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.
Here is some good background info for you! Same folks who do “Two Buck Chuck” aka Charles Shaw.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronco_Wine_Company
Look at the first 6 digits of the UPC (bar code), 081054 equals Bronco Winery, the purveyors of ‘Two Buck Chuck’, a two dollar wine that drinks like a four dollar wine.
I had an Alexander & Fitch Cabernet while visiting here in Las Vegas, purchased at Trader Joe’s. I live in Austin, Texas, can I purchase this wine anywhere there?