The Desert Wine Guy - 2016 Bertinelli Estates - Cabernet Sauvignon

   In today's wine review I am going to be taking some of you (and me) back to the mid seventies to mid eighties, back when a television sitcom was meant as a family show and for the most part hadn't yet turned to the perversions that they are today. I am talking about the Sitcom named "One Day At A time'. One of the stars of that show was Valerie Bertinelli. As a young boy I and a million other youg boys of the time totally remember Valerie Bertinelli and how hot she was, and in my opinion still is. We all totally had a huge crush on her. If you were a young boy at that time you also had a crush on her. Today Valerie and all of us who remember her have all grown up, she is still just as hot however and has recently put her name on a series of varietals of wine. This is where The Desert Wine Guy comes in. For Fathers day, one of the things Mrs. Desert Wine Girl bought for me is a mixed (Reds & Whites) case of Bertinelli Estates wine. The case consists of 3 bottles of  the 2016 Bertinelli Estates Sangiovese 3 bottles of the 2016 Bertinelli Estates Cabernet Sauvignon. For the white wines I will be receiving 3 bottles of he 2017 Bertinelli Estates Rose and 3 bottles of the 2016 Bertinelli Estates Chardonnay. The total for this case with shipping which was $138 and comes out to $10.42 a piece. Mrs. desert Wine Girl purchased the case from QVC (http://www.qvc.com/Vintage-Wine-Estates-Valerie-Bertinelli-12-Bottle-Set.product.M57631.html). If after reading my review of the wine and you are interested in buying it I would suggest going through QVC as the Windsor Vineyards page (https://www.windsorvineyards.com/bertinelli-estates-12-bottle-set-all-reds) which is who makes the wine is selling the same 12 bottle (case) set selling for $279. By the way no, I am not being compensated for this review. Doing some further digging I discovered that she is going through a company named Vintage Wine Estates (https://www.vintagewineestates.com/) which owns Windsor Vineyards. You do have the options of purchasing Reds or Whites as well and you also have the option of choosing a scheduled delivery every 4 months for two years or a one time purchase. Bertinelli Estates was founded in 2017 and while Mrs. Bertinelli attempts to portray by the wines label that there is an actual Bertinelli Estates, in reality there is in fact no such place, it is merely for marketing purposes.

   For general information I will tell you that the Rose is a blend of 50% Barbera and 50% Zinfandel and comes in at 12.5% Alcohol. The Chardonnay is 85% Chardonnay, 14% Pinot Grigio and 1% Muscat and comes in at 12.5 % Alcohol as well. The Cabernet Sauvignon is 96% Cab, 3% Merlot and 1% Mouvedre. The Alcohol percentage on this wine is 13.5%. The Sangiovese is 97% Sangiovese, 2% Merlot and 1% Syrah. The Alcohol percentage on this wine is 12.5%

   Let's go ahead now discuss the Cabernet Sauvignon a little bit as that is the what this review is all about. Starting off I can tell you that the wine is thankfully sealed using a Cork and not a Screw-cap, this is a good thing. The label seems well thought out and I want to add that the Crest on it is actually the family Crest of the Bertinelli family. On the back is a saying that her parents had and that I absolutely love, it goes like this "Family is first, food is love.and wine is for memories". In my glass the wine was fairly light in color and there was no issue with seeing the bottom of my glass. On the nose the wine exposes notes of Oak, Blackberry and even a very nice note of Caramel as well. Overall the nose is nice in my opinion rather impressive for a wine that I honestly didn't expect much from. Moving to how this wine presented itself on my Palette now. I will tell you flat out guy that I am liking this wine and am also pleasantly surprised. It appears that my mind has been changed.

