Double Canyon Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet Sauvignon 2015

If there’s one request I get more than any other – it’s for lip-smacking, fruit-packed Cabernet for under $30. The problem is that with few exceptions (CHAD, Carl Roy, Juliana Layla), explosive Cabernet for less than thirty bucks is as rare as an pessimistic Eagles fan or an optimistic Met’s fan. It’s an impossible find.

A few months ago, I was dutifully tasting blind through a series of Cabernet’s from Double Canyon – three in total. I’ve always been a fan of their lineup. Sixty-five dollar wines that frankly over deliver and consistently garner 92-94+ from the experts.

The price tag was too high though, despite the wines being excellent– that was until we got to the third and final wine.

Here it was– exactly what you’ve been asking for. An absolutely fruit-packed, food-friendly Cabernet that Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate describes as “Bursting from the glass with a dramatic bouquet of ripe cherries, sweet berry liqueur… core of ripe fruit, good balancing acids and ripe but youthfully chewy tannins.” James Suckling lobbed on another 90-point score as if that would matter.

But, could we get it for less than $30? You bet. $25 at the winery. $21.25 today for the Nicholas family.