2007 Trader Joe's Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Reserve

This seemed to fit the bill for a Friday night…until we decided to order Chinese takeout at least. LOL! Definitely wasn’t the best pairing, but we’re not big into pairing anyway, and this was all about checking to see if this was a decent QPR at $12. This was another ’07 cab I picked up at Trader Joe’s in Princeton. Picked a few bottles of this up just to see how it was. Worse case, it can always be used for cooking.

Popped and poured, with a nice deep dark color in the glass. The nose wasn't all that complex, but it did have a nice nose of blackberry and other dark fruits, as well as some sweet oak and spice.

On the palate, this was a decent new world cab for the money, and definitely good enough to cook with. Nice jammy dark fruits and some sweet vanilla. Definitely a new world cab, but a very pleasurable quaffer. Chewy tannins on the finish, and alcohol that is pretty well integrated. This isn't bad in the least for $12, and I'd buy more for a week night drinker. 86 points. Cheers!