Foolin around in the *affordable Cab* sweepstakes today… this is 20-ish bucks and I suppose on some level it could compel. Just not me, honestly. Dark staining ruby with a minuscule pink rim, a nose far more cloying than I prefer in a Cab–even at this PP. Dreary and roasted, a candied-burnt cherry the main event, with a glycerine-y sweetness the foundation. Really no complexity or layers of anything: simple and rich, dark fruit-forward and that’s… about… it. Decanted heavily in an attempt to make it blossom.
Tasting it grants a bit of redemption, but if a wine doesn’t smell good: it will have a desperate time redeeming itself. ESPECIALLY A CABERNET. About 80% of my wine-analyzation is based on color and bouquet, so at this point you’ve basically lost me. Easy richness on the tongue, a bit of peppery briar roughing things up nicely and plentiful raspy dry tannins solidifying the finish. Throughout: cheerful berry, plump and plentiful. It’s a nice wine, cleanly-made and non-insulting, unless *boring* is a crime.
2018 GAIL ‘Doris’ Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma Valley California 13.9
Stephen McConnell 