A Pretty Good Nine-Dollar Cab

The little hamlet of Murphys, California is home to one of the nation's biggest wineries.  Ironstone Vineyards is located east of Lodi in Calaveras County, in the Sierra Foothills along Highway 4 north of Douglas Flat, Vallecito and Angels Camp.  It may be an out-of-the-way stop, but there's a better than average chance you've had some of their brands, or at least seen them on the supermarket shelf.

The 2017 Leaping Horse Cab is one of those brands, a subset of the Obsession label.  They make a handful of styles, including a California Cabernet Sauvignon.  The grapes are 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 3% Tannat.  Aging took place over only four months in new French oak barrels.  Alcohol clocks in at 13.5% abv and the wine sells for about $9.

This very dark wine offers a jammy plum nose with oak spice and pencil lead.  On the palate, there are black plums, currant, vanilla and tobacco.  There's a very savory, and rustic, finish.  I didn't have very high expectations for a nine-dollar Cab, but this one actually beats them.  It's nothing to write home about, but that didn't stop me from posting here.


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