This aged Trader Joe's Cabernet is the bargain of the month

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A remarkable wine discovery awaits budget-conscious enthusiasts at Trader Joe's. Fresh from exploring Napa Valley's prestigious wineries, I stumbled upon what might be the bargain of the year: the 2021 Trader Joe's Grand Reserve Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon priced at just $12.99.

What makes this bottle extraordinary isn't merely its price tag. This 2021 vintage boasts four years of bottle age—unusual for Trader Joe's offerings that typically feature current releases. More surprising still, the Fearless Flyer suggests this Cabernet can continue aging gracefully for another decade, a claim typically reserved for premium bottles commanding five times the price or more.

The pedigree behind this wine tells a compelling story. Produced by Ashford Court (a division of Plata Wine Partners), this Cabernet sources grapes from Napa's most coveted subregions: Yountville, Oakville, and Oak Knoll. These prestigious growing areas supply fruit to Napa's most celebrated labels. Adding further credibility, respected winemaker Allison Crowe oversaw production, ensuring this Cabernet received the full complement of premium winemaking techniques—proper oak aging, careful extraction methods, and attention to detail typically absent in value-priced offerings.

The timing of this release coincides with a significant wine industry slowdown, suggesting this might actually be a premium bottle originally destined for a much higher price point. The evidence is in the glass: a deep, rich profile featuring classic blackberry and dark chocolate notes complemented by cranberry, fine spice, and cooling blueberry undertones. The structure and balance suggest this wine will continue evolving beautifully with time.

Don't miss this exceptional opportunity to experience genuine Napa quality at an unprecedented value. Whether you're seeking an elevated weeknight pour or looking to expand your cellar with age-worthy bottles that won't break the bank, this 2021 Trader Joe's Grand Reserve represents the kind of serendipitous find that makes wine exploration so rewarding. Grab several bottles while supplies last—some to enjoy now and others to witness how they develop over the coming years.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
hey, welcome, domain dave, cheap wine findercom.
Back after a week-long napavacation and finally I have a
wine here.
It's 12.99 wine.
It's the trader joe's grandreserve napa valley cabernet
sauvignon and the thing thatstands out here is 2021.

(00:23):
It's got already four years ofage.
Even when trader joe's is doingthe uh, you know, the
rutherford and the oakville andall that type of thing, they're
usually new releases 2023, thattype of thing.
This one has been around alittle while.
And another odd thing about thisfor a 12.99 wine is that the

(00:45):
trader Joe's Fearless Flyer saysthat you can age it for another
10 years.
The back label says it was madeby Ashford Court, which is some
sort of division of Plata WinePartners.
Plata Wine Partners is anindependent wine company.

(01:06):
They have their own brands,they do custom wines, they do
bulk wines and they haveextensive vineyard holdings.
And Trader Joe's says thesegrapes come from vineyards that
big-name wines come, and some ofthe places it comes from is
Yountville, oakville and OakKnoll.
And Yountville, oakville andOak Knoll are two places that

(01:29):
Plata Partners have vineyards.
They don't say it's from theirvineyards, not that we would
know the difference, but this isa high-end Napa Valley Cabernet
Sauvignon with some age on it.
High-end Napa Valley CabernetSauvignon with some age on it,
typically when you get a 2023Rutherford, you know Trader
Joe's Reserve, I say it's goodgrapes with value-style wine

(01:55):
production because they can't dothe fancy oak program, they
can't do all those things thatmake the wine last longer.
That's good for aging and plusthey don't need to, because
usually you're going to drink itwithin 24 hours when you take
it home.
But this wine isn't that way.
This is made like a high-endNapa Valley wine because it's
got another 10 years of life,maybe more.

(02:16):
So.
It's got an oak program.
It's got um, it's got the.
You know the cold soaking andall the things they do to the
wine too, the grapes and thepressure, how they press it.
All the fancy stuff is here andyou're getting it all for
$12.99.
Let me take a sip.
It drinks well.

(02:43):
It's got the typical blackberryand it's got the.
It's, you know.
It's got a little bit of darkchocolate and it's got cranberry
and it's got some fine spiceand maybe some a little bit of
cooling blueberry.
It's got some really niceflavors.
It's easy to sip.
It's kind of a deep, you know,not quite complex, but a kind of
a deep, you know, not quitecomplex, but a kind of a deep

(03:06):
and rich wine, and I imagine asyou open it up, there might be
more complexity.
This is still a wine, that is.
I mean, I've only taken acouple sips out of it, so as you
drink, sometimes the air getsto it and all the good things
that happen.
So there you go.
This is a high-end wine, it'sfrom high-end vineyards, it's

(03:32):
from high-end ABAs, it's made tobe aged, which is something
that high-end wines do andvalue-priced wines don't.
And here's the weird thing.
I mean, the wine business isdown.
I mean, I just came from NapaValley and I was talking to
people and they were talkingabout this one vineyard that is

(03:55):
in I think it was in Yountvillethat if you ask to buