James Mitchell Estate Lodi Cabernet Sauvignon 2010

2010jamesmitchellcabsauvThe 2010 James Mitchell Estate Lodi Cabernet Sauvignon also includes a little Petit Verdot, Petite Sirah, Merlot and a touch of Malbec sourced from James Mitchell vineyards in the Lodi AVA of California. James Mitchell is one of Avenui Brands many labels world wide, Avenui Brands is a division of Codorniu, the largest producers of Cava in Spain, they own 26 wine brands from across the globe. James Mitchell is an Estate winery, but they only seem to produce the 2009 and 2010 versions of this Cabernet Sauvignon and they do not have a website. The grapes were picked at night, when the temps are cool to preserve the ripe, juiciness of the grapes (during the heat of the day some juice can evaporate).  While 20% of this Cab was aged in stainless steel, 75% of the remaining juice was aged in French oak barrels and 25% in American oak for 12 months. The alcohol content is 13.8%.

The color is dark, barely see-thru raspberry jam red with a blue/black tint. The nose is red jammy fruit, oak spice, cedar plank and spearmint gum. This is a Cabernet Sauvignon with loads of flavor, rich fruit, a variety of oak flavors and spice. It starts with blackberry, cherry, a little chocolate and ripe blueberry. The mid palate offers curry spice, toasty vanilla and an ever so slight tug from the tannins. The tannins and acidity are under control and the finish is strong and of good length.

I don’t know what kind of Estate winery James Mitchell is, most Estate wineries offer more than one wine and have some sort of presence on the web, but I do know that you do not see Estate California Cabernet Sauvignon that sell for $11.99 (prices on the internet widely vary from $8.99 to $18 and $22 bucks Canadian). Home grown fruit and 12 months in fancy oak barrels never come cheap. The James Mitchell Lodi Cabernet Sauvignon offers a very good value for the money.

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Don’t tell anyone, but there is absolutely no correlation between the cost of wine and the quality of wine.

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