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The Story The Sean Minor 4B Chardonnay 2018 is 100% Chardonnay sourced from several contracted vineyards in California's Central Coast AVA. Sean Minor Wines do not have their vineyards but have long term contracts with selected vineyards. They have a full line-up of wines from affordable White and Red wines to single-vineyard Pinot Noir, though they concentrate more value-priced wine. You may remember this wine from when they were 4 Bears Wines, there is still a 4B on the label. The 4 Bears name came about when the Minors were tasting different blends of their wines. Something along the lines of one was too big, one was too small, and another was just right and their four-year-old thought the process reminded him of the story of the 3 Bears. Well, they had four kids and they couldn't leave one kid out, so the wines became 4 Bears wine.The 4B Chardonnay is made the way I usually like my Chardonnay, a little oak barrel, a little malolactic fermentation. A percentage of this Chardonnay was fermented in smaller French oak barrels with the rest fermented in stainless steel tanks. Oak barrels are of course watertight but they do allow a tiny amount of air transfer with the Chardonnay. Stainless steel tanks are watertight and airtight. Everything you do to the wine causes some sort of change, so the Chardonnay that had a tad bit of air contact will be different from the Chardonnay that was kept from oxygen exposure, And then there is the difference from a small barrel and a huge stainless steel tank.That brings us to malolactic fermentation which is something that almost always occurs in Red wine. This is a process or a fermentation that takes the tart-tasting naturally occurring acid in the wine and converts it to a more rounded tasting acid. Most White wines want to keep the tart acidity, but Chardonnay that sees a bit of oak barrel conditioning responds well to Malolactic fermentation. Since only a portion of the wine saw oak barrels only a portion undergoes malolactic.Producing a Chardonnay this way gives the wine varied flavors and complexity. Both tart and rounded flavors, some of that butter and vanilla that French oak brings to Chardonnay, but not too much. It is a style that gives a little bit of something for everybody. The alcohol content is 13.5%.Chardonnay Tasting NotesThe color is bright and shiny butter yellow. The nose is ripe and juicy, there is apple, lemon, pear, peach lime, honey, apricot, and a floral edge. This wine has a nice rounded mouth-feel along with an interesting flavor profile. It tastes of melon and lemon mix, followed by grapefruit, a little honey, and pear. The mid-palate brings apple, a dash of butter, a little vanilla cream, and lime. There is also that salty, nutty thing from "on-lees", but the tech notes didn't mention "on lees". The acidity is solid, enough to allow all the flavors to develop, but not enough to be sharp on the palate. The finish is full and lasts a decent length of time.The Summary The Sean Minor 4B Chardonnay 2018 is a tasty, well-priced Chardonnay (I found it on sale for $9.99). It is a well-made classic California Chardonnay. The Central Coast is a great place to find delicious value-priced wines. Yes, you can find Chardonnay from fancy well-known AVAs, but there is typically an additional price to pay for the famous growing regions. And these places do produce great Chardonnay, but when you need a tasty, well-priced, everyday Chardonnay the Central Coast AVA matches up well. This is one of those wines that get you reaching for your glass without actually thinking about it. Your brain just says MORE. Check out the companion Podcast below!!!!!!

