Alexander Valley Vineyards Cabernet 2011 wine review by Billy

Nose: charcoal, plum, strawberry, blueberry
Palate: Good balance and solid structure between acids and tannins.  Pleasing slate and stony notes combine with plush berry flavors.
Finish: soft finish that lingers with flavors of blueberry and slate
Overall: I paid between 10 and 15 for this bottle of wine at a local store.  It is a pleasant and soft California Cab.  It shows nice earthy notes and is a soft and accessible Cabernet.

Montes 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Wine Review by Billy

Nose: Rich earthy nose, dark pulpy cherry and plum with herbal chocolate

Palate: soft tannin and more dark cherry flavors with good balance that doesn't bite.

Finish: herbs and cinnamon on the medium-long finish.

Overall: A solid Cab from Chile.  I paid about $13 for this wine at a local store.  It opened well after breathing.  Paired with simple baked ziti and Italian garlic bread.

Uppercut 2007 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon wine review by Billy

Nose: resinous cedar, blueberry, cherry and black pepper notes
Palate: firm tannins, medium mouth feel, good food pairing wine,
Finish: fruity and short.
Overall: this wine was a gift from friends.  I have seen it online ranging anywhere from $23 -$30.  Overall the wine is a nice, meal-friendly cab.  It should be paired with food.  It will complement beef and hearty soups and stews.  As a vegetarian, I had it with cheeses, hearty minnestrone and a fantastic salad. 

Sean Minor Four Bears 2008 Napa Cabernet Sauvignon Sponsored Wine Review by Billy

Nose: rich and full of dried raspberry and cedar with tobacco notes.
Palate: Warm and full and fruity in the mouth with soft tannins and gentle acid core that make this very accessible and pleasant
Finish: gentle finish with cedar notes and cherry.
Overall:Thanks to the team from the Sean Minor Winery who have sent The Wine Cask Blog samples for review. You can find Sean Minor wines at your local wine shop (or ask the store manager about them). This wine will run $15-$20. If you find it for $12 or less pick up 2 bottles!

This is a wonderful Christmas wine because of its accessibility and its character. Guests will like it for the fruitiness and how easy drinking it is. The wine lover in your life will like how it combines woody character with soft tannins and full feel.

Raise a Glass to Sean Minor 2008 Napa Cab!

Bressler 2004 Napa Cabernet Sauvignon wine review by Billy

Nose:cocoa dust, tobacco leaves and casis with vanilla and oak nut notes.

Palate: elegant and unprepossessing mouth feel while remaining warm and full with a fine balance of firm acid and warm tannin core.

Finish: dark berry mash and pepper tones emerge over the top of more dusty cocoa.

Overall: Asking $200 for this wine which can retail and auction for typically less than $100 (though still in the $70-90 range) is plain thievery. And yet it was the second *lowest* priced option on the Cab wine list at Strip Steak in the Mandalay Bay casino in Las Vegas. It is truly an obscene mark-up. Still, you cannot fault the wine maker for the sins of the seller (and, I suppose, the enablement by the buyer). This wine was wonderful. It is still tight and young and will benefit from continued cellaring.

Raise a Glass, but if you raise a glass of this, make sure you get a reasonable price from your restaurant, wine store or internet retailer.

Lindemans' Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 Coonawarra Wine Review by Billy

Nose: Strong charcoal, cherry cola and sweet oak
Palate: silky smooth with soft tannins at the back. Svelte but lacking personality
Finish: slightly acidic with some not unpleasant underripe blueberry notes.
Overall: PB reviewed the 2001 vintage here so check that out. This wine was about $10. It is an extremely drinkable and accessible $10 wine. If you are looking for easy going $10 or under red wine, this is a solid choice. I would not call it key example of Cabernet Sauvignon, but I would classify it as a good bargain red. Worth it for parties and guests who want "red wine" and don't care what kind it is.

Paul Hobbs 2004 Napa Cabernet Sauvignon Wine Review by Billy

Nose: Rich cedar, smoke, cracked pepper and blackberry/plum compote
Palate: incredibly smooth and silky feel. Soft structure, malleable.
Finish:warm blueberry compote finish with some spiciness and wet tobacco notes.
Overall: very nice and soft. A softer Napa cabernet sauvignon with full flavor and elegance. A Romantic wine. A high end steak house listed this at $160 which is probably 60-70 higher than a wine retailer can get it for.

Marques Casa Concha Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 wine review by Billy

Nose: jammy plum and blackberry
Palate: thin palate that is well balanced while skinny. Big tannins but little pucker. Great redflesh fruit flavors spread out over the tongue.
Finish: cherry pit and some rind or husk like bitterness emerge here but only a touch. Very drinkable
Overall: Beautiful inky dark purple on the pour. This Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon from the well known Concha Y Toro producers delivers. It is very drinkable while retaining the character of a more expensive bottle. A touch thin in the mouth means that I wish this was about $5 less expensive. I paid about $18 for this bottle.

