It’s funny…I came across this little gem while on vacation in the otherwise generally useless state of North Dakota (don’t ask – I’ll tell you when you’re older) and for as much ballyhoo as there is about Utah’s alcoholic beverage pricing being funky, this bottle was actually more out of state than at the Utah State Liquor stores. Now, we’re talking a buck or two and it’s good enough to command a much higher price, in my estimation, but I found that to be kind of amusing…and normal. At least on wines, Utah is not notoriously off the mark, in most cases…
That aside, most cabs are a punch in the face, big, huge,
bold, with a dominating presence. These are the heavy duty hitters of the wine
world, for the most part and when something like that winds up also being
abrasive, it can be a bit hard to take. It is partially for this reason that I
tend not to look at Cabs a great deal, but here…more funny business…I really
liked the label. I know, dumb (or more accurately, irrelevant) reason, but I’m
not afraid to base my purchases on that. In fact, I got another 3 bottles for
the selfsame reason. Not all of those worked out quite as wonderfully, but you
never can tell until you get into one, of course, pull the cork and dig in to
see what it’s all about.
What it’s all about here is a blend that also contains
Syrah. Regular readers will know I love the Syrah and am nearly always
interested in blends and I found the influence of Syrah here to impart both a
nice taste and smoothing influence. This is another one that had a nice
lingering finish out of the gate, but was also silky from the jump. More air
time just added to that and it was an extremely pleasurable bottle to enjoy.
Perhaps the best part is that it’s under a $10. Wine this
good could easily be more but at that price point, this heavy Cab blend just
might start making its way into the rotation. As it is, I’m calling it a
Standard now. It may be on SPA, but I wouldn’t hesitate regardless with this
most excellent wine.
