Napa on the cheap? Checking out the latest vintage of the Specially Selected Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon from Aldi.
Primarily Cabernet Sauvignon along with a little Merlot, Malbec, and Petite Sirah from Napa Valley, California. The wine is aged 14 months in French oak barrels.
Today we're checking out the newest vintage of this Aldi staple. The Specially Selected Napa Valley Cabernet is available exclusively at Aldi and still sells for $14.99.
Just like the 2021, the back label says it was bottled by Isolated Cellars, a name we've also seen on a number of Trader Joe's private label wines including the Trader Joe's Oakville Diamond Reserve Cabernet we did not like but also the highly recommended Trader Joe's Platinum Reserve Petit Verdot and the Grand Reserve Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel.
From the bottle:
The wine has aromatics of spring flowers, black currants, forest floor, and a touch of chocolate. On the palate, the wine exhibits exceptional intensity, texture, purity and a full-bodied finish with velvety, but noticeable tannins.
Style: Full-bodied and intense
Flavors: Black currants
Pair With: Beef, poultry, red sauce pasta.Bottled by Isolated Cellars
13.5% Alcohol
The 2022 Specially Selected Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon opens with a pleasing aroma of dark berry fruit, leather, cedar, some herbal notes and a little spice.
Tasting the wine reveals it be smooth with juicy dark fruit and similar flavors to the nose. This is an easy to drink example of Napa Cab. It was also much better on day 1 compared to the 2021 vintage which took a full day of air to come around.
Nice touches of spice lead into the dry, long, juicy and a bit grippy finish. It was just as good on day 2.
2022 Specially Selected Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Check out our Guide to Aldi Wine! Includes information about the business model, how it compares to Trader Joe's and of course all of our recommended wine at Aldi USA!
You can also find more of our favorite Cabernet Sauvignon under $25 here!
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Here's our review of the 2021 vintage:
The 2021 Specially Selected Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon opens with a pleasing aroma of dark berry fruit, leather, cedar and a little spice.
Tasting the wine on day 1 was a bit disappointing to be honest. Smooth and with some juicy dark fruit, it tastes rather basic at first but vastly improves with air.
Nice touches of spice lead into the dry, long, juicy finish. Based on our day 1 tasting we probably wouldn't recommend this one, but by day 2 it gets to an 8 Taste Rating and an Overall Rating of Recommended Buy.
