Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon - $19.99

Wine Details

Price: $19.99
Producer: Alexander Valley Vineyards
Region: Alexander Valley
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon
Container Size: 750 ML
Flavors: berry, butter, camphor, cinnamon, earth, menthol, nuts, nutty
  • Red Wine
Add to Cart Add Case
Add to Tasting Journal

Product Description

  • In the glass, the 2007 Estate Cabernet displays big aromas of black cherry, cassis, cocoa powder and plum and flavors of cassis, black cherry and plum along with soft, integrated tannins. This is certainly a great wine to serve with beef, whether braised short ribs or a Tuscan steak rubbed with olive oil and rosemary.

Expert Ratings

Ratings   Vintage Source Flavors
Tastings - 88 Details: Deep garnet purple color. Camphor, brown butter, roasted nuts, and red clay aromas. A supple entry leads to a dryish medium-to-full body of tangy dark berry, menthol, cinnamon, and tilled earth flavors with a long nutty, tannic fade. 2005 Tastings berry, butter, camphor, cinnamon, earth, menthol, nuts, nutty
CGCW - 84 Details: Showing a quick bit of youthful fruit and herbs in the nose and similarly stinting in flavor, this clean, but slightly coarse offering takes a turn to acidy stiffness in mid-palate and pinches off to puckery tannins at the end. 2004 CGCW cherry, cola, spice
WineSpectator - 82 Details: Easy enough to drink, but rather generic, with cherry spice and cola aromas and flavors. Drink now. 6,300 cases made. 2003 WineSpectator
2002 WineSpectator bell pepper, cherry, toast
CGCW - 84 Details: Fairly intense but a bit off the mark with its contradictory mix of jammy ripeness and acidy greenness, this coarsely constructed effort is shot through with herbs, and it finishes with angles and edges to spare. 2002 CGCW herbs, jammy
CGCW - 85 Details: On the one hand sweet and slightly creamy, but on the other bothered by wispy touches of green-bean vegetation, this well-balanced wine shows scattered suggestions of cherries but in the end plays a just little too fast and loose with clearly defined Cabernet character. 2002 CGCW cherries
2002 WineSpectator
CGCW - 84 Details: It is not unusual in our experience to find a slightly angular edge in Ferrari-Carano wines, but this one is higher than normal and what is often a bit of complexity has here turned into a decided distraction to the ripe black cherry fruit that occupies the wine's heart. The wine has a plump, inviting feel at entry before taking on a narrower, sharper quality in the latter palate and finish. On the whole, this one is not trustworthy. 2002 CGCW dried berry
WineSpectator - 87 Details: Well-proportioned, with a tasty mix of ripe plum and blackberry fruit accented by spicy, cedary oak and a hint of anise and sage, holding its focus and ending with supple tannins. Drink now through 2009. 2,000 cases made. –JL 2001 WineSpectator oak, spice
WineSpectator - 87 Details: Ripe and supple, with currant and blackberry flavors folding gracefully into cedary, vanilla-scented oak. Round tannins accent a stylish finish. Drink now through 2007. 1,026 cases made. – 2001 WineSpectator blackberry, currant, oak
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ...

Food Pairings

Category Pairing
Cheese Blue Cheese, Provolone, Brie
Red Meat Roast Beef, Barbeque Pulled-Pork or Ribs, Veal Carpaccio, Game, Sausage, Variety Meats or Organ Meats, Kidney
Poultry & Eggs Game Birds
Vegetables Potatoes, Roasted Mixed Vegetables
Fish or Shellfish Sea Bass
Sauces Red Wine Sauce
Herbs & Spices Basil, Mint, Oregano, Rosemary, Thyme

Wine Terms

Name Value
Cabernet Sauvignon (cab er nay saw vee nyon)—This highly adaptable grape grows almost anywhere it is relatively warm, but the best wines come from the Burgundy region of France (where it is a noble variety), California, and Australia. It became famous through the red wines of the Médoc district of Bordeaux and is now grown in Washington, southern France, Italy, Australia, South Africa, Chile, and Argentina. Cabernet Sauvignon grapes make wines that are high in tannin and medium- to full-bodied. Usually identified as having black currant or cassis flavors, the grape can also possess vegetal tones when the grapes are less than ideally ripe. The best wines are rich and firm with great depth, and are often aged for fifteen years or more. Because it is highly tannic, Cabernet Sauvignon is often blended with other less-tannic grapes such as Merlot.
Sonoma Like its neighbor Napa, Sonoma is a small area filled with independent wineries and characterized by microclimates that vary according to the topography. The coolest parts of Sonoma are the fog-filled south, where the grape varieties are Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Northwards up the valley the climate warms and provides a good base for Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel. In general Sonoma wines are less dramatically flavorful than those of Napa. Cabernet Sauvignon is relatively soft, with blackcurrant fruit, minty and eucalyptus perfume, and some soft buttery oak. Zinfandel ranges from soft and gulpable to massive bramble and pepper styles. Chardonnay is rich and juicy, especially from the Russian River, and Sauvignon Blanc can be zingy and grassy. Most Sonoma wines have a freshness and a soft edge which makes them very suitable for drinking on their own, however they partner well with strongly flavored fish and meat dishes. The old-style Zinfandels are delicious with spicy cuisine.
United States Wineries exist in all fifty states, but the most predominant (and best) wine comes from Northern California, Oregon, and Washington State, with New York gaining a foothold in the industry. American wines make up about 75% of all wine sales in the US. The appellation system uses the term AVA (American Viticultural Area) to determine where wines were produced, but grape varieties can be planted anywhere in the country. American wineries generally use varietal labeling, and government regulations require that the variety on the label must make up at least 75% of the blend (in Oregon it’s 90%). The words reserve, special selection, private reserve, classic, and so on have no legal definition in the US. Some wineries use these terms to indicate their better wines; others use the words as a marketing tool to move lower quality wines off the shelf.
California California produces the majority of wine made in the United States. Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, Zinfandel and Pinot Noir dominate the wine production in California, but many other varietials thrive in the California climate. Many fine wines are produced in California using Mediterranean grapes.

Tasting Notes

Please login to view your personal tasting notes.Login