Guys welcome back to my wine blog. Today we are going to be talking about a fairly inexpensive Cabernet Sauvignon that I bought at my local Supermarket. It seems as of late that I am finding all my wines at the local Supermarket actually. I guess I like the convenience of doing my shopping and picking up some wine at the same time. I will tell you that the pickings, however, are getting rather slim as there are some wines they carry that I simply have no interest in such as Barefoot & Sutter Home to name just two. Well anyway, there I was having a rather hard time finding a wine that I might want when my eyes suddenly locked onto this particular one due to its striking label. Although I wasn't really looking for red wine, I simply couldn't resist it. So, here I am a few days later now sitting out back by the pool and for some reason, I am dying to taste the wine so let's get right into this review.
So as I was saying in the opening paragraph, my eyes locked onto this wine as the label is that enticing. If there ever was a wine whose label needed to be talked about this is definitely this one. At first, I thought this wine was one of those new-fangled "fad" type reds that are being made in old Bourbon Barrels but after reading the label a little closer I realized thankfully that was not the case although the winery does make a Cab that does sit in Bourbon Barrels for a time.
Let's begin by finding out a little about this wine. I'll start off by telling you that the alcohol percentage for this wine is slightly higher than normal for the varietal and comes in at 14.9%. The wine is part of the Shannon Ridge (
https://shannonridge.com/our-wines/) line up of wines and the Winemaker for the wine is Joy Merrilees. The grapes for this wine come from the Red Hills in the AVA of Lake County, Ca and there were only 11,000 cases of this wine made. The wine is a small blend being 80% Cabernet Sauvignon & 20% Petite Sirah and sat in both American as well as French Oak for 12 months. The bottle is also thankfully Cork sealed, no screw cap here. Let's move now to discussing the label on this wine bottle.
Folks, in my opinion, the label absolutely SCREAMED "classic Cabernet Sauvignon. Now, I do think the name on the label is rather odd and taken by itself, I wouldn't care for it but combine it all together into this package and WOW! Guys just look at the Fonts and the size of those Fonts which are used for the name "Buck Shack", is that not crazy great? I love the drawing of the Buck to go with the name as well. As I continue to look at the label (and as I have already said) I see that this is another wine from the AVA of Lake County, California and I have to say that I have been rather impressed with that area as of late at least as far as red wine goes. The way everything is placed on the label has been so well thought out folks. Admittedly, this is a busy label and there is a lot going on here but it all tells you something cool about the wine. As for the back label, It is very well designed as well although a lot less busy and there is actually an explanation of where the "Buck Shack" name came from, it is an old Bourbon Shack located on the property.
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| Joy Merrilee, Winemaker, Shannon Ridge |
Let's talk about what this wine looks like for a minute. On the Pour, the wine displays a fierceness of sorts as it displays itself a nice dark Burgundy. As I look further at the wine as it is sitting in my glass now, I can just barely see through it to the white paper underneath it. There is the tiniest bit of a clear edge to the wine but just the tiniest bit. As far as "Legs" go there were a lot and they were fairly thick and dripped rather quickly.
Now I get even closer to tasting the wine. Here is where I talk about the Bouquet of this wine. First up and extremely nice is a good bit of a rustic Cigar Box Note. This was actually rather a
surprise to me as I just didn't expect that Note to come from this fairly inexpensive a
wine. Following this Note up are the Notes of both Raspberry & Cranberry and they are attempting to convince me that this wine could possibly have some complexity to it but they also bring some hints that this could possibly be a wine with rather nice depth to it. As a final Note here on the Bouquet I must include a nice bit of Cocoa which is rather apparent and most definitely enjoyed yet certainly is not overdone. I have one final thought here and that is, on one hand, nothing on the Nose of this wine rushes out in what I would call "attack" mode yet, on the other hand, these Notes are very effectively presented and I am certainly enjoying them.
Now, folks, I get to tell about what the wine tastes like because you can have the most beautiful label and the nicest smelling wine but if the wine itself is badly made what good is it all? So, let me take a few sips of this wine and I'll get back with you....... Okay, I'm back and......WOW!! This is a $15 wine guys, who would have thought? I am truly at a loss for words here and I don't know where to start. I'll just cut to the chase here and let you know that I want....no....need to tell you my rating of this wine right upfront. On The Desert Wine Guy rating scale, I am giving this wine a
straight to the top 96 points. How about that for cutting to the chase? I'm not going to play any games here guys, the wine very simply, rocks. At this point, I have had the opportunity to have taken quite a few sips of this wine and have had time to sit back and think about what I was tasting as well, and what I have tasted is a true powerhouse of a wine. Now even though I have given so much away so early, I guess I will back this review up a bit and start from the beginning of the tasting. Leading off here are two simply phenomenal notes of both Cassis & rustic Cigar Box. These Notes coat the Tongue wonderfully but not so heavily as to hinder you from tasting everything else the wine is ready to throw out at you. For all of you "Old School" Cabernet Sauvignon lovers, this is your wine. That rustic Cigar Box Note that I got on the Nose translates smoothly right over onto the Palate and nicely intermixes with that Cassis to thrust both Notes out front as the lead Palate Notes of the wine. Following very quickly on the heels of these Notes is a robust and effective Black Pepper spice, I guess it would be fair to go ahead and add the Note in with the other two as Notes which lead off this wine and form the dominant Notes which steer the Palate presentation of this wine. These Notes envelop your Palate with that classic Cabernet Sauvignon power that made the varietal famous in the first place and shows why it earned the title "The King of Reds".
