Jason’s Wine Blog

Price: $3.99 @ Trader Joe’s imported by L. Watson Inc.

What They Said:

Per Daniel Rogov “Dark ruby towards garnet, with soft tannins, hints of spices and a note of chocolate highlighting blackberry and black cherry fruits. Round and appealing, a very good entry-level wine. Drink now.” Score 86. K (Tasted 9 Oct 2008)

What I Think:

I’ve been looking forward to posting this one as it has been a rewarding experience thanks to Shimshon of Welner Wines! From the bottle I was able to track this to Vinas Argentinas which led me to Telteca Winery. From there I emailed the contact us info and Shimshon responded with the wealth of information I am about to share. Didn’t even have to use the other information at my disposal (hand harvested for the Cartellone Family and Jose Pedro Gomez was the winemaker)

The first item of note is that this predominately sells under the Tierra Salvaje label. I’ve had a Carmenere ($4) from them at Trader Joe’s a while back. Tried to track down my tasting notes but not much there. My recollection is that it was good but not great.

As for this one specifically, Terranal (from the label) is a cousin of the term terroir and means earthy. Given I have a Cab from Ruca Malen (btw, if you ever visit Mendoza be sure to have their wine pairing lunch. Fantastic!) I picked up on my trip to Argentina in ’06 I considered this a free preview. On sight, the wine is dark but the nose brings me light raspberry fruit notes with a bit of tannin. It certainly lacks the California Cab characteristics you might expect so prepare yourself. The initial taste is familiar but what…something, can’t place it! A nice tannic backbone and a pleasant mid-palate full of plum and cherry flavors. The only disappointment is that there was little from a finish perspective. All in all, for $4 this is a great introduction to what Cabernet from another región is all about; lighter, fruitier and less tanic. Give it a try. I’m going to grab another bottle. They also have a Malbec in stock which I intend to drink/review soon. Stay tuned…

Rating: 12th Bottle

Price: $5.99 @ Trader Joe’s

What They Said:

Per the winery “This minimally oaked Cabernet Sauvignon presents fruit forward aromas and flavors of slight cherry and blueberry throughout the wine; it balances out with fruit, soft oak, and hints of coca on the lingering finish.”-Ray Einberger, Winemaker

What I Think:

If you check back to the 2004 version of this wine, which I was a huge fan of, you will find that Winemaker Ray had the same exact thing to say about that vintage. How can that be Ray? Given that the 2004 was labeled as being from the Columbia Valley and the 2005 vintage has been downgraded to the more generic Washington area. Nothing changes? Or perhaps just some lazy people in the web group that decided to reuse the same content? Hopefully you aren’t doing this to bamboozle the consumers… I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt there.

But as for the wine, things have certainly changed….The nose still shows dark fruit but there is certainly some more oak present. Early on this is showing green notes and is quite disappointing. Day 2 you can see it start to change as these flavors are fading. Perhaps it needs some more time in the bottle? Or is it the change in appellation? Either way it is not the same. And Ray, if you want to debate that, that is a debate I am willing to have…

Oh yeah, the verdict…for now pass on it. I’ll grab another bottle in a few months and let you know if things have changed.

Rating: 12th Bottle

Price: $5.99 @ Trader Joe’s

What They Said:

Per the winery “This Cabernet Sauvignon was barrel-aged in French and American oak for approximately 16 months to achieve the perfect balance. A judicious amount of Petite Verdot and Petite Sirah was added to create this big, concentrated dark Cabernet Sauvignon boasting a great deal of complexity. The wine is totally natural with the exception of yeast added during fermentation. The limestone characteristics of our vineyards allow us to produce this Cabernet Sauvignon with 100% natural acid. 5,040 cases produced.”

What I Think:

After going through quite a bit of the Allure de Robles I was happy to give another Rabbit Ridge offering a try. So when I stumbled across this one at Trader Joe’s it quickly made its way into the cart. Upon arriving home I was keen to find out how much TJ’s saved me this time as the previous bottle was 50% less than the winery price. This time around I arrived at the site to find a notice that this one was only selling at Trader Joe’s for $5.99. Guessing I don’t have much sway but let me at least let me imagine that was because I called them out last time:).

