WTN: Jackson-Triggs Proprietors' Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

Okanagan Valley.

In my never-ending search for an affordable, everyday drinking Cabernet Sauvignon I find that I am frequently disappointed. With the grape's popularity and the fact it is a "household name" among so many non-wine drinkers, I admit to be amazed that it is also a grape that can so easily produce terrible wine. What is so difficult about producing an affordable, easy to drink Cabernet?

Dark purple color in the glass.

Thick, rich and soft in the mouth, lovely berry and cherry fruit, with loads of spices......then the bitterness kicks it and it's pretty much game over. The wine is soon dominated by a large bitter streak, mouth-sucking tannins and lots of greeness. Yuck.

Bitterness and very drying tannins persist on the fairly long finish.

Purchased at $15.15 (Canadian) and not worth a penny.

I don't know about this wine in particular but many years ago I was told by somebody that you shouldn't drink a good Cabernet Sauvignon less than 7 years old. It seems like just about every time I've broken this rule I've been disappointed. I've also been told one shouldn't drink a Foch less than 5 years old.

Bruce, I don't know about the Okanagan, but I tend to be extremely wary of Cabernet Sauvignon from my own neck of the woods in all but the very hottest of vintages - and we don't get these nearly often enough to produce what I consider to be a proper Cab Sauvignon: blackcurranty, lacking bell-pepper pyrazines, nicely grippy and well structured. Too often, we end up with decently pigmented wines but they taste so totally green and have a short, cropped flavour. To make great Cab, you need a long, moderate growing season; lots of dry heat doesn't hurt either. Again, I can't speak to B.C., but I think that here at least, our season is just too short and not consistently hot enough to make great Cab.