I picked up this Zinfandel Blend at Trader Joe’s, I tried to find some information about the Max Cuvee on the internet and found nothing. Fife made a Napa Max Cuvee in the late 90′s and early 2000′s, but their website makes no mention of a 2005 vintage. So there is something up with this Zinfandel, Syrah, Sangiovese and Petite Syrah blend, nobody puts 4 years of bottle age on a wine to sell it for only 7 bucks. It’s also aged in French oak, which is the most expensive of all the oak used for wine barrels. The sign above the wine at Trader Joe‘s said it was sourced from Mendocino County, but the label only says California. So what’s the story with the Max Cuvee?
Nice dark ruby red color, just what you would expect for a Zin blend. The nose was a little tight and oaky, the first sip was all tannins and oak, everything was happening in the back of my mouth, no fruit upfront. Had to sit it down for awhile to let it open up, decanting this wine would be a wise move. After it opened up, the fruit came out and balanced out the tannins and oak, much better. Nice chewy dark fruit and lots of spice with a little hit of oak in the back.The more this opens up, the better it tastes, don’t rush this wine. The finish is not huge but it does linger awhile with a vanilla cola flavor. All in all, a real nice bottle of wine for seven dollars. I don’t think they ever meant to sell this for $7 bucks, but their loss is our gain, so enjoy.
UPDATE : Fife Winery’s has been sold and these Trader Joe’s Fife Wines are made from juice leftover from the old owners. I don’t know if the leftover wine was ever intended to be made into Fife label wines or were intended to be sold off to other labels. But I am sure they never intended to sell these wines for $7.
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