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The Velvet Moon Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 is a $5.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive sourced from grapes farmed in California. The wine is made for Trader Joe’s by a large family-owned winery based in Lodi and Napa. They have extensive vineyards in Lodi, Monterey, Sonoma, and other locations.
These are wines available each year, here is a link to the review of the 2016 vintage. The Moon series of wines have a full range of Red and White wines with the MoonX wines being particularly popular.
I normally am not a fan of inexpensive Cabernet Sauvignon. Cabernet Sauvignon is a wine that you have come to expect with oak barrel flavorings. Oak is an importanat part of the flavor profile and that is hard to replicate in a $5.99 wine.
But, I did enjoy the 2016 vintage of the Velvet Moon Cabernet Sauvignon 2020, the winemaker is doing something right. Generally speaking, when choosing inexpensive wines White varietals and Red blends are the best bet, but the Moon wines are the exception to the rule.
According to the back label, the Cabernet Sauvignon grape is the last grape to be picked each fall and the Velvet Moon is in the sky during harvest. I could not find any information online about calling the Harvest Moon being called the Velvet Moon.
The Velvet Moon Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 should be an enjoyable fruit-forward Cab Sauv that is well-made and balanced. So on to the tasting portion to see how the 2020 vintage stacks up. The alcohol content is 13.5%.
The Velvet Moon Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 Tasting Notes
The color is a nice, dark purple. The nose is dark and smokey, a surprise for a $5.99 Cab, there are scents of blackberry, brown sugar, a little cigar box, light herbs, black pepper, and raspberry. The Velvet Moon Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 has a velvet mouthfeel and dark, complex flavors ($5.99?)
This Cabernet Sauvignon tastes like blackberry, licorice, a rough brush of spice, and ripe plum. The mid-palate shows tart cranberry, mocha, a tug from the tannins, and a late hit of black cherry.
None of the descriptors written above is anything you would ever expect from a $5.99 bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon. If you told me this wine sold for twice the price I would believe you.
The Summary
- The Velvet Moon Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 is possibly the best $5.99 Cabernet Sauvignon from California.
