Price: $11
Maker: Sterling Vineyards, Sonoma, California
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon
Packaging: 750 ml bottle, natural cork
Alcohol: 13.5%
Our Rating: 8.5 out of 10
Sterling Vintner’s Collection Cabernet Sauvignon 2003 is a very pleasant, full bodied cab likely to appeal to both moderately sophisticated and novice wine drinkers. Its aroma has berries, vanilla, and pepper notes. The flavor is very smooth, with blackberry, vanilla, and chocolate notes, leading into a reasonably long finish that brings out the tannins. Let it breathe before drinking – at first tasting, it seemed a bit bland. Some air brought out the flavors nicely.
The Sterling website doesn’t mention the 2003 vintage of their Vintner’s Collection Cabernet Sauvignon, but they DO have movie pairing recommendations for their wines, not to mention pizza topping suggestions.