Price: $7
Maker: Napa Ridge Winery, Napa, California
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon
Packaging: 750 ml bottle, natural cork
Alcohol: 12.5%
Our Rating: 9 out of 10
We found Napa Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon 2002 (Lodi, “Coastal Vines”) on the shelf for the incredible sale price of six bucks, and after tasting it we were tempted to leap in our car and see how many bottles were left in the store. We have to admit our bias toward fruit-forward reds that still offer complexity and a good finish. The Napa Ridge cab definitely matched those specs. (Those who prefer a less fruity, more European cab probably won’t like it as well as we did.) Its nose features raspberry, blackberry, and caramel notes. The flavor is full bodied and exceptionally smooth and rounded; fruity berry and cherry predominate, but oak and tannins make it interesting. The finish has a cherry and spice kicker. All in all, this wine shoots to the top of our “very affordable and very drinkable” list. It’s not a cab for the ages, but it can’t miss with dinner or for sipping alone.
The Napa Ridge website is a bit sparse, but it does indicate that others like this wine (though perhaps not as much as we do). The Napa Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon 2002 won a silver medal at the 2006 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, a Critics Award from the 2005 Critics Challenge International Wine Competition , a Double Gold Medal/Sweepstakes award at the 2005 International Eastern Wine Competition , and a gold medal at the 2005 Tasters Guild International Wine Judging.
We don’t rate wines as “9” very often, but we felt this cab rose above some of the others we called 8.5s. The Napa Ridge Lodi cabernet is a great value at well under $10 – give it a try and let us know what you think.
My girlfriend and I love The Napa Ridge cab. The problem is that it’s always out of stock when we go to buy it. Do you know the best store or web site where I can get my hands on this wine.
Dear Boxwines.org,
I am merely a casual wine drinker and possess only the seldom-offered knowledge my father, a rabid wine connoisseur, gave me. In my 28 years I have consumed less than 50 bottles of vino cumulatively. Tonight, I increased that number by one percent as my girlfriend and I shared a bottle of Napa Ridge Lodi, vintage 2002. It was sheer luck that I came across this bargain wine. I buy roughly five bottles of wine a year and the majority are gifts, but this wine may force me to trade in my Budweisers. Exclusively a red drinker, this is one of the finest affordable wines I have ever tasted. As soon as I finished my first glass I wanted to get online and see what it was rated. This is when I came across your site. I was thrilled to see my feelings did not go unfounded, which , in part, is what compelled me to write.
I am from Phoenix, AZ but currently live in Painesville, OH. This is NOT wine drinking country I assure you, which is probably why there was an ample supply of your highly-lauded libation. I read you had trouble finding it and although it may be of no help whatsoever you can find it at Giant Eagle in Painesville, Ohio. There were at least six bottles on the shelf.
Warmest regards,
Steve Maguire
I had been in Santa Cruz drinking a few glases of wine and eating a nice steak and calamari dinner for the latter part of the evening with my girlfriend. When we reached our hotel in San Jose we walked across the street to 7-11 to buy some beer. My girlfriend pointed to a rack and said, “We’ve been drinking wine all night so why don’t we just keep it going?” So, in a 7-11 in San Jose California, I bought a bottle of 2005 Napa Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon for…… $10.99! We poured ourselves a glass each and sterted to watch a movie. (We watched “Dodgeball” by the way. I don’t do the chick flicks!) In any case, our first glass forced us to return to the 7-11 and buy the last 5 bottles in stock!
I live in Temecula, Ca (the Southern California wine country) and have a fondness towards sweet reds. I know wine and I know quality, this is a quality wine. My advice; Find it, buy it, and share it with a beautiful woman. You will both fall to sleep happy!