Five Star Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon (2006 – Red Wine)

Aug 7 2009

There’s nothing like discovering you don’t have a taste for cab the week before your review on a cabernet is due – right? So, instead of reviewing cab, I am going to spend the next 200 or so words telling you why PalateBomb is such an awesome site and you should advertise here so I can get paid. I’m kidding (well, not about the getting paid part).

After trying several cab “fails,” I went to the Kennewick Yoke’s and explained my dilemma to the totally awesome wine department associate (Chrystie B.). She showed me some different bottles at various prices, but in the end, I saw the sign and had to pick Five Star’s cab (Five Star is located in the Walla Walla Valley). The sign in front of the bottle reported it having notes of chocolate. Maybe it’s a girl thing, but I was sold.

At the suggestion of Chrystie B., I picked up some chocolate to go along with my tasting as she said it might help train the palate to accept the more fuller bodied flavors of cab. And, you know, yeah chocolate! On the nose, the wine has a rich dark cherry smell (the sign did not lie!), but it’s not overwhelmingly harsh (as I’ve noted with the other cabs I did not like). It actually smells sweeter than most reds I’ve tasted. This definitely impressed me.

When it came to tasting I held my breath (not literally – it’s better to breath so you can take in all the subtleties while you are drinking. And… WOW. This was nothing like the cabs I had rejected in the past. Absent were the harsh tannins that caused me to cringe, and it was just a smooth, peppery, slightly fruity taste. It went down easy and lingered pleasantly on the back of my tongue. I was enjoying the wine so much, I didn’t initially note that I did not taste the chocolate that had initially led me to purchase it.

Paired with dark chocolate, this was a wonderful treat that I am, right now, pleasantly letting myself believe was zero calorie. Chocolate and cab do not have calories, right? Thought so. Time for another glass!