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| Big Valley AVA Lake County |
Just as your mouth is taking these three Notes in and enjoying them there is another Note which comes into play and that Note is one of fresh Blackberry and it is almost as prominent but still just as amazing as the first three Notes are. Amazingly there is no clash of flavors here so don't think that your Palate is pulled or tugged in different ways as it is not. When combined, all of these Notes are just very simply classicly amazing as well as ripe, juicy & delicious. So, $15 huh? I'm sorry guys but I can't get over it. Please allow me to continue. A wonderfully smooth bit of Cocoa is present and also brings with it just a tad bit of richness however it is so very properly placed. Have you ever tasted a wine and picked up a Note in it that would be so much better if placed at another point in that wine? If you have then rest assured, that is not the case here. Getting back for a second to the word "richness" that I used, I don't want to scare anyone who loves a real Cabernet Sauvignon (me)
as this Note of richness is not able to overpower any of the other Notes
nor does it gain any traction in doing what it normally does to a red wine which is to drag that wine into a fruit-forward, sweetness type Hell. I say all this because I don't want you guys to shy away from this wine thinking that it is a fruit bomb because that is definitely not the case. Yes, the wine does present the ever so slightest bit of fruit forwardness but I do mean the ever so slightest bit and it acts as more of an opportunity to add a certain level of juiciness then anything else. As I said, the wine is not sweet nor is it a Generation Z (21-23-Year-olds) type of red wine. It is not for the new to drinking generation who is just so happy to be getting drunk that they will drink a Boones Farms type wine or something along that line and love it, no, this is a class act. As I continue to experience this wine I am without a doubt enjoying a tremendous succulence and juiciness that makes that previously mentioned black peppery spice even better, the wine has this opulence to it and I'm in Heaven. Guys, I'm not done by any means describing this wine. As I continue on here I can't forget to mention some rather fairly big-time Baking Spice that jumps right out at you and it is wonderfully delicious beyond belief. Okay folks, I have to tell you a bit of an insider secret. While reviewing this wine I had to stop but NOT because the wine was bad, perhaps it was due to the alcohol content and the fact that I hadn't eaten recently, I don't know but I did not find it a drawback in any way. The wine was left with a stopper in the Mouth of the bottle to prohibit any air from ruining it and today I am back to complete this review so let's pick up where I
left off yesterday. Getting back to the Baking Spice, I just love how that Note intermingles with the Blackberry I mentioned above, it is to the point of being outstanding without a doubt. I wish you folks could just taste this wine right now. Alright, guys, one last thing I want to discuss and that is Tannins. Did you say, Tannins there DWG? Yes, that is what I said. These are not
the Tannins of a wine that was just created and can sit for another 20
years but they certainly are the Tannins of a wine that can be cellared and was superbly made with a future in mind as well as a wine which is deadly serious about itself. These Tannins also bring a dark astringency of sorts to the wine but not to the point where you will be scraping them off of your Tongue. This astringency blends just superbly with everything else this wine has to present to you especially that Black Pepper.
Guys, I could probably go on here but I think you have got the point. With that being said, let's get to the conclusion of this review as I realize it is a rather long one.
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| Shannon Ridge Winery |
This is a powerful and complex wine indeed and presents a great sense of attitude in what it brings to the Palate. I have to say though that I am rather disappointed but not surprised that this wine is not reviewed more then it is. I have only found one wine magazine/reviewer talking about and reviewing this wine, perhaps there was no money paid (oops, did I say that). When I drink this wine I get the feeling of enjoying a Cab from the likes of the Peju, BV, or even the Stags Leap Wineries, Yes, the wine is that serious. I bet you if you put a paper bag around the bottle and presented it at your next wine tasting party against any one of those Napa Valley Cabs I mentioned asking your guests what they thought of it and how much they think the wine cost, they would be in amazement of the wine and give price guesses of at least $75, guaranteed. This wine, especially at the price of $15 makes me think that it was made by a new Winemaker who truly knows their stuff and hasn't been picked up by a Napa Valley Winery just yet. I suggest that Shannon Ridge hold on to Mrs. Merrilee because she is going to bring great things to the winery in the future, in fact, she already has as evidenced in the creation of this wine. The wine very simply rocks, it is outstanding, it is the real deal, it is what a Cabernet Sauvignon should be. Don't let the price fool you because this is a "sleeper" and will eventually come to people's attention as will the Winemaker. I have already given my rating on this wine so I will end this review with the fact that I am going out tomorrow to buy at least two more bottles.
The Desert Wine Guy
P.S - Just prior to the posting of this article I was able to pick up only one bottle of this lovely wine as that was all that was left (even the winery is sold out) and it is currently happily aging in my Wine Cellar.
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Moving on now to the label of this wine, I like it. I think the design is perfect and goes so very well with the color of the bottle as well as with my knowledge of the varietal of wine that is in the bottle. I love the picture of the Chateau on the label and think it is in proper proportion to everything else on the label. I also think the gold label around the neck of the bottle adds a nice touch.
This Malolactic Fermentation which is in reality not really a Fermentation at all as it doesn't use yeast, is usually tasted in this varietal as a sometimes oily/buttery type Note and in this wine, it is a good bit overdone for my liking. Many times expressions of this varietal are known for this oily/butteriness when allowed to sit for a long time in oak, some like it and others such as myself, do not, especially when presented to the extent it is here. As I continue on now, I am getting a slightly sugary Golden Apple and a nice bit of Stone Fruit as well. A big-time spice Note is present on the Palate and is one of the few positive aspects of the wine. The wine also exhibits a type of creaminess on the Palate that is instrumental in its presentation and is rather nice and enjoyable as well. The wine, unfortunately, however, fails in its presentation overall as it does not possess any level of crispness or acidity nor does it poses any amount of lemon or grapefruit to it, I think the varietal should exhibit these Notes as a given. As I continue here I have to tell you that the wine displays an overdone level of sweetness/tropicalness that is certainly a fault and out of place to be a good representation of the varietal.
