Cabs Part Deux

Here are five more Cabernet Sauvignon's under $20 we tasted at the monthly wine tastings.

6) 2003 Pedroncelli, $14 Sonoma
A fruity, drinkable solid wine.
“Pleasant, mellow cherry,” writes John.
Aimee writes that this wine is fragrant, smells earthy and tastes of cherry/raspberry.
“Fruity and sweet,” Stef says. “It’s OK.”

7) 2003 Veramonte, Chile $7
I thought this wine had a sharp nose and was a bit acidic. A nice finish. “Meaty, gamey,” Marlo writes.
“Nice fuit,” says Aimee. Alorie tasted some licorice and pepper. John says this wine had a thin berry nose and a sweetness that disappearsand leaves tanins.

8) 2003 Ring Bolt, Australia, $15
I liked this red. In fact, we all liked this one.
I tasted some mint and big berries. John found this wine sour at first but said it was chocolately smooth when it opened up. Aimee found it well-balanced. Marlo liked it, too.

9) 2002 Castle Rock, Sonoma, $9. OK, we’re slowing down by this one. It’s hard to taste this many wines in a row John found it “tinny,” with some slight chocolate on the tongue. Marlo also tasted some chocolate in this wine and called it “dessert smooth.” The majority of us liked it. But who knows....we might have liked Boone's Farm at this point.
Speaking of Boone's Farm, these reviews crack me up. Even this wine has its fans, as loony as they might be.

10) 2002 Hawk Crest, Napa. $15
I liked this wine a lot more once it opened up. It’s dry and nicely balanced and fruity. Hawk Crest is made by the Stag's Leap folks. When I was younger Stag's Leap was the holy grail of wine to me, for some reason. I had just heard about how swanky it was among the dot com crowd. A friend got really angry when she had to split the bill for dinner and someone at the table had ordered a few bottles of the stuff. As a joke, I got her a bottle of Stag's Leap as an engagement present. I think I had Stag's Leap once, but cannot remember it so it might not have been all that memorable. Anyhow, back to Hawk Crest. I think we were all pretty tapped out by the time we got to this wine. It's hard on the average tongue to taste 10 wines in one night. By this time, our crackers and cheese were gone, the olives mere pits and the tortilla chips just crumbs in a bowl. It was time to call it a night.

February 8, 2006

Cabs Part Deux