Bourbon isn’t the first thing one thinks of when thinking about red wine.
However, bourbon and wine sales are off the charts with millennials – they’re buying whiskey and wine at record breaking numbers.
The limited production 2014 Robert Mondavi Private Selection Cabernet Sauvignon Aged in Bourbon Barrels combines those two trends into one powerful palette experience with the aims of attracting millennial buyers.
The wine is aged for a total of 10 months in barrel, with a portion being aged for 3 months in a mix of new and used bourbon barrels from Kentucky.
Initially, the nose is full of very heavy, ripe fruit. We let the wine breathe for about 20 minutes (or use a decanter) and then revisited it.
The wine had improved, with what you anticipate from a bourbon-centric wine: cinnamon and vanilla with a touch of a newly lit wood fireplace.
The wine’s body is rich with vanilla, cherry cola (Dr. Pepper), even a subtle hint of Amarone-style raisin (no surprise given that this wine has residual sugar of 4.0). The wine even has a hint of hot spiced holiday wine that you can buy in stalls in Christmas markets in Europe. It is very sweet, but has a velvety smooth exit.
This wine would pair well with Kansas City style ribs or brown sugar glazed pork loin.
It is a unique wine – a worthy experiment. However, the wine will most likely not appeal to a traditional bourbon drinker. So what type of wine drinker will enjoy it?
The sweetness and rich flavors may be enjoyed by newer, younger wine drinkers looking for a sweeter introduction to heavy red wines (like we used White Zin to convert an entire generation to serious wine drinkers).
The 2014 Robert Mondavi Private Selection Cabernet Sauvignon Aged in Bourbon Barrels retails for $14.
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