Today, we take a look at a few California Cabernet Sauvignon wines under $20. Most wine enthusiasts love drinking luxury wines, whether they be single-vineyard portraits of terroir or complex, impeccably balanced blends. But most people can’t afford to do that everyday, perhaps not even once a week. Fortunately, the vast majority of wine made costs under $20 per bottle. And some of it’s pretty good!

The following reviews, based on samples, focus just on California Cabernet and are listed alphabetically.

2014 Bridlewood Cabernet Sauvignon Paso Robles 88+ 13.9% 750ml $15

Engaging on the nose with appealing notes of ripe red cherry, red rope, and spice. It’s full-bodied in the mouth with characteristic Paso Robles texture—soft, powdery tannins with just enough grip to frame the jammy fruit. Flavors  include Luxardo Maraschino cherries, candied cherry, black plum jam, tarragon, oak, chocolate, and spice. A yummy wine, friendly but with structure. It gets even better with an hour in a decanter.

2014 Chateau Souverain Cabernet Sauvignon California 89 13.9% 750ml $13

Great color, opaque ruby-purple in the glass, with bold aromas of black cherry and espresso. Medium-plus body in the mouth with the right amount of very fine tannins to balance the rich flavors of dark chocolate, black currant and dried leaves. This is a very well-made wine, balanced and finishing with a pleasant, appetizing tartness. Great value.

2014 Q Collection Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 87+ 13.8% 750ml $18.99

Opaque purple-black color with black currant, charcoal, dark chocolate and spice on the nose. The structured palate is medium-bodied with flavors of oak, charcoal, spice, chocolate, black currant tannins of fine, grippy powder. This wine is a good choice for those who like an oak-forward palate. And, even though a 2014, the wine will continue to get better over the next 5 years.

2016 Shooting Star Cabernet Sauvignon Lake County 87+ 14.2% 750ml screw cap $16

A dark ruby wine with soft aromas of cocoa, dusty oak, dark red cherry, black currant, and coconut. On the palate, dried coconut, spice, and dark chocolate envelop chewy dark fruit. Body is medium and the tannins are fine, but firmish and drying.

This wine changes a lot of with an hour or so of air. It’s two years younger than the other wines here and it’s bottled under screw cap, That closure doesn’t introduce oxygen over the first couple of years like corks do. The Shooting Star fruit becomes much more prominent on the nose and palate over time and the tannins get softer. If you’re going to open and pour, pair it with grilled meat. If you have time to decant it, it will go with a much wider range of foods.

Further reading

In November, I covered Merlot wines, starting from $7.

Copyright Fred Swan 2019. Images courtesy of Chateau Souverain. All rights reserved.