Fast facts:
- 2019 Maison Barboulot Cabernet-Syrah $5.49 (@Trader Joe’s; California)
Our featured wine from Trader Joe’s is a three-peat, updated to the 2019 vintage, and it’s every bit as good as we remember it’s predecessors to be. Seems like many of you liked this wine too – it has been our most popular review ever.
It has budged a bit from its usual $4.99 price point (blame tariffs on French wine) but at $5.49 it is still a remarkable value.
Tasting Notes:
The wine strikes a nice balance of old and new world styles. It isn’t as heavy on the drying tannins as you typically get with Cabernet-driven red wines from Bordeaux to the east. On the nose you get ripe red fruit and vanilla along with hints of leather. The wine is best summarized as tasting juicy, smooth, ripe and fruity. It’s very well-balanced. While it is a fruit-driven, there are some hints of sea salt and minerality in the mix as well. It finishes dry with some soft tannins and lingering tart fruit.
Enjoy on its own or pair with grilled meats, burgers or cheesy casseroles.
Wine from the Languedoc-Roussillon region is produced in the south of France, which ranges from the Mediterranean coast to Provence. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Mourvedre, Grenache, and Syrah are some of the most important red grapes in the region.
Most wine producers in this region produce blends, as opposed to single varietal wines. There are some outstanding values to be found in wines from this region. Many excellent red blends from this area retail for well under $20. Then you occasionally find ridiculous $5 values like this one, which puts its Quality to Price Ratio (QPR) off the charts.
At over 500,000 acres, Languedoc-Roussillon is the biggest wine producing region in the world, responsible for over 1/3 of France’s wine production. The two regions that comprise Languedoc-Roussillon produce distinct styles of red wine, although they are often lumped together. The Languedoc is known for fruit-forward and full-bodied wines that can also be quite complex. Roussillon produces riper and juicier blends, as well as late-harvest and fortified wines.
From the bottle:
Nestled at the foothills of the Black Mountains, these vineyards soak up the Mediterranean sun while enjoying cool nights. We have carefully selected the ripest grapes to deliver generous aromas of ripe cherry along with hints of vanilla on the palate and a lingering finish.
It’s been a while since we first reviewed this wine. In fact, it was two and a half years ago (it was the 2016 vintage) – when we featured this wine, along with its white blend twin. You can find them reviewed here.
This is a wine for stocking up and would make a great everyday “house” wine. Throw a couple of bottles in the cart next time you visit Trader Joe’s.
And if your weekend finds you shopping at your local TJ’s, also keep an eye out for our Lucky 13 list of TJ’s wine. It’s a shopping list comprised of our most recent reviews.
If you’re headed to Costco soon, you can find our most recent reviews of Costco wines here in our Lucky 13 list of Costco wine finds.
Cheers!