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Trader Joe's Petit Reserve GSM 2018The StoryThe Trader Joe's Petit Reserve GSM 2018 is a Trader Joe's $6.99 exclusive. A GSM is Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre blend in this case sourced from vineyards in the Arroyo Seco AVA inside the Monterey AVA which in turn is inside the Central Coast AVA of California. This is a wine made exclusively for Trader Joe's by ASV Wines.ASV Wines, the ASV stands for Arroyo Seco Vineyards, is a custom wine producer (they also make their own wines} and has been in business for almost 40 years. They can be contracted to produce a wide variety of wines, either using their own vineyards or contracting with other vineyard owners. The Arroyo Seco AVA is home to several well-regarded wineries that specialize in producing Rhone Valley-style wines.A GSM Blend is one of the great Red wine blends of France and is found in the Southern Rhone Valley and in particular the Chateauneuf-du-Pape region. Grenache and Syrah are often blended together in southeastern France and eastern Spain (here Grenache is spelled Garnacha). Grenache wines are often sleek and lean and Syrah wines can be plump and juicy with a little spice. Each one has what the other doesn't have and they work well together. The Mourvedre adds color, a floral nose, and structure.Arroyo Seco AVA of Monterey is a cool-weather growing region. There is a deep ocean trench off the coast of Monterey that concentrates the already cold Pacific Ocean waters. Monterey has a variety of climates for vines, some areas are blocked from ocean influence by coastal mountains, some areas are high ground and windswept, and other valleys are well-tailored to cooler weather grape varieties. The Ocean not only provides the climate for a long growing season it also protects the vineyards from temperatures ever falling too low for vine safety.There is a certain order to California wine pricing, wines that show California on the label as a place of origin tend to be the least expensive since a wide variety of locations are available for grape sourcing. When you get to the main AVA on the label, in this case, Central Coast the bottle price can rise a few bucks, then when a sub-AVA is used like here the Monterey AVA the number of available vineyards lessens and the price tag can rise. When you get a wine sourced from a sub-AVA of a sub-AVA and the vineyard selection significantly lowers the wines can get pricey. Except at Trader Joe's where these wines can be seriously cheap, this Arroyo Seco GSM is $6.99.The GSM Tasting NotesThe color is dark cranberry red with black highlights. The nose is bright and spicey, there is blackberry, black pepper, exotic spice, black licorice, lightly herbal, and slightly floral. This is a red wine with a bit of complexity, it has a smooth side and a  rough side.  This GSM tastes of blackberry, rich and extracted, along with rounded black cherry, raisin spice, and black pepper. The mid-palate adds blood orange, tea, and raspberry. The tannins are dusty and provide a nice texture. The acidity is balanced, this is a $6.99 GSM food wine. Pair with stews, burgers, roasts, and pizza with all the toppings. The finish is subtle and fades before too long, but never really goes away.The Summary What's there not to like about a 7 buck GSM from a small AVA? It does not taste inexpensive, there is a good yin/yang between sweet and tart, smooth and rough textures and flavors. I would not call this GSM delicious, it is more challenging and interesting which is actual praise for a sub-$10 wine. This wine will perform very well with food. 

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The StoryThe Lagranja 360 Verdejo Viura 2018 is a $4.99 Trader Joe's import exclusive sourced from vineyards in the Castilla y Leon region of northeast Spain. The Verdejo grape is indigenous to Spain and widely planted and the Viura grape is also known as Macabeo which is one of the 3 grapes traditionally used to make Cava. Trader Joe's carries a whole line of Lagranja 360 wines which are very representative of the types of wine that average Spaniards drink every day.The Castilla y Leon region wraps around the northeast corner of Portugal but does not extend to the Ocean either north or west. The wines of this region are Vino de la Tierra wines which are one step below the DO wines and are roughly the same as IGP wines of Italy and France. The grapes come local communes.A commune is a group of small farmers who band together to pool their resources and produce wine on a scale much larger than they could provide individually. Lagranja 360 seems to have tapped into these communes in different regions of Spain to produce their wines. In the ranking order of wine, a commune is seen as a step or two below wineries with their own estate vineyards. But when dealing with value-priced wine a commune is a great way to get a good wine at a good price.This is the type of wine that folks in Spain who drink wine with lunch and dinner drink. The crazy thing about this Trader Joe's import wine is that it is sold in the US for about the same price it would be in Spain. The majority of people who use wine for their daily meal never spend more than ten bucks for a wine. Wines selling for a few Euros routinely are paired with the meal.One thing you need to remember with wines that are produced particularly for food consumption is that they are designed to reach their balance when sipped with food, they may seem a little too acidic when sipping alone. The Lagranja 360 is produced for export so concessions are made for how Americans drink wine. It will probably be a little more fruit-forward than its Spanish equivalent to better appeal to the American palate.This White wine is Vegan-friendly and uses natural yeast for fermentation. Natural yeast is the yeast that floats in the air and is naturally attached to the grapes' skins. It is thought these yeasts are better suited for the grapes, though I doubt if most people could tell the difference between natural yeast and commercial yeast. Then again natural is usually the way to go when possible. The alcohol content is a mild 12.5%.The Verdejo Viura Tasting NotesThe color is barely there, just a little pale wheat yellow. The nose is ripe and fresh, sort of reminds me of California Chardonnay, there is apple, peach, apricots, pears, lemon, lime, and orange blossom honey. This is a flavorful, crisp wine with just a hint of sweetness (nectar sweet, not sugar sweet). It tastes of grapefruit, peach, green apple, soft spice, and dried apricot. The mid-palate offers lime, the tasting notes mentioned banana and I don't know if it the power of suggestion, but I tasted banana cream. The acidity is solid, this $4.99 wine will make a very good food wine. The finish is strong and sticks around.The Summary * Four ninety-nine never tasted so good. * In a blind tasting with regular ten bucks White wines you would never pick out the Lagranja 360 as the five buck wine. * Cheap and delicious is a very good thing. 

