Always on the lookout for great Cabernet bargains, we found a winner in this Santa Barbara gem. Highly recommended for everyday drinking. Tasting Notes: Layered with notes of black currant, spearmint, bacon and smoked cedar planks, this wine seems to change almost by the second. It is plush, both in aromatics and in mouth-feel, with blueberry, violets, kirsch and creme de cassis joining notes of tobacco and cola. A truly Californian Claret. About: Field Recordings is the moonlighting side project for up-and-coming young winemaker Andrew Jones, whose days are taken up with his job as a vine nursery field operative. Fortunately, his job takes Jones to vineyards all over California, where he helps growers decide the best grapes and clones to plant. Jones leverages his expertise, access and connections to buy choice fruit from treasured sites, especially in California’s Central Coast. In 2013, a perfect growing season and a little luck meant that Jones was able to pick the Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot for this wine at the same time and ferment them together. Petit Verdot is a traditional blending grape in Bordeaux, where it’s used to add inky color and fragrance to wines based on Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. It’s rare that it ripens at the same time as Cabernet; usually the grapes are picked and fermented separately and then blended before aging. The fruit comes from the Grassini Vineyard, located in the tiny Happy Canyon wine region. Located on the eastern edge of Santa Barbara County, Happy Canyon’s relatively warm days make it a top spot for Bordeaux grapes.
Adam Beasley
Balanced and delicious CA Cab Sauv. Full bodied, but very drinkable. It’s oaked tactfully, and has structure and balance. Not overly jammy and, like the other Field Recordings wines, punches above its weight for under $20.
Balanced and delicious CA Cab Sauv. Full bodied, but very drinkable. It’s oaked tactfully, and has structure and balance. Not overly jammy and, like the other Field Recordings wines, punches above its weight for under $20.
9.0Pri
A bit fruity and sweet for a cab. Even after letting it breath for a bit it wasn’t as dry or complex as I like my cabs.
A bit fruity and sweet for a cab. Even after letting it breath for a bit it wasn’t as dry or complex as I like my cabs.
7.5Paul Komelasky
Fabulous notes black currants and bacon highly recommend
Fabulous notes black currants and bacon highly recommend
9.3Andrew Lam
too sweet and jammy for my taste.
too sweet and jammy for my taste.
8.4Brian Rafkin
Too plummy, low tannin for me.
Too plummy, low tannin for me.
8.6Rachael Woods
Full bodied. Cherry notes.
Full bodied. Cherry notes.
9.1WARNING: DRINKING DISTILLED SPIRITS, BEER, COOLERS, WINE AND OTHER ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES MAY INCREASE CANCER RISK, AND, DURING PREGNANCY, CAN CAUSE BIRTH DEFECTS.