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Not responsive to the OP, but the Charles Smith Substance Merlots labelled “Me” (they make a Northridge and a Stoneridge version) are really good…and much better than the base-level Cab. Problem is, they run closer to $29-$33.
I know effectively nothing about Cabernet in this market segment, but if this is largely a newbie audience, then I’d be surprised if the correct answer were not “What is Treana for $19.99, Alex?”.
Newbies go nuts for Treana.
And Treana might even be sufficiently powerful to duke it out toe-to-toe with the cuisine in question here.
[It would require industrial quantities of mono-sodium-glutamate to defeat Treana in a fair fight.]
Allow me to repeat myself: Newbies go nuts for Treana.
[And they’re in hog heaven when you upgrade them to the Austin Hope Reserve - you could serve that to the bridal party - although be forewarned that after throwing back a 6oz pour of AHR, your bridesmaids will completely abandon any & all pretense of decorum.]
+1 on the educated guess. In terms of fruit, acid, and tannins, I’d call it middle of the road. I recently had the 17 and it was a substantial improvement over the 14, 15, and 16. It really shines in the $20 cab department.
Camp by Hobo is decent. It can be hard to find unless you order it directly from them. Coincidentally, they make a gewurtztraminer under their banyan label that specifically for pairing with south East Asian cuisine.
Broadside is no longer the value it used to be. A few years ago they moved the single vineyard bottling up market and introduced an AVA bottling that’s not nearly as good.
And though not what you’re looking for—my wife and I got married during the summer and instead of pouring a white and red, we went with a lighter and a richer rosé as analogs for the white and red.
Involuntary Commitment, a cabernet blend from the Columbia Valley and made by Andrew Will, was a great find for me last year. I paid $19 a bottle. Not Californian of course but some tasty juice nonetheless.
When I got married I had to get the wines from a particular supplier and also stick closely to a set price point. So I picked out a dozen contenders and hosted a blind tasting amongst friends. It was a lot of fun and the runaway winner was one I hadn’t expected to get anywhere (I was the only person tasting who knew what the wines were). So it’s a great chance to throw a few outliers into the mix!
Tuck Beckstoffer’s 75 Cab.
Agree this is a solid. Isn’t this a newer project?
Agree…New winemaker for 2017… ![[berserker.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/8/8600bbd4810d342b8fbd4ffb62b4f0026275fd37.gif "berserker"){kind=small}
I had this wine multiple times over the years and always thought it was decent. However, I tried the 2016 last year and was really turned off by a strange taste - seemed like something artificial. May have just been me, but the wine did go on sale at 30% off soon thereafter and I haven’t revisited the 2016 or any other vintage since then. Cheers!
I had this wine multiple times over the years and always thought it was decent. However, I tried the 2016 last year and was really turned off by a strange taste - seemed like something artificial. May have just been me, but the wine did go on sale at 30% off soon thereafter and I haven’t revisited the 2016 or any other vintage since then. Cheers!
Have not tried the 16 but really enjoyed the 17.
Nice thread. I just ordered a mixed case of the above recommendations. I don’t want to open a $60-$100 bottle of cab every time we want wine with a weekday dinner - nice to have some wines that seem reasonably good for $20.
I drink tons of Cali cab with asian food. I like big reds, and I have a protein deficiency and can’t eat red meat, so I drink it all the time with “bad” pairings–haven’t died yet. As for a sub-$20 cab, I’d second the suggestion to hit Costco and make a Saturday afternoon out of tasting their $20 cabs–might be fun? I’d have plenty of ideas at twice the budget (some Costcos in Cali have Double Diamond @ $39/btl), but Cali cab isn’t exactly a QPR play … what about Chile? $20 for cab goes much farther there…
Interesting, I might have to try one…
For < $20, I like the substance cabs, St. Michelle Indians Wells, and the Lobo Hills Right Bank Blend.