We had this wine blind at a friend’s house last week. This is a change for me as I usually pick the wine from the cellar, so I rarely get to taste blind (while Kelly often does - which is why she is so much better than I am at identifying the wine.)
A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Sangiovese and Syrah. The style was the nice balance between old world and new that the Italians do so well - I guessed it as either Australian or Italian. I also guessed it was a Cab, while Kelly picked it as having Sangiovese.
After that build up, I have to say that unfortunately, I can’t really give this wine a proper review. It tasted distinctly, though not overwhelmingly, of the astringent taste that sometimes mars a Cab for me. I’m particularly sensitive to this taste. I remember having a Cab one night with about eight other people. Two of us found this taste made the Cab undrinkable, one person could taste it, but it didn’t bother her much, and the other five were completely oblivious to it. Bottom line - I didn’t enjoy this wine much, but I don’t want to blame the wine.
Kelly’s notes are brief as this was a dinner party: “Berries, plums, cedar, wool. A bit hot on the nose. Nice on the palate, finishing with firm tannins.” She rated it 91.
Has anyone else noticed this issue with Cabs? Because of this issue, I’m not going to give it my own score or value rating - I'll just give Kelly's.
Price: $45.99
Score: 91
Value: 3/5
Grape: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Sangiovese and Syrah
UPC: 8015674440764
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I agree, sometimes Cabs can taste foul or astringent. It is a taste of the pith of a green pepper. This can sometimes be the fault of green grapes. Also a stemmy-ness can prevail which I suspect to be from the method of picking grapes. I find these problems mostly from South American wines, but it can come from anywheres I am sure.
ReplyDeleteMy friend who can taste is partially describes it as green pepper, and I could definitely describe what I taste as stemmy-ness. So that would make sense. But those are well known characteristics / flaws of cab, and what I find odd is the way that most people I drink wine with - including Kelly - can't taste it. Maybe it's just a matter of sensitivity - maybe it's not that Kelly can't taste it at all, but that she can't taste it even at levels that I find to be offensive. Has anyone else experienced this, where one person finds the cab to be green / stemmy and another finds the same bottle to be fine?
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