Avalon Napa Valley Cabernet, 2005

A complex, elegant Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon under $15 a bottle? Not possible, right? Wrong!

Normally, I would not dedicate an entire blog post to a single wine, but this bottle inspired me to do so. The 2005 Avalon Napa Valley Cabernet is really something special. Avalon Winery makes only Cabernet and has succeeded in producing an earthy, complex wine under $15 per bottle. Good Napa Cabernet normally does not come cheap - $50+ per bottle is pretty standard.

The 2005 Avalon Napa Valley exhibits dusty, dark fruit aromas with flavors of black cherry, red pepper and a touch of vanilla. The best quality of this wine is its finesse. Many times, Cabernet is a really big, "muscular" wine. The balanced tannins and relatively low alcohol (13.8%) content of this wine gives it a restrained elegance, no doubt a result of the careful blending performed by the winemaker for this vintage: 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Syrah, 6% Merlot and 1% Petite Syrah.

Avalon Winery has two Cabernets on the market - this bottling and a lower-priced one with an orange label. Their lower priced bottling is quite decent, but the Napa Valley Cabernet is amazing. This is definitely a wine to purchase by the case!