This is so taxing!

So, tomorrow is tax day.  If you haven’t already filed your return, you’re probably tearing you hair out by now.  For me, I got mine out of the way early this year, and was happy to sit back and relax while everyone else around me scrambled for receipts.

As you struggle to find a few pennies to pay Uncle Sam, the good PR folks from ICON Estates sent me some Steal vs. Splurge wines for my drinking and your reading pleasure.  Since I have been on a value kick recently, it was great to see that even the Splurge wines were well with in a comfortable budget, and were not something out of reach for the average consumer.

First up, Cabernet to Cabernet!

The 2006 Paso Creek Cabernet Sauvignon is an interesting beat.  I don’t normally think of Paso as an area for Cabernet, but this Cabernet showed chewy cherries, leather, casiss, cocoa and dark berries.  It was a bit rough, but was a nice full bodied cab with a bit of smoke on the finish.

At $15 it’s a good value but I’m not sure I’d buy this one on my own.

The 2nd Cab was a Napa Valley classic, the 2006 Robert Mondavi Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.  I haven’t had a Mondavi wine in ages, and I wasn’t sure to expect when I opened up this wine.  Boy was I surprised!  This $20 Cab showed the characteristics of a much more expensive Cabernet.  It is a classic Bordeaux style blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 3% Malbec, 1% Petite Verdot and 1% Syrah.  Wow what a mish mash!  Each component adds a little something extra to this wine.

There was tons of big dark fruit, chocolate, and an herbaceous quality.  It was an elegant wine, and to me, showed a lot of characteristics of much more expensive Cab from Napa. I’m not one to hold my wines very long, but I can see this develop in to a mature old man with some time.  That said, it is a terriffic sipping wine and could do well with a strong food pairing, particularly the pungent blue cheeses.

If you get some money back, look for this on sale at Safeway or BevMo because it realy is a great wine at a good price.  After your taxes are in, celebrate with some dessert wine (coming up in the further adventures of Tax Day wines)!