Fast Facts:
- 2020 Trader Joe’s Grand Reserve Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Lot #95, Sonoma County, California ($12.99 @Trader Joe’s in California)
I am a self-professed insufferable wine snob, but I just have to say that it really bugs me when my California (!) friends say they are going to visit Napa and I discover that they are actually going to Sonoma. I spent a career in both, and they are not synonymous, people.
I may be oversimplying when I say that Napa is more of a mono culture. It is warmer, and they do a fine job with the red Bordeaux varietals, with Napa the reigning king. Sonoma is quite different. Being much closer to the coast, it is a patchwork of micro climates that support a radicially diverse array of wine grapes, and other agriculture for that matter.
The cultures are radically different too. There is a joke in wine country that captures this: “In Sonoma the winemakers drive pick-up trucks. In Napa they drive Jaguars.” Today the winemakers in Napa probably drive Teslas, but you get the point.
While Napa is best known for their world class Cabernet Sauvignon, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t grow over the hill (the Mayacamas Mountain range) in Sonoma. But the styles differ some…
The Alexander Valley is the largest and most fully planted wine region in Sonoma, boasting robust reds that approach the big Cab qualities that made their Napa neighbors famous. Trader Joe’s Grand Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley is a wonderful example of this.’
Tasting Notes:
Pours a translucent ruby, the first sign that this is not a massive, palate-crushing Napa Cabernet. This is a lighter, more food friendly Cab. Red fruits and tobacco on the nose, candied cranberry, currants and blackberry. More full-bodied in the mouth with nice structure and a touch of vanilla, mocha and more red fruit. Firm tannins. Nice long fruity finish. Pour a big glass to pair with a juicy, hot-off-the-grill burger.
Need More Wine Picks from Trader Joe’s – or Costco?
If your search for this wine lands you in Trader Joe’s, take along our handy Lucky 13 list of TJ’s wine here.
And if your wine shopping excursions land you in Costco, prepare by grazing our most recent reviews of Costco wines here in our Lucky 13 list.
Happy hunting.
Cheers!
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