LCBO Sale Pick of the Week: Feb. 18

Firestone 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon (Santa Ynez, California)

Sale $16.90, Regular $19.90
Discount (until Feb. 28): $3.00
LCBO # 292128 | 750 mL bottle

Tastes like: Blackberries and black currants with a soft mocha vanilla finish.
Pairs with: Steak and lamb and a warm California sunset.
Good for: Laying a few down and revisiting often.
Alcohol: 14.2%
Drink: Now to 2018.

Why we're drinking this
Santa Ynez is an American Viticultural Area located in the Central Coast region near Santa Barbara. This AVA is prized for Pinot Noir (think: the movie Sideways) and Chardonnay, but can also do nice things with Cabernet Sauvignon in the warmer spots where it can ripen fully. This is not like a big, round Napa Cab; rather, it is a more reserved and in some ways more refined take. It’s remarkably complex and textured for an under-$20 bottle of California love.

Tasting note
On the nose, sweet ripe black berries and cherry, with a lovely scent of cedar, vanilla, cinnamon and mocha. The palate is soft, but not too yielding — it’s built upon really nice acidity and present but ripe tannins. It’s a full-bodied Cab with well-integrated oak that highlights rather than masks the fruit. The berries give way to savoury herb notes that linger in the background. Truly a beauty — at a knockout price. This will go well with all kinds of beef, especially a velvety prime rib.

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This week's selection by kwäf Taste Bud Dick Snyder