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2013 Freakshow Cabernet Sauvignon

Last month, I led a Friday Bonus Event at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Furman University on the subject of "Selecting Good Values in Wine".   One point of discussion was selecting a bottle of wine for the wrong reasons, such as liking the interesting picture on the label or liking the name of the wine.  Well, I have to admit some guilt, as these issues apply to this bottle of wine.  The label features a strongman and other carnival performers presented in a way that reminds those of my generation of the Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band Album cover. ( If you are not old enough to relate to this, do not worry about it)  Further, who can resist a wine called Freakshow.

There are some other attributes about this wine that can be gleaned from the bottle that make it worthy to place in your cart.  The wine comes from the Michael David Winery, which is best known for "7 Deadly Zins".  The wine is from the Lodi AVA which is famous for old vine Zinfandel but is gaining prestige for other reds.  The wine is a 2013 vintage which was a good vintage for California Cabernet Sauvignon and this wine has an alcohol content of 14.5%.   Finally, the bottle places a sticker in a prominent position that Robert Parker rates the wine at 89 points.  With all that information (and the funny picture), I had to bring home a bottle from Costco priced at $15.99. 

I went through several stages in my opinion of the wine.  Finally, after one hour, the wine reached its peak and I decided it really was a very good wine.  There were flavors of licorice, smoke and cocoa complementing a rather subdued dark berry fruit flavor.  The tannins softened a lot with time. 

SC Wine Joe rating = 89 points





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