Full Review

Willowbench Vineyard

Willowbench Vineyard
2021 Cabernet Sauvignon, California

Pair this wine with:
Beef Vegetables

Category: Cabernet Sauvignon

Date Tasted:
Country: USA
Alcohol: 13.5% RS: .3%
86 Points
Silver Medal
Highly Recommended
$15
Best Buy

Willowbench Vineyard
2021 Cabernet Sauvignon, California

Pair this wine with:
Beef Vegetables

Category: Cabernet Sauvignon

Date Tasted:
Country: USA
Alcohol: 13.5% RS: .3%
Dusty ruby color. Aromas and flavors of lightly smoked candied black cherry, cocoa nibs, red currants, and mocha/ French oak chips with a velvety, vibrant, dryish medium body and a tingling, captivating, medium-length finish revealing nuances of smoked red plum, red and black cherry, cassis, and french oak espresso bean with medium tannins and light oak flavor. Ripe, New World fruit here with a smoky, cocoa-barrel influence; a crowd pleasing Cali Cab.

Tasting Info

Wine Glass Style: New World
Aroma Aroma: lightly smoked candied black cherry, cocoa nibs, red currants, and mocha/ French oak chips
Taste Flavor: Same as aromas with nuances of smoked red plum, red and black cherry, cassis, and french oak espresso bean
Sweetness Sweetness: Dryish
Enjoy Enjoy: Now with food
Recipes Pairing: Pot Roast, Steak & Potatoes, Beef Stew
Bottom Line Bottom Line: Ripe, New World fruit here with a smoky, cocoa-barrel influence; a crowd pleasing Cali Cab.

The Producer

Splash Wines / Vino Voyage

The Producer

Cabernet Sauvignon

Wine Glass Cabernet.jpg
Serve in a Cabernet Wine Glass
Cabernet Sauvignon is a variety that is the source of some of the world’s most celebrated and longest-lived reds. Grown in many countries, it is most famous in Bordeaux, where it is the principal grape in red Bordeaux as well as in California – especially Napa Valley- where it is labeled by its varietal name.

Cabernet Sauvignon has aromas and flavors of black currant, cassis, black cherry and sometimes plum (in warmer regions or vintages). Quite rich on the palate, the variety is very tannic, giving its wines a bitter edge in their youth, but also providing the wines with great aging potential, with top flight examples drinking well for as long as four or five decades. Given their richness and flavor profile, wines made from Cabernet Sauvignon need to be paired with rich red meats, such as steaks and roasts as well as game.

Besides France and California, other countries with warm growing regions also excel with Cabernet Sauvignon. These include the Maipo and Colchagua Valleys in Chile as well as the Bolgheri district, situated on the coast of Tuscany.