: 4.5/5
Score: 88
Region: Chile, Maipo
Grape: Cabernet Sauvignon
UPC: 083300097512

E&J Gallo Barrelli Creek Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2000

The good news: this is a great value cab at $22. Classic cab flavour in a perfectly balanced wine. The bad news: it's all gone. Which is to say Kelly and I tried a bottle last night and we liked it so much that we went right back up to Prospect St and bought the last case. I've been trying to avoid bulk buying - with the blog going I want to try as many wines as possible. But for everyday drinking it's great to have a reasonably priced wine that is truly enjoyable rather than just drinkable.

Wine Spectator gave this an 86 when they tasted it in 2003. That's not a bad score, but I feel pretty confident that it's better than that now. It seems to have aged well - one more reason to try a wine rather than rely on WS.

This wine was on sale - it had a yellow sticker - but I'm not sure about the original price. I vaguely recall that it was about $35+. It wouldn't have been great value at that price, but it is at $22.

Price: $22
Value: 4/5
Score: 88
Region: USA, California
Grape: Cabernet Sauvignon
Tasted: Jan 2009
UPC: No longer available

Arrowood Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

From Luke:

---

Last night we had the Arrowood Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon, 2004. Blended with merlot, petit verdot, and malbec, this meritage was deep purple in color and at 15.2% it stuck to the sides of the glass.

The nose was packed with dark, ripe fruit, as well as cedar, vanilla, and black licorice. The palate was similar, and had good tannin and acidity which should allow this wine to age nicely.

We had this wine with striploin and shitake demi. It was nice, but due to the alcohol the finish became a bit hot with the food, so I sipped one glass with dinner and we had the rest of the bottle after. The mouthfeel was fantastic and the long finish could be enjoyed more on its own.

Price: $49.98 (liquidation)
Value: 4/5
Score: 91
Region: USA, California, Sonoma
Grape: Cabernet Sauvignon
Alchool: 15.2%
UPC: 009385205017

Concha y Toro Don Melchor 2001

I picked this wine out of the cellar - even though it is no longer available, Kelly is pretty sure we got it at ANBL, so I'll post a note on it.

I'll cut right to the point - this wine is great. Structure, fruit, complexity, length - it's got everything. The flavours are generally on the dark side of the spectrum - I get chocolate, for example, though Kelly doesn't. Here are her notes:

"Lush, dark nose of anise, blackberries, cedar, minerals, spices, earth, vanilla on nose follows through on palate, plus tar. Smooth and round on palate. Tannins are firm but not obtrusive. Beautifully balanced and very long. Delicious."

Wine Spectator gave this a 95, but Kelly "only" gave it a 93. I'll split the difference and call it 94. My records (yes, I have records for my cellared wine) show I paid about $49 when I bought it. I expect the price has gone up since then, but it would be great value even at a higher price. Wine Spectator has rated recent vintages consistently in same range. If we're luckly we'll see a new vintage on the shelves again.

Price: $49
Value: 4.5/5
Score: 94
Alcohol: 14%
Region: Chile, Puente Alto
Tasted: Nov 2008
UPC: No longer available

Coldstream Hills Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 1997

We loved this wine in 2003. It was a classic new world Cabernet Sauvignon: fruity and full and smooth, with good length, structure, and balance. We drank mostly new world reds then, but it was probably our single favourite wine. We bought perhaps half a dozen bottles and continued to love it through 2005 or so. But then around 2006-7 we drank a bottle that made us think it was past its prime. The delicious fruit seemed to be fading, and other interesting characteristics hadn’t developed to take its place.

Fast forward to December 2008. I’m not sure if the wine has changed or we have, but we opened our last bottle and really enjoyed it. The bright fruit of a few years ago had taken on a more subtle, stewed character, and herbal and other flavours become more prominent. It’s still lush and long and nicely balanced.

In his usual style, Norman subjected the group to a mini-interrogation on the wine (which all but he tasted blind, naturally). We were evenly divided as to whether it was a new world or old world wine. Apparently, it now has characteristics of each.

We sometimes wonder how long to cellar particular bottles. If a wine is meant to be drunk young, we're all for that; but if it is likely to improve with age, we're willing to wait; and we're not always sure. In this case, my preference for drinking a bottle every year or so during the window recommended by the winemaker seems to have worked out reasonably well.

Price: $44
Value: 4/5
Score: 92
Alcohol: 13.5%
Region: Yarra Valley, Australia
Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon
Tasted: Dec 17 2008
UPC: no longer available

Wakefield Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

Here's a review from tancred. BTW, the ANBL website says this is a cab/shiraz/merlot blend, but it's not.

I tried the wakefield cab (2006, clare valley) after seeing it on the wine show table at nbliquor. clare valley is an interesting wine growing region - it is cooler than barossa and maclaren vale and so is best known for its crisp zingy rieslings. however there are micro-climates within the clare that support the growth of shiraz and cab grapes, and it is not surprising to see even small wineries producing both rieslings and shirazes on grapes grown on the same estate. this wakefield cab was a typical australian cab with notes of cedar, capers, and plum. probably not a lot of cellaring potential but very drinkable now, with nice structure and longish finish. at a price around $20 (i forget the exact amount) it is great value for a cabernet.

