Red Wine Wednesday – Howling Wolves Cab Sav

Yes, wine lovers – its Wednesday and you know what that means?

I’ve already had at least 3 bottles since the last RWW and have only managed to blog one of them!

You say that like its a bad thing?

*hic*

So, today’s red is a fine Cab Sav – locally (to Perth anyway) made in the Margaret River wine region just a couple of hours drive from where I live.  Only a couple of hours?

Thats commuting distance to Perth, right?

*hic*So, this cheeky red – what’s it all about?

Well, it’s a Cab Sav and regular readers might know that I’m not that fond of cab savs if I had ever bothered to mention this before.

I’m not that fond of Cab Savs, I’m more of a shiraz or pino man.

Now you know.

Anyway, onto the wine!

Margaret River is famous for its Cab Sav – it’s somewhat dry Mediterranean climate with very low mean temperature variation (only 7.6C variation between summer and winter) and predictable summer season offering good conditions for this otherwise finicky grape.

A good Cab Sav is a medium bodied red, not too strong or overpowering, with none of the fruity bang of a Shiraz. Subtle and tannin is the name of the game.

So, whats this one like?

Presentation: I like the label.  It stands out from the crowd, which is cool

Appearance:  A medium dark red, like a rich gothic panne velvet cloak.  Its much lighter in colour than the Shiraz from last week. In strong light you can see the top few mm is translucent.  Its a medium red, so that’s no surprise.

Aroma/Smell/Bouquet:  Tart berries, slightly peppery (which I wasn’t expecting), tannin, oak.  Almost a herby aromatic smell like a woodwork shop – hard to explain – I’m not that keen actually.

Taste: Compared to the rather sharp aroma, the initial taste on the palate is very smooth and subtle, not juicy or acidic, but smooth and rich.  Interesting, inviting.  If you chew the wine (yeah, I know it sounds stupid, but try it, you’ll see) it’s very subtle but has lots of fine layers, some aromatic flavours amongst the rich fruit.  The middle comes through as a bit of a non event (I believe the term is hollow) though – there’s nothing really different, other than a linger of the smooth introduction

Finish: the finish definitely steps up to make itself known – dark, peppery, almost shiraz style but with way less of the spice.  There’s lots of oak and tannin and it’s quite dry, certainly different, bold and holds for some time.

Verdict: I’m not unsold on this – I managed to drink the bottle quite happily over a few days with no lack of enjoyment.  Yeah, sure, its a Cab Sav – for me they are just too AOR, too ‘Journey’ or ‘Asia’ – but this was ok, I’d drink it again for sure.

Score – 7/10 – It’s ok for a midweek drink, probably really good with lamb actually.

Happy drinking, campers.