The 2008 Napa Cellars Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is 98% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Merlot sourced from grapes grown in multiple vineyards thru-out Napa Valley. Napa Cellars is one of Trinchero Family Estates many labels, other Trinchero wines you made be familiar with are Sutter Home (the inventors of White Zinfandel), Folie a Deaux, Menage a Trois and Joel Gott Wines. The wine is aged for 19 months in mostly French oak Barrels, 1/3 in new oak, the rest in used oak barrels. The alcohol content is 14%.
The color is dark, opaque purple. The nose is sour cherry and peppermint spice followed by chocolate covered strawberries and freshly mowed lawn. This is a full bodied, full flavored, with unapologetic oak and tannins Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Rich black and blueberry upfront with licorice and Altoids spice following, the mid-palate brings the less extracted flavors of strawberries in cream, along with coffee with a bit too much french vanilla coffee creamer poured in. The tannins are big, but smooth, none of that out of balance tannin bite here. The finish shows some acidity along with creamy berries and lasts for a very respectable time.
There was a time, not too long ago, that I avoided inexpensive Cabernet Sauvignon, you could get more bang for your buck with Zinfandel, Syrah, Malbec or blends. But, in the last few months it seems that every inexpensive Cab I taste packs a wallop, I found the Napa Cellars Cab selling in Chicago for $11.99 (it seems to cost more elsewhere) making this wine a crazy good bargain. There is a really solid mixture of flavors and textures and with 19 months in oak you can probably cellar this for at least 5 or 6 years. The Napa Cellars Napa Cabernet would really rock a juicy, medium rare steak.
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