A sweetish cherry is first on the Palette. Now, when I say sweetish I am by no means refer to a simple sugary note. What I am describing is the Cherries that you buy in the store in the produce section. The Cherries that when perfectly ripe present that fresh, dark Cherry note which is not cheap and sugary but flavorful and forward. Tannins, (yes I said Tannins) are present in this wine as well. They are not super soft or ultra smooth and I happen to like mt reds with some Tannins that I can taste. Don't be scared away here as the Tannins present are one one hand as I said, not soft but on the other hand they are not harsh or astringent either. These are the Tannins of a wine that can age for a few (5-6) more years and still present the wine as one of distinction and a wine that can stand to decanting for an hour or so if you like. Valerie says that the wine is "approachable" and that she doesn't like a red with Tannins, she certainly holds true to her word. The wine is certainly on one hand approachable and on the other is good enough for fairly serious wine drinkers who desire a great tasting Cabernet Sauvignon.

   For lovers of oak in their reds, you will be very happy as the wine has a decent amount of an Oak note as well. Once again, nothing overblown or dominating but one that is noticed and pleasing. The oak note which seems to not always be present helps the other notes become rather smooth but also allows them to retain an edge to themselves. That is where this wine seems to be comfortable in itself as well as it's presentation. Cocoa lovers, you will be happy as well as there is that note presented pretty nicely. Once again the Cocoa is not exactly soft but certainly as with the oak does not try to dominate the Palette. This Cocoa is simply presented in a strength to require working along side one another and WITH the other notes and not in competition with them. There is a nice sense of a semi darkness on the Palette and the Blackberry note that is present here helps that feeling along rather nicely. About the only negative.....well....not really, is the fact that there is a hair / touch of a fruit forwardness note that by a hair, edges the wine toward the sweeter side. Covering for this and subduing it to a large extent however are the other notes which are present. Let's talk about the Chocolate that I think meshes wonderfully with that slight bit of fruit forwardness. Together the Chocolate and the other notes are like a Husband & Wife that never fight and each simply compliment one another. The Chocolate note also sometime becomes hidden as it seems to soften around the other notes and enhance them to the point that your Palette will sometimes loose track of it. I wish you could all do the following little exercise.

   Take some of this wine in your mouth, gently swirl it around. Do you notice your mouth getting juicy as the wine hits all the Taste-buds? Did you notice that there is a note of Pepper that is not sharp, Acidic or overpowering and at the same time, absolutely intriguing?  Did you notice that the Chocolate that I discussed is sensed deep within the wine and acts more to enhance the wine rather then try to dominate it? I actually sat back for a minute and participated in my own experiment and found it to be very satisfying. Thanks to Mrs. Desert Wine Girl, I didn't have to imagine I had the advantage over you guys as I actually had the wine in my hand and in my mouth. I will address this in the following closing Paragraph. One last item here. The mouth feel of this wine is way above the average for this level of wine. Well, it's time. I have nothing more to put out and it is time for my closing comments so let's go ahead and get to it.
   Folks as I said, this case of wine was a present from Mrs. Desert Wine Girl for Fathers Day and as such I thought it was a really cool gift. My Wife put thought into this gift as wine is obviously an interest of mine and I appreciate that and love her for knowing me so well. I am not normally one to buy a product simply because a celebrity endorses or a in this case, has a hand in creating it. In this particular case, crush or no crush, Mrs. Bertinelli has her likes and dislikes as do I. Once I knew that Mrs. Desert Wine Girl had ordered Mrs. Bertinellis wine however I did watch her video on it. I found it educational as well as interesting and liked that she says she actually blended the wines herself. If this indeed is the case I have to say that she did a great job on this Cabernet.

   Well having said let me close this review out. Please, do not let the statement on the bit of fruit forwardness scare you away from this wine. That particular note to this wine merely assisted other notes to achieve higher greatness and should not be misinterpreted as to remove anything from the craftsmanship of this wine. There is that sense of depth to this wine that I found very surprising and yet welcoming on the Palate and the soul. It is bold in a way and holds it's own very nicely against tons of wines of the same varietal and that sell at the same price ($10) point and higher . I highly recommend this wine and on The Desert Wine Guy point scale I give it 92 points.

                                                                                                                  The Desert Wine Guy
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