McWilliams Hanwood Estate 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon wine review by Billy

Nose:fruity nose of plum and cherry and some hints of savory spice.
Palate: decently crafted with moderate tannins and a good mouth feel.
Finish: big cherry fruit finish that ends abruptly.

Overall: I ended up paying only about $6.99 for this (in a buy one get one free sale). For that price I cannot complain. You can tell it is a 10-12 dollar wine but it is easy drinking and the quality is good for the price.

Raise a glass.

The Hess Collection Mount Veeder 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon wine review by Billy

Nose: Huge Jammy Blackberry and spice. Cola emerges. Oak and Cinnamon. Delightful. Big. Fun.
Palate: Silky to over-silky (think egg-white smooth) in the mouth. The wine is still balancing though. Another several years laying down will mature the acid/tannin/flavor relationship and make it more comfortable and refined.
Finish: soft, even.

Overall, I paid about $40 for this 2002 Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. It has been laying down for about 18 - 24 months (I don't remember exactly when I bought it). But it is a fine finish to the wonderful Christmas vacation from which I and the family just returned.

The Hess Collection Mount Veeder Cab still pours young. It is a deeply inky purple-black and opaque.

Here is what NW had to say about the same wine back in 2007. And here is what PB had to say about it in 2006.

Cabernet Sauvignon 3 Way Head to Head wine review by Billy

NW, PB, and I are all together and tasting for the post Christmas holiday. This evening it was a Cabernet flight. The goal was all cabs in the $15 range from different regions of the world. We selected a California, Argentina, and Australian Cabernet Sauvignon. NW and I liked the Australian while PB liked the Californian best. I liked the Californian second while NW preferred it least of the three. Thus proving that wine tasting and drinking is *really* about what you like.

Here are my notes on the three Cabernets we tried:

HAYMAN & HILL 2004 NAPA VALLEY RESERVE SELECTION
Nose: SWEET JAMMY FRUIT, CLOVES
Palate: SPICY, WEAKER TANNINS THOUGH NOT FLABBY, OK BALANCE
Finish: LINGERING, SOFT

VS
(2002 pictured, 2003 reviewed)
SALENTEIN 2003 MENDOZA VALLE DE UCO ARGENTINA
Nose: STINKY MUSHROOM
Palate: PRONOUNCED ACIDS AND TANNINS WEAK BALANCE COMPARATIVELY
Finish: SMOOTH AND PLEASANT. LINGERING TOBACCO MAKES THIS NICE

VS

GREG NORMAN 2004 LIMESTONE COAST AUSTRAILIA
Nose: SPICY EARTH, CEDAR
Palate: DENSE, FRUITY INCREDIBLY EVEN STRUCTURE
Finish: FRUITY AND SOFT SMOOTH

Overall: I preferred the 2004 Greg Norman Cabernet Merlot. The depth of flavor and spice and structure was far and away above the rest. The Hayman & Hill was my second favorite with its balance and fruity structure. The Salentein while having a beautiful nose and finish had a weak structure that was poorly constructed in my opinion (though NW preferred this over the Hayman & Hill and PB preferred the Hayman & Hill over the rest).

Anyway you measure it though, for about $15 these wines are good exemplars of the varietal and affordable.

Raise a Glass!

VEO Grande 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon wine review by Billy

Nose: cherry cola, socks, warm spice
Palate: even, not overly tannic, berry
Finish: warm, soft

Overall, meh. I have to be honest, lots of folks like this and I am interested to try it again but I was not impressed by this wine. It is not bad, but, to me, it was not great either. However, and this is a big however, when considered in light of the price point, it is a really great deal. It is not a "wow me" cabernet sauvignon, but it is certainly enjoyable and well made. It cannot be beat for the price.

Raise a glass!

1999 Robert Mondavi Oakville Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon wine review by Billy

Nose: dirt, aged earth, finely layered oak, spice, walnut
Palate: relaxed, all in tune and harmonious
Finish: finely made, smooth, green grapes.

This was the hit of the evening and a surprise find at a local wine store. While NW and I were just looking around, we spied this bottle listing at about $55. We decided to pick it up as an curiosity - not knowing whether or not it had been subject to too hot summers or too cold winters out there on the New England wine store shelf. But it was a holiday so we decided to go for broke and pick it up. We were not disappointed. This wine is at its peak. All the rich earthiness meshes with classic California Cabernet flavors in an orchestrated harmony that soothes the palate and warms the heart. While not a bargain, it is fairly priced. If you can find it you will not be disappointed. This was, quite simply, Merry Christmas in a bottle. Enjoyed with friends and relatives, it makes the year memorable.

Raise a Glass to Mondavi's 1999 Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon!

Parducci Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 wine review by Billy

Nose: delicious vanilla and cracked black pepper
Palate: incredibly round feel and oh-so-smooth
finish: lingering finish of redberry and oaky vanilla

For $10.99 this dinner accompanying Cabernet Sauvignon from the sustainable vineyards of Parducci (Mendocino California) is really quite nice. It is not as big or fruit forward as some others (a very nice change for a california cab at this price point) and the incredible roundness and smooth vanilla is exquisite.

Raise a Glass with a meal!