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The StoryThe Source and Sink Red Field Blend 2018 is a blend of 65% Petite Sirah, 25% Alicante Bouschet, and 10% Carignan sourced from the Dunbar Ranch vineyard located near Glen Ellen in the Sonoma Valley region of California. Source and Sink is a new wine company, I think this is their first vintage. The company was formed by 2 Chicago guys who met during the 2017 harvest in Sonoma and decided to put together a wine project.When you have a new, small wine company such as Source and Sink it is hard to compete directly with the big corporate wine behemoths, so you need to do your homework and be clever. They search out small overlooked, almost forgotten Sonoma vineyards to source their grapes. Some of these vineyards come from Hobby farms others were going concerns years ago but have had parcels sold off due to urban sprawl. The Dunbar Ranch is situated in the heart of the Sonoma Valley, but it isn't a large commercial vineyard.The parcel of grapes that Source and Sink purchased had been planted to be a Field Blend. A Field Blend is when specific varietals of grapes are planted in the same section of the vineyard. I was told that back in the day farmers would plant many different grapes to see which varieties would thrive and which wouldn't. They would pick the grapes when the majority were of proper ripeness and then crush the grapes and ferment them all together. The proportions of the blend were decided by Mother Nature. If one grape had a big yield and another didn't, well, that was what the vineyard gave them.The Source and Sink website mentioned that Dunbar Ranch Field Blend section was planted to also include Zinfandel grapes in the blend, but the Zinfandel grapes seem to have gone elsewhere. Sometimes wines with Field Blend on the label are not actual Field Blends, but more of a homage to the old ways to blend wine. While Source and Sink do not get specific with the technical details they seem to be dedicated to letting the vineyards lead the way. They use the least evasive winemaking techniques that can get away with. These are not wines that use a focus group to get the blend right, this is Old School California winemaking.Petite Sirah is originally from France but now is found mainly in California and Australia. It is used in countless Red blends and is often used to add a little something to Zinfandel wines. Alicante Bouschet is also a French grape that again is rarely seen in France but is widely used in Portugal and Spain. And Carignan is a grape widely used in southeast France and Spain. So this blend will not be your typical North Coast Blend, but something a little different.One of the reasons Field Blend fell out of style was that it was difficult to get the different grapes to ripen at the same time. With some vintages, the timing might be perfect and other vintages more problematic. The wines could vary in flavor and quality from year to year, and if you notice vintage variations are often not very noticeable with todays California wine. The Source and Sink Field Blend has an alcohol content of 12.8% and it isn't uncommon for a Sonoma Red wine to see 14.5% alcohol. I'm guessing here, but is 12.8% the point where most of the grapes reached their ideal ripeness? Anyway, I am looking forward to a taste of how California Red Blend used to be.Field Blend Tasting NotesThe color is seriously deep and dark. The nose is rich and spicy, there is blackberry, plum, black pepper, spice, a hint of smoke and sweet raspberry. This is a wine that hits all areas of your palate with bright fruit and spice, nothing out of balance, but definitely not shy.