Off the bat this one engulfs you in fruit. On the nose it is loaded with dark fruits with hints of barrel and spice. On the palate you get a lush mouthful of cherry and plum flavors that last into a finish that is only slightly tannic with a bit of mint. I noticed after I finished this one that it has Petite Sirah added which may explain the heavy accentuation of fruit. If you like that then this one is for you. I myself prefer something a bit more restrained and would recommend these as my top three cabernets at Trader Joe’s today:

• 2005 XS Red California Cabernet Sauvignon - $4
• 2004 Columbia Crest Two Vines Cabernet Sauvignon - $6
• 2005 Columbia Crest Grand Estates Cabernet Sauvignon - $8

Let me know what you think!

Rating: Skip It

Price: $5.99 @ Trader Joe’s

What They Said:

Per wine.com “Aromas of truffle, blackberry liqueur and hints of tobacco precede a rich, silky, velvet-textured palate of ripe black fruits and chocolate with a touch of toasty oak on the long, pure finish.” - Juan Munoz Oca, Winemaker

What I Think:

Given my recent success with the Columbia Crest Grand Estates and Two Vines offerings I was curious to see how this old favorite would be after such a bittersweet ending last time around. It quickly became apparent that my fleeting memories were the correct ones. This wine is eminently drinkable but that is about the highest compliment I can pay it. It comes off as made in the laboratory with over the top fruits and a manufactured type of varietal-less appeal. The fruit is big and overwhelming but there isn’t much else going in this one’s favor. You can keep the money in the Chateau Ste. Michelle family but be sure to direct it towards those Columbia Crest bottles. For a $1 less you can get a wine that I would call two times as good. Anyone else out there had both? What do you think?

Rating: Skip It

Price: $3.99 @ Trader Joe’s

What They Said:

Per uncork29.com “A couple weeks back while out doing some shopping, we happened upon a relatively new offering from the The Hess Group, which operates one of our favorite wineries here in the valley–The Hess Collection up on beautiful Mount Veeder. It seems as though the 2005 vintage produced a lot of Cabernet Sauvignon, some excess as it were, which Hess has turned into its $6 XS Red 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon. Never one to pass up trying something new, we bought a bottle and gave it a shot with our homemade pizza. At 13.5% alcohol, the wine was soft on the nose and very fruit forward on the palate. We got hints of plum, blackberry and bell pepper and found it to have a somewhat disappointing finish. All told though, for six bucks you can’t really go wrong with the XS Red for any everyday table wine type-deal”

What I Think:

As mentioned I got the inside scoop on this one from the good people over at letsgokings.com and headed out to track it down. Nearby we have a Trader Joe’s and Cost Plus next door to each either. Upon arrival I ran into Cost Plus to check some things out and as always ended up taking a look at the wine. Low and behold saw this bottle for $5.99. I was on my way to Trader Joe’s next but given that I had my 2 year old son with me I wasn’t coming back to get this one if they didn’t have it next door. So I forked over the $6 just in case. Get next door, they have it, $3.99. I don’t know about you but if I am working at Cost Plus I am taking this bottle out of peoples’ hands and sending them next door. I couldn’t live with that on my conscience. Again I ask, Trader Joe’s how do you do it!

Shortly after I get it home I twist off the screw cap and am greeted with green pepper aromas on the nose. This triggers warning bells for me. In my uneducated mind I attribute this two ways. To fresh wine that has been bottled recently and needs to settle. Or to wine that is just not good. Given the results that follow we know this is indeed a worthwhile effort so “fresh” must be the correct answer in this case. On the palate the wine is fruit forward, but not in an overpowering way which is so often typical in lower priced offerings to hide all of the other flaws. Flavors of plum and dark currant were laid over heavy barrel notes leading to a smoky, spicy finish with just a tinge of green pepper. On day 2, the green pepper was gone from both the nose and the finish making it even that much more pleasant. This wine is very straight forward, a perfect quaffer. Only one question remains, is this declassified juice from the Hess Collection better than the $2.99 Red Flyer offering from Hahn Estates. That is a question I will be happy to answer for you. In the meantime grab a bottle of each and let me know what you think!

Rating: Buy It

Price: $7.99 @ Trader Joe’s

What They Said:

Per wine.com “Spice, blackberries and cassis aromas fill the nose followed by a medium-bodied, concentrated and satin textured mid-palate; the long finish offers silky tannins and dark chocolate notes.” - Ray Einberger, Winemaker

What I Think:

After running through all the Two Vines offerings from Columbia Crest I decided to take a step up the ladder and try the Grand Estates offering of the Cabernet to see if the extra $2 could be justified over the comparable Two Vines Cab bottling. That one was an ’04 and this an ’05 so not exactly an apples to apples comparison but insightful none the less. Both are the same alcohol percentage (13.5%) and similar in acidity levels. The Grand Estates was crushed with 25% whole berries and was aged in 1/3 new oak for sixteen months (versus fourteen months in “lightly” oaked barrels). Know let’s see if we can make sense out of any of this.

