Sutherland Cabernet Sauvignon Elgin Valley 2015

“Sorry...uh...you said $15?”

“...and it’s got a 92 point score, right…?”

“...so…$15, right?”

And so the conversation more or less went after we had INHALED this lip-smacker of a Cabernet -- wow! Man, we LOVE to find gems like this --- Cabernet! Stellenbosch! 92 POINTS! At an astounding fifteen American dollars…

Seriously, though, we estimate we taste about 25,000+ wines a year. We end up buying about 5% of that. This truly means that we are being REALLY picky -- the pickiest, picky-pickers in the biz. So when this rolled around, we dove in and bought every bottle they had.

So let’s talk about this Cabernet! In the last few years, we’ve been tasting more and more SA wines and the Cabernet in particular is VASTLY better than a decade ago. Thelema is a leader in top Cabernet from this region, much-coveted for its elevation (1590 feet) and its rich, red soils. We found this to be super-aromatic -- a big nose of dark mulled fruit, cassis, pure crushed red currants and perfume, medium-bodied with awesome freshness and super-bright clear fruit -- great balance, too, it just keeps on going. This is one of those that gets more interesting with air, too-- swirl away and watch it morph to show you new sides.

AMAZINGLY satisfying at $15. Back up the truck -- while we have it!