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The StoryThe 90+ Cellars Pinot Noir Lot 179 2018 is sourced from vineyards in more than one California Coastal grape growing AVA. And that is about all I know about where the grapes were grown and who made the wine since 90+ Cellars are Negociants. A Negociant is a French term and it refers to a wine business that buys excess wine from a winery and distributes it under its own label.90+ Cellars was founded in 2009 during the last economic meltdown which created an environment where there were plenty of wineries looking to sell them to generate much-needed cash. There were so many wineries offering surplus wine that 90+ Cellars came up with the idea of only buying wines that had recently scored 90 plus points in one of the leading wine magazines.It was a brilliant idea since negociants buy the surplus wine at a discounted price they can sell the wine retail at a lower price than the original winery. So you were able to purchase wine with a top wine score for a bargain price when compared to the original wine. Often the 90+ Cellars wine would be on the store shelve just a few feet away from the exact same wine that sold for several dollars more.This system, which has a very long history in France, only works if the customer never knows who the original winery is. The producing winery will never sell its wine if the public knows they can but the exact same wine for less. And since a negociant, in this case, 90+ Cellars, does not make their own wine, the wine drinkers have to trust that the negociants are offering the best wine for the lowest price.I don't think 90+ Cellars still only buys and then resells wines that received 90 or more points, that was always limiting. They were stuck dealing only with wines that received high recent scores and not with excellent wineries that either didn't get their wines into the magazines or only got 89 points. Because after all, that is the difference between a wine that gets 89 points and wine that got 90 points, can you taste that extra point?You will follow 90+ Cellars not by the wines they make, but by the wines they choose. A Negociant succeeds by offering you a good wine at a fair price, but you have to take a leap of faith. Since you don't know the all-important details concerning the wine, a wine drinker must be satisfied that 90+ has you covered. If you search for 90+ Cellars wines on CheapWineFinder you will see that we have been reviewing their wines for years and we were usually impressed.So, this is the seventh paragraph and I have not mentioned one technical detail about Pinot Noir Lot 179 2018, well because I don't know any of the details. The one thing I do know is this Pinot Noir that I found on sale for $8.99 was probably in another bin under a different label selling for several dollars more. And that is the allure of negociant wines. The alcohol content is 13.5%. Plus I have been hearing a buzz about this bottling from reputable sources saying that this is one of the best value wines from the vintage.Pinot Noir Tasting NotesThe color is clear, see-thru garnet red. The nose is a combination of cherry and those funky Pinot Noir aromas, herbs, dried autumn leaves, spice, bacon fat, a hint of smoke, and spearmint chewing gum. This is a dry, medium-bodied Pinot Noir, fruit-forward, but still possessing balance. It starts with cherry, Dr. Pepper, licorice, spice, and tea. The mid-palate brings soft herbs, ripe plum, black pepper, and faint dark chocolate. The tannins are sweet, they are there,

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The StoryThe Raimund Prüm Mosel Dry Riesling is a $6.99 ALDI exclusive sourced from vineyards in the Mosel district of Germany. There are a few interesting and unique details with less than 7 buck Riesling. First, you remember that ALDI is a German company and has great buying power in Europe and especially Germany.Second, Mosel is to Riesling what Pinot Noir is to Burgundy what Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot is to Bordeaux what Barolo is Nebbiolo. It is the epicenter for that particular grape. If you want the best Riesling the first place you look is Mosel. This Riesling is designated a Qualitatswein wine which is the base quality level there are two categories above this. Which is expected in a wine at this price range.The third point is Raimund Prüm is responsible for this ALDI wine. The current SA Prüm winery has been family owned and operated for over 100 years, but the Prüm family has been involved with wine in Mosel for 900 years. Raimund Prüm is one of the elite winemakers in Mosel, he has produced Riesling that has sold for 100s of dollars.It is not unusual for established well-regarded wineries to produce custom wines for the likes of ALDI and Trader Joe's, but they normally use a dummy wine company name and come up with a brand name that does not suggest the original winery. Here, Raimund Prüm is putting his name on a $6.99 Mosel Riesling.The Mosel wine region is located on the steep banks of the Mosel River. The slopes are so steep for much of the best growing area that it is difficult and dangerous for humans to work the grapevines. The soil is strewn with chards of slate and the slate is so essential to the mineral component of the Riesling that any slate that rolls down the hill is collected and put back in its place.This wine seems to be sourced from vineyards from all over Mosel which keeps the price down. Like most wine areas certain sections can command a higher price and wine produced from a selection of districts are less expensive. But with a wine priced this low, it is not necessarily the location of the vineyards that matter, it is who made the wine. Good winemakers make good wine, great winemakers make even better wine. The alcohol content is a mild 11.5% and this is dry or not sweet Riesling.Riesling Tasting NotesThe color is a pale wheat yellow. The nose is green apple, lemon, lime, melon, mineral water, and apricot, the scents are all light and subtle. This is a light, delicate, dry Riesling with a slightly complicated flavor profile. It tastes of peach, ripe, juicy apple, lemon, a soft minerality, lime, and melon. The mid-palate adds raisin spice, dried apricot, juicy nectarine, a salty sensation, and guava. I named a fair amount of flavors, but they were all restrained, one didn't overpower the other. The acidity gave the structure that allowed the flavors to unfold. Again the finish is subtle but lingers on and on.The Summary * This is a pretty good Riesling for $6.99 at a supermarket. * I was expecting it to be pretty good considering its provenance. Mr. Prüm wouldn't have put his name or the family name on this bottle if the results were not satisfactory. * I quite honestly am more used to writing about Washington State Riesling for Cheapwinefinder. The Washington Rieslings are priced right and are easy to drink and to like. But this 7 buck Aldis Mosel Riesling is an extremely satisfying drink. The more I sip, the more I like it. Check out the companion Podcast below !!!!!!

