Geographically Speaking - Edna Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Central Coast '11

I have a problem with the entry level "California" designation that first started appearing on the retail shelves some years back. I guess when fruit from Napa, Sonoma and other small viticultural areas reached a price that made it difficult to sell everyday wine for reasonable prices, producers began to source fruit from areas not known for quality grape growing. That would most likely be the vast central valley of this amazing state. So at that point you now had wine grapes coming from the same agricultural area that produces your melons and artichokes. This vague descriptor is now the most common statement of origin on everyday domestic wine and it is a legal designation. Well for me, the "California" AVA certainly doesn't carry the same cache that a "Napa Valley", "Sonoma Valley" or any of the other 105 California AVA's carry. Even the somewhat vague "North Coast" designation tells you that the grapes didn't come from the central valley.

So when I went looking for a sub $15 bottle of Cali cab the other day, it wasn't easy to find one that didn't have that rather generic sounding geographic origin on the label. Then I spied the 2011 Edna Valley Vineyard Central Coast Cab on sale for $9.99. Eureka! At least now I had a bottle that was from a real wine area - the beautiful Central Coast. California's Central Coast AVA is the 4th largest with an even million acres under vine according to the Wine Institute. Some of California's most amazing wines are produced here from the likes of Ridge, Calera, Qupe, Ojai and Justin to name a mere handful. And I've always loved Bonny Doon whose flagship Le Cigare Volant bottling, a Chateauneuf du Pape look alike, was always one of my faves. Of course, the Central Coast has many official sub-zones but I'll take a "Central Coast" designation on my $10 cab over a "California" one any day.

So I took home the Edna Valley cab at gave it a try. If there's one big pet peeve of mine it's cab that doesn't taste like cab. Sometimes true Cabernet Sauvignon varietal character is vinified right out of the wine, either with too much wood or with too much ripeness on the grapes, leading to very high alcohol levels. That's not the Case with Edna Valley's beautiful entry level cab. It's got beautiful aromas of black cherry, currant and typical cab earthy/herbal qualities. The palate is medium bodied and balanced at 13.8% alcohol, with dark fruit flavors supported by earth and leather notes. It finishes long with good balancing acidity and soft tannins. This wine is an excellent value. Bottoms up!