Price: $18.79
Value: 4/5
Score: 87
Region: Australia, Clare Valley
Tasted: Nov 2008
UPC: 9311659000626

Gallo Frei Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon 2002

This is another one from the liquidation table. I don't tend to drink a lot of cab. (I think that might be because a lot of good cab comes from California and I tend to find US wine overpriced - but that's for another post.) In any event, I'm always on the lookout for good value cab and since the Stefani worked out pretty well, I thought I'd go back for the Frei Ranch.

To begin I should point out that Wine Spectator totally trashed this vintage of the Frei Ranch. It gave a score of 79, citing "wet cement" on the finish. No doubt that's why so much is still available on liquidation. Maybe there is bottle variation, but there is no way the bottle we had warrants a 79 - no wet cement at all.

Another point is that right now this wine needs to breathe for an hour so. It was quite harsh out of the bottle, but smoothed out considerably with some air.

With all that said, I thought this wine was pretty good, but for me it didn't have great balance or mouthfeel. There was some reasonable fruit in the middle but nothing outstanding. I'll give it an 86.

Kelly liked it quite a lot better. There's a pattern developing here - we generally agree quite closely on our scores, except about cab. So if you like cab, her scores might mean more to you than mine. Here's her note:

"Mostly stewed dark fruit on nose - cherries, plums, raisins - and also cedar and menthol; same flavours are soft on palate, with slightly sweet edge, followed by cedar and firm tannins. Long. I guessed this wine was Italian, and definitely wouldn't have thought it was a cab. I'd be interested to know what someone who likes French wines would say about this. The stewed fruit reminds me a bit of the Coudoulet de Beaucastel."

Kelly gave it an 88.5 - she didn't want to give it an 89 because she definitely likes the Stefani better, but she thought it's better than an 88 - this is our score compression problem again.

How will it develop? We had the '96 Frei Ranch cab a couple of years ago when it was about 9-10 years old and we loved it - much better than the 87 that WS gave to it. Will this one improve as well? Your guess is as good as mine - if it does, it will be a real bargain at $22.

Day 2 update: We had this wine again last night (Sat) after it spent a few days in the half bottle. Kelly thought it had suffered a bit, but I liked it much better this time - a solid 89. I'm not sure what's going on, but at the price I'll pick up a couple more.

Price: $22.29
Value: 3/5
Score: 86/89(N) - 88.5(K)
Alcohol: 14.5%
Tasted: Oct 2008
ANBL UPC: 085000223055

d'Arenberg The Coppermine Road 2005

I was away for a few days, so I have to do this review by proxy; Kelly had this with Kathy and Ted. Maybe that's just as well, as I'm beginning to think that I'm not really a cab person. I'm also bending the blog rule about discussing only wines bought through ANBL. While the 2005 Coopermine Road isn't available here, the 2004 is. As both rated the same from Wine Spectator I thought a review of the '05 might be helpful.

That gets us to the Wine Spectator rating - 83 for both the '04 and '05. All three of the tasters agreed that "there's no way in the world that this is an 83."

All agreed that it had good cab character and a very good mouthfeel, but perhaps a bit of a harsh finish. Here's Kelly's note (blind tasted and scored as usual for her): "Blackberries, cedar, raspberries, leather, pepper, green olives on the nose follow through on palate. Firm tannins, longish. Not a fruit-driven wine, although there are some nice fruit flavours here. This is a nicely structured wine and the best cab I've had in some time."

It's almost certainly too young; time should smooth out the tannins and give it more complexity. But for now the score is a 90. (Note that Kelly liked this quiet a bit better than the Stefani even though she only scored them 1 point different - we're running into the problem of score compression in this area of the scale.) Right now it's not a great value, but it will be good value if it develops as anticipated.

Price: $52.29
Value: 3/5
Score: 90
Tasted: Oct 2008
ANBL UPC: 9311832317008

Montes Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

Since I posted the review below, Kelly and I had a second chance to try this wine at a friend's house. The second bottle was very different and much better. It seems clear that we just got a bad bottle first time around. We can't post a new review - Kelly didn't taste it blind and more generally we weren't in 'wine review' mode. But I'll bump up the rating anyway. While Kelly didn't do a full review, she was convinced that it is much better than a typical cab at this price. (I'm still not much of a cab guy.) But beware of bottle variation.

Here is the original review:

"Here's one that Vesper recommended in the "Make a Suggestion" thread. I can't say that I was as keen on it. I thought it was a bit candied with a slightly bitter, chalky finish. With that said, it's quite reasonable value at $16 - it didn't have what Kelly calls "that nasty cheap wine taste." But a few dollars more you can do quite a bit better, for example with the Wynns Shiraz. And if you look, I think you can do better for less money."

Price: $15.99
Value: 3/5 (1st bottle); 4/5 (2nd bottle)
Score: 83 (1st bottle); 86(?) (2nd bottle)
Tasted: Sept 2008
ANBL UPC: 715126000017