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The StoryThe Chateau Le Grand Moulin Bordeaux 2016 is a blend of 80% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 5% Malbec from the Estate vineyard in the Blaye Cotes de Bordeaux AOP. This is wine available at Costco for $7.99, I don't think this is a Costco exclusive, on-line retailers seem to sell the same wine for almost twice as much.Chateau Le Grand is a family-owned vineyard and winery founded over 100 years ago.  Blaye AOP is the northern-most growing region in Bordeaux's Right Bank (the big names like Pomerol are located further south).  Merlot is the main grape, but Blaye also produces White wines and Sparkling wine. This is the region that produces everyday wines that is a step up from the value-priced wines.50% of the wines from Bordeaux sell for under $20, which always surprised me since I equated Bordeaux with Napa Valley and not much is value-priced in Napa. The French have a tradition of drinking wine with their meals, so it makes sense that Bordeaux offers reasonably priced wines. Actually every growing region in France, other than Champagne, produces affordable wines. Sometimes the marketing makes it seem like they specialize in high-end wines, but that isn't the case.In Bordeaux, the simple (too simple) explanation is the Left Bank grows Cabernet Sauvignon and the Right Bank farms Merlot, but it is more complicated than that. The soil types change from area to area as do the growing conditions, but most of those details are not as important with value-priced wine. The collectors argue over which year is a good year and which Grand Cru excelled that year. With affordable Bordeaux, a good producer with a quality vineyard is what is important.The Chateau Le Grand Moulin cold maceration before fermentation. Cold Maceration is where they refrigerate the grapes for a few days, this technique helps concentrate the flavors and the color of the wine. After fermentation, this Red blend was aged in cement vats. Cement vats (they are lined to keep the actual cement away from the wine) are thick enough that they insulate the wine from temperature and humidity changes. Wine loves stable aging conditions and cement offers protection that stainless steel tanks and wood barrels can't.Even though this is an 8 buck Red blend the Chateau Le Grand 2016 has received 89 and 90 points from James Suckling and Wine Enthusiast, respectively. While wine points do not mean you will actually like the wine they do indicate that acknowledge professions deemed this a quality- made Bordeaux Red wine. The alcohol content is 13.5%.Bordeaux Tasting NotesThe color is a dark, barely see-thru black cherry red. The nose is blackberry, baking spice, black pepper, tea, dark chocolate, raspberry, and a blast of sweet blueberry. This is a well-balanced wine, it has tannins if you are used to California value-priced wines you might have forgotten how tannins used to be. It tastes of a mix of blackberry, pepper, soft plum, and spice. The mid-palate brings orange zest and dried strawberry pieces, a light hint of cream, and Nestlt Quick powder. This is a French Red blend, it is a different style than California and Washington State Red blends, you would never call this a juicy wine. What it lacks in fruit flavor it makes up for with structure, though it does have good flavor. The tannins are there, they make their presence known, but they do not bite. The acidity gives this Red nice length. The finish is fairly full and of reasonable length.The Summary * I like this wine, it resets my palate.

