Box Wines
A wine blog with news and reviews of affordable wines

Price: $6
Maker: Alexander & Fitch Winery, Sonoma, California
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon
Packaging: 750 ml bottle, natural cork
Alcohol: 13.2%
Our Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Alexander & Fitch Cabernet Sauvignon 2003 is another mystery wine from Trader Joe’s, and is apparently a Bronco wine product. Despite that pedestrian lineage, for its price this is a nice red wine. The nose is particularly pleasant, with juicy berries and spice predominating, with hints of leather and tobacco. This is a medium-bodied cab, with cherries and oak up front, a bit of chocolate in the middle, and a surprisingly long, tannic, slightly smoky finish. This wine was unpleasantly sharp upon first tasting, but letting it breathe smoothed it out and brought out the flavor nicely.

Quite a few of the wines offered by Trader Joe’s seem to trace back to Bronco. There’s nothing wrong with this, as we’ve found a number of sub-$10 offerings that were the equals of much more expensive wines. Unfortunately, we lose a bit of color with these wines. There’s no website, no backstory, no links to comments and awards, etc. Half the fun of trying a new wine is learning a bit about its history, and these Bronco offerings seem to have been left on Trader Joe’s doorstep like so many orphans in baskets. Whatever its origins, though, Alexander & Fitch Cabernet Sauvignon 2003 is yet another inexpensive winner from Trader Joe’s.

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