With pork chops on the menu the cork on this one was pulled. Spice and black fruit were apparent on the nose with herb notes (likely from not destemming before crushing) lingering in the background. On the palate the wine immediately appears toastier (guessing this is attributable to the differences in barreling). On top of the toast the fruit is well rounded and starts to intermingle with spice towards the middle of the palate before giving way to a long tingling finish ending with a hint of mint. All in all, this one is not as fruit forward as the Two Vines bottling. It is almost as if it is trying to give the illusion of more complexity but I am not buying.

This was tough to rate because without its counterpart it has “Buy It” potential but in light of the competition I can’t recommend it over the Two Vines. Perhaps I’ll grab both again though and do a true side by side tasting. Maybe I’ll even get crazy and do it blind!

Rating: 12th Bottle

Price: $5.99 @ Trader Joe’s

What They Said:

Per wine.com on the 2004 Columbia Crest Two Vines Cabernet Sauvignon: “This minimally oaked Cabernet Sauvignon offers fruit-forward aromas and flavors of slight cherry and blueberry throughout. The balance of fruit and soft oak provides a lingering finish with hints of cocoa.” -Ray Einberger, Winemaker

What I Think:

The Columbia Crest Two Vines varietal tour continues with this being the fourth offering I have sampled. Having been pleased with the previous three bottles I had promised to grab the Cab next and as a man of my word am here to report even more good news.

This one makes itself known as soon as you pull the cork. The nose has strong aromas of dark, black fruit with just a hint of chocolate. On the palate this same fruit is lush and readily apparent. As the tasting profile continues the flavors evolve to vanilla and toast (usually barrel induced) leading to a nice velvety finish.

As I said last time, if you are newer to wine or know someone that is point them to these Columbia Crest Two Vines offerings as a way to get a good lay of the land. I’m going to try the rest of them, maybe the Chard will be next!

Rating: Buy It

Price: $3.99 @ Trader Joe’s imported by Scott Street Portfolio

What They Said:

Per the distributor or at least I thought so. As you can see her no links for the 2004 Cab nor the ‘03. I emailed them to see if they had anything but no response. Wonder what gives. Nothing to be found anywhere on the internet for the ‘04. I remember hearing about them going bankrupt. Is that it? Think the sold the whole lot to TJ’s?

What I Think:

This one was a surprise which makes my experience described above even more confounding. I know this winery is located in Western Australia in the Margaret River region. Given that the rest of their bottlings are from this area I am guessing the majority of the fruit for this one must be as well. On the nose you get loads of dark fruit with hints of pepper and spice. The fruit follows in the mouth with spicy overtones leading through to a finish of black fruits that lingers nicely. This wine isn’t complex but it is quaffable and enjoyable. Not sure you can ask for much more at $4. It’s also a screwcap to boot!

Rating: Buy It

Price: $4.99 @ Trader Joe’s imported by Palm Bay Imports

What They Said:

Per wine.com on the 2006 Santa Rita 120 Cabernet Sauvignon: “Surprisingly powerful and rich in fruit for its price, this offers black currant and cassis over youthfully rustic tannins. Give it some pork.” -Wines & Spirits “Value Picks”

What I Think:

The Wine & Spirits write up perked my hopes on this one. That said quaffability didn’t say much about this but one word can be pretty powerful!

With my expectations significantly lower I popped the cork. The nose is full of nice medium fruit with a bit of dust and spice. Not unlike the Carmenere without the smokiness. On the palate plums prevail before fading to a finish that is attempting to be velvet like with just a hint of tannin. All in all, a perfect quaffer. At this price point I prefer it to the Chalk Creek, you may not. If you prefer fruit this Chalk Creek should be your choice but if you prefer something a bit more diverse give this one a go.

Rating: 12th Bottle

Price: $2.99 @ Trader Joe’s

What They Said:

As typical with these Bronco wines there is not a word to be found on the web. This one has yet to even make it into the blog sphere.

What I Think:

After numerous pleasant experiences with their Gewurztraminer I thought I would branch out and try a few other offerings. I started here. In a word, discouraging. This tasted manufactured, and very poorly so. This wine was very high in acid and showed little to no fruit. Stay away from this one. My branching out experience is likely over.

Rating: Avoid It