CheapWineFinder Podcast
Talking about remarkable wines that pair nicely with your wallet! Because we like to keep it cheap but excellent.
CheapWineFinder Podcast
This aged Trader Joe's Cabernet is the bargain of the month
A remarkable wine discovery awaits budget-conscious enthusiasts at Trader Joe's. Fresh from exploring Napa Valley's prestigious wineries, I stumbled upon what might be the bargain of the year: the 2021 Trader Joe's Grand Reserve Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon priced at just $12.99.
What makes this bottle extraordinary isn't merely its price tag. This 2021 vintage boasts four years of bottle age—unusual for Trader Joe's offerings that typically feature current releases. More surprising still, the Fearless Flyer suggests this Cabernet can continue aging gracefully for another decade, a claim typically reserved for premium bottles commanding five times the price or more.
The pedigree behind this wine tells a compelling story. Produced by Ashford Court (a division of Plata Wine Partners), this Cabernet sources grapes from Napa's most coveted subregions: Yountville, Oakville, and Oak Knoll. These prestigious growing areas supply fruit to Napa's most celebrated labels. Adding further credibility, respected winemaker Allison Crowe oversaw production, ensuring this Cabernet received the full complement of premium winemaking techniques—proper oak aging, careful extraction methods, and attention to detail typically absent in value-priced offerings.
The timing of this release coincides with a significant wine industry slowdown, suggesting this might actually be a premium bottle originally destined for a much higher price point. The evidence is in the glass: a deep, rich profile featuring classic blackberry and dark chocolate notes complemented by cranberry, fine spice, and cooling blueberry undertones. The structure and balance suggest this wine will continue evolving beautifully with time.
Don't miss this exceptional opportunity to experience genuine Napa quality at an unprecedented value. Whether you're seeking an elevated weeknight pour or looking to expand your cellar with age-worthy bottles that won't break the bank, this 2021 Trader Joe's Grand Reserve represents the kind of serendipitous find that makes wine exploration so rewarding. Grab several bottles while supplies last—some to enjoy now and others to witness how they develop over the coming years.
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hey, welcome, domain dave, cheap wine findercom. Back after a week-long napa vacation and finally I have a wine here. It's 12.99 wine. It's the trader joe's grand reserve napa valley cabernet sauvignon and the thing that stands out here is 2021. It's got already four years of age. Even when trader joe's is doing the uh, you know, the rutherford and the oakville and all that type of thing, they're usually new releases 2023, that type of thing. This one has been around a little while.
Speaker 1:And another odd thing about this for a 12.99 wine is that the trader Joe's Fearless Flyer says that you can age it for another 10 years. The back label says it was made by Ashford Court, which is some sort of division of Plata Wine Partners. Plata Wine Partners is an independent wine company. They have their own brands, they do custom wines, they do bulk wines and they have extensive vineyard holdings. And Trader Joe's says these grapes come from vineyards that big-name wines come, and some of the places it comes from is Yountville, oakville and Oak Knoll. And Yountville, oakville and Oak Knoll are two places that Plata Partners have vineyards. They don't say it's from their vineyards, not that we would know the difference, but this is a high-end Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon with some age on it. High-end Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon with some age on it, typically when you get a 2023 Rutherford, you know Trader Joe's Reserve, I say it's good grapes with value-style wine production because they can't do the fancy oak program, they can't do all those things that make the wine last longer. That's good for aging and plus they don't need to, because usually you're going to drink it within 24 hours when you take it home. But this wine isn't that way. This is made like a high-end Napa Valley wine because it's got another 10 years of life, maybe more. So. It's got an oak program. It's got um, it's got the. You know the cold soaking and all the things they do to the wine too, the grapes and the pressure, how they press it. All the fancy stuff is here and you're getting it all for $12.99.
Speaker 1:Let me take a sip. It drinks well. It's got the typical blackberry and it's got the. It's, you know. It's got a little bit of dark chocolate and it's got cranberry and it's got some fine spice and maybe some a little bit of cooling blueberry. It's got some really nice flavors. It's easy to sip. It's kind of a deep, you know, not quite complex, but a kind of a deep, you know, not quite complex, but a kind of a deep and rich wine, and I imagine as you open it up, there might be more complexity. This is still a wine, that is. I mean, I've only taken a couple sips out of it, so as you drink, sometimes the air gets to it and all the good things that happen. So there you go.
Speaker 1:This is a high-end wine, it's from high-end vineyards, it's from high-end ABAs, it's made to be aged, which is something that high-end wines do and value-priced wines don't. And here's the weird thing. I mean, the wine business is down. I mean, I just came from Napa Valley and I was talking to people and they were talking about this one vineyard that is in I think it was in Yountville that if you ask to buy grapes from them, they don't even answer. You know keep away from me, kid. And they've been calling around asking people if they want grapes Because all these contracts are being closed, people who had really wide brands. They have wine of everything. Nope, they're bringing everything down to more manageable because they're not selling. So this is early.
Speaker 1:This is from. This is a 2021 vintage. This isn't something new, though this could be a wine, and this is me just talking, off the top of my head, a wine that was meant to be selling at a higher price and it got cancelled and it went to trader joe's for cost or whatever. Maybe not for cost, but it was going to be a whole lot more expensive. That's a possibility, that's. That's just something I made up, that don't don't.
Speaker 1:Don't tell anybody that this is a $50 wine for $12.99. That's me talking. I'm going to take another sip, okay, but it might be. It's good. It's a deep, rich, pleasurable wine. This tastes good. It's really well made.
Speaker 1:Allison Crowe is the head of winemaking for it's another thing I just forgot for Plata Wine Partners. She's a big name winery. A lot of these wineries in Napa Valley, like all the name brands, have a winemaker who's a rock star. Well, allison Crowe kind of is, but she does a lot of things. She's not just concentrating on one small winery doing their array of wines. So not only is this made by kind of a high-end, really really good winemaker, everything else is high-end too, and it's $12.99.
Speaker 1:And I don't know what to tell you. I mean, this is one of those wines that you know, if you're in the market for a value price Cabernet Sauvignon right now, get this one. It's the bargain of the month. I mean, no matter how good the other ones are, they're not going to have these details and it's not going to last forever. I don't know how many bottles they have. Trader Joe's might sell them out, though. I know Trader Joe's has had a wine from 2021 that's still trying to sell it off. It's four years later. They can't get rid of it, but that's another story.
Speaker 1:I'm going to take another sip. So there you go. This is the $12.99 Trader Joe's Grand Reserve Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2021. Keep that in mind. You want the 2021. You want the age, you want the ageability, even if you're just going to drink it, because there's quality in the production. That is there, not that Valley of Friars. Wines don't have quality, but this one does. So, adios, keep it cheap. I'll be talking to you in a couple of days. It's good to be back from Napa and stay couple days. It's good to be back from Napa, stay tuned and I'll be talking to you. Adios, bye-bye.