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The StoryThe Kirkland Champagne Brut is a $19.99 Costco exclusive produced for them by Champagne Janisson of Verzenany in the Champagne district of France. There was a time when a sub 20 buck real-deal Champagne was unheard of, but ALDI, Trader Joe's (I think TJ's French Bubbles has gone up in price) and Costco have all managed to offer pretty enjoyable Bubbly.Janisson is a legit French Champagne House, check out the link above they have an architecturally stunning winery. The Kirkland Champagne is a blend of Pinot Meunier, Pinot Noir, and Chardonnay and the Janisson labeled Bubbly only uses Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, no Pinot Meunier. This indicates that this is a bottling made exclusively for Costco and Kirkland.This also means that this Champagne was sourced using contracted purchased grapes, which in Champagne is far more ordinary than you may think. With the prices that Champagne command you would think that famous Bubbly is sourced from the most exclusive sections of their Estate vineyards. But, most of the most well known Champagne Houses either don't have their own vineyards or only enough land to supply their most high-end offerings.Most people can name maybe ten Champagne Houses, some are so famous that even people that have no interest in wine know their names, but their 100s of Champagne producers. Most have been in business for decades and the average American wine drinker is unaware of there existence. So it does not mean much that you have never heard of Janisson, the reality is you have never heard of 90% of the Champagne Houses. Though finding a new favorite Champagne is fun and is probably the reason Janisson is selling their Bubbly for below market price. It is hard to attract attention when your competition is Icons.As a quick refresher, Champagne differs from Prosecco, because with Champagne after the grapes are pressed and go through fermentation, the wine is aged and then bottled. In each and every bottle a measured amount of yeast and sugar are added, a temporary cork is attached and the bottles' wine continues to age for a minimum of 18 months (Champagne is frequently aged for a longer time).So can a $19.99 Champagne be as good as the more expensive stuff? And the answer is yes, Champagne has extremely stringent rules and regulations governing all aspects of Champagne, from the vineyards to the winemaking process. These measures are designed to ensure quality, corner-cutting is not acceptable. The vineyards are the same vineyards used by the well-known wineries and the winemaking techniques are exactly the same as the other Champagne Houses.Champagne Tasting NotesThe color is platinum with a hint of gold, the bubbles are plentiful. The nose is yeasty, with bright citrus, along with apple, cherry, vanilla, and melon. This is a Champagne with a substantial mouthfeel, it has some weight on your palate. It starts with lemon/lime (the flavor of a soft drink, but not the sugary sweetness), there is a nice salty sensation, followed by green apple, and a hint of stonefruit. The mid-palate adds cashew, dried strawberry pieces, and very dry, tart cranberry. There is an intensity to this Bubbly that you only get from the Sparkling wines from Champagne. The more you look for flavors, the more you find, this Bubbly keeps developing. The acidity is really solid, the flavors have room to unfold and that touch of acid gets you reaching for your glass. The finish is subtle and lengthy.The Summary * I have always said that Bubbly/ Sparkling wine was my favorite category of chea...

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The StoryThe Technique Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 is a wine that sells for $6.99 at Trader Joe's. Is it a Trader Joe's exclusive? I don't know since this wine does not conform to the typical Trader Joe's exclusive wine brands. The Technique label is owned by the Precision Wine Company which has 9 different labels and specializes in Napa Valley wines. This bottling is not shown on their website, but there is a Technique Chardonnay from the Knights Valley AVA.The Alexander Valley AVA in Sonoma is about 25 miles from the Pacific Ocean but is a warmer climate growing region since it is blocked from the Ocean by mountains. The Russian River runs through the middle of the Alexander Valley and the river gives the AVA the cool mornings and the even cooler nights to offset the warm summer days. The Russian River AVA, which is known for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, is south of Alexander Valley. The Alexander Valley is THE Sonoma AVA for Cabernet Sauvignon.The Precision Wine Company produces wines that sell in the $20 to $65 range and generally speaking Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon does not sell for $6.99. A typical Trader Joe's exclusive wine is contracted from a winery who along with Trader Joe's creates a dummy wine company and a unique wine label. The dummy wine company is used to hide the original source since Trader Joe's wines usually sell for less than the producing wineries line of wines. The details involving the production of the wine are hidden, to hide the original winery and to keep costs down. But with the Technique Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon we know who made the wine, cellared and bottled by does not mean too much, but we don't know why it is $6.99. Is this a wine they made especially for Trader Joe's and just didn't bother to hide the origin? Is this a Cabernet Sauvignon leftover from their wine club offerings? Is this a wine produced to sell for seven bucks or is it a wine that fits into the Precision Wine Companies portfolio and should list for $20 plus?Since Sonoma County Alexander Valley Sauvignon Cabernet doesn't sell for $6.99 in retail shops it probably does not fall into the first category, but what is what with this Cab Sauv remains a mystery. Maybe tasting will shed some light on just what is in the bottle. The alcohol content is 14.5%.The Tasting NotesThe color is a very nice shade of purple. The nose is subtle, the aromas are soft and integrated, there is ripe blackberry, black pepper, plum, oak spice, and a little vanilla. This is a balanced, dry Cabernet Sauvignon. It starts with blackberry, black licorice (Iknow licorice is supposed to be black, but I grew up on Twizzlers and they were red), black pepper, and soft, slightly sharp spice. The mid-palate brings raspberry, tart cranberry, none of these berries are super ripe and juicy, a little cream and a late slap of orange zest. The tannins are soft and sweet, you barely know they are there. The acidity is balanced and the finish is subtle and light but does linger.The Summary * If this were a twenty-dollar Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, I wouldn't be too impressed. It was nice to try, I liked it, but I would probably never revisit this wine at a later date. * But $6.99 makes all the difference. It has subtlety and balance that are rare in inexpensive Red wines. * So this is a Cab Sauv that is too good for 7 bucks and not so good for 20 dollars. But then again nobody but me mentioned $20 when talking about this wine so that comparison isn't fair. * But at $6.

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The StoryThe Babich Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2019 is a young Sauv Blanc sourced from mainly Estate vineyards (they own several in different sub-regions of Marlborough) and other carefully chosen contracted vineyards. Babich is a family-owned wine operation founded in 1916 and three generations of the Babich family currently oversee the operations. Marlborough is located on the northern tip of New Zealand's South Island and produces 2/3's of New Zealand's wine.We have just entered 2020 and the Babich Sauvignon Blanc is a 2019 vintage which seems like this wine is released a bit too soon until you release that New Zealand has its summer when the US has its winter and vice versa. So, it is just a young wine, not meant for aging, which is fine for value-priced Sauvignon Blanc. Young Sauv Blanc smells and tastes like springtime in a bottle. There are some wine regions, such as Bordeaux, where Sauvignon Blanc is blended with Semillion and often oak barrel-aged, while I think Bordeaux Blanc wines are great, there is something about a well-made young Sauvignon Blanc.This Sauv Blanc was fermented in stainless steel vats and uses both natural yeast and cultured yeast. The yeast used brings different flavors to the wine, so the use of both types of yeast indicates the winemaker was going for a particular outcome. This particular wine label was first introduced in 1991, so this wine has been a success for 30 years. This isn't a wine you want to lay-down for a year or two, it will be at its best on the day you buy it and pop the top or actually unscrew the top. The alcohol content is 13%.The Tasting NotesThe color is very pale sunshine yellow, just the hint of color. The nose is not shy, you can nose this Sauvignon Blanc from 10 paces away, there is a citrus, tropical fruit, grassy notes, apple, peach, pear, and limes, the aromas are bold, but rounded. This is a clean, crisp, bright Sauv Blanc. Every time I see NZ Sauvignon Blanc tasting notes from the producer they will almost always mention gooseberry, I don't think I have ever seen as gooseberry much less tasted one so these tasting notes will be gooseberry free. It tastes of a mix of melon and lime, Anjou Pear, juicy apple, soft spice, and lightly grassy. The mid-palate has unsweetened pineapple, lemon creme, peach, and just a dash of tangerine. The acidity is solid, enough to allow the flavors room to unfold, but not enough to be sharp on the palate. The finish is soft, yet long.The Summary * The Babich Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc is exactly what you want from NZ Sauv Blanc. Bold, but not too bold, loads of flavor and easy to drink. * There is just a touch of cream on the mid-palate that puts this Sauvignon Blanc over the top. It is extremely enticing. * I found the Babich on sale for $9.99, it is a bargain at that price and a good value at full price. Check out the Companion Podcast Below !!!!!

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