Gentle Readers,
According to the label on the Raymond Hill bottle.....
A classic red wine, our Cabernet Sauvignon appeals to the senses with layers of fresh blackberry jam, cassis, mint, and cloves. Vanilla and smoke flavors round out the rich Cabernet character leading to a long, velvety finish.
That, of course, is nothing more than rank hyperbole, dreamed up in some marketing meeting to sell a marginal wine. But, the wine, which is not to be confused with Raymond wines, is actually drinkable.
The first reaction on popping the cork is BLEAAHHHHHH! An overwhelming taste of sickly sweet (sometimes billed as cherry) culminates in an urge to dump the stuff down the drain. But hang loose for a while, let the wine breath, and it opens up. Have a little more patience and you can actually taste the smoke.
Now here's the kicker, this stuff is $4.99 a bottle. Not an ordinary bottle but an industrial size magnum bottle--the equivalent of two ordinary bottles.
You can find it at Trader Joes, like I did this morning (Frank got the Ruffino Classico and Rod got the Franciscan Cab). Hey, for $4.99 you can take a chance. And, It's better than Two-Buck Chuck.
UPDATE: Being better than Two-Buck Chuck isn't going to win you a prize and TWC ended up dumping the rest of the Raymond Hill down the drain.
As Ever,
TWC
Tag: cheap cabernet
Photo Credit (unless otherwise noted): ©TWC, all rights reserved
