2006 Fetzer Valley Oaks Cabernet Sauvignon

2006 Fetzer Valley Oaks Cabernet SauvignonJason mentioned this wine favorably on his blog, and I decided to give it a try. I bought it at Trader Joe’s for $6.50. That’s a good price to go along with the good recommendation. Now lets have a look under the cork.

Running the numbers

I’ll start with the usual analysis. Fetzer didn’t have information on the 2006 vintage, and they ignored my e-mail asking for it. They indicated 13.5% alcohol on the bottle and reported this for 2007:

13.49% Alcohol • Titratable Acidity (TA) 6.3 g/L • pH: 3.47 • RS: 0.6g/L (dry)

and here are my measurements of the 2006 vintage:

Specific Gravity (SG): 0.994 • pH: 3.5 • TA: 5 g/L

I like to include these measurements so you and I can compare them with our own homemade wine. If a commercial wine tastes particularly good and well balanced, I want to look at the measurements to see how they did it. The most important measurements, of course, are the ones you do with your nose and your palate. How did the Fetzer measure up?

Going back for more

Jason, I owe you one. This is a nice wine that’s great with pasta or steak on the grill. The Lady of the House and I enjoyed a bottle with dinner of ziti and meatballs. It would also make a terrific Superbowl wine. I don’t rate wines on a 100-point scale, but I can tell you that you get more than you pay for with this wine. I’m going back to buy more.



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5 thoughts on “2006 Fetzer Valley Oaks Cabernet Sauvignon

  1. jason

    just saw Wine Spectator covered the ’07 as a value wine: FETZER Cabernet Sauvignon California Valley Oaks 2007 Score: 85 | $9 – Smooth currant, cranberry, cedar and spice notes are easy-drinking, ending with a tobacco edge. Drink now. 405,000 cases made. —J.L.

    Thought I would share…

    Reply
  2. John Hance

    I, too, love Fetzer’s Cabernet, but one of my household’s all-time favorite wines is Fetzer Gewurztraminer. We get it at Total Wine for $6.97 a bottle, and it’s our gold standard by which all other whites are judged. You might give it a try. I recommend the 2009 vintage. It should be easy enough to find!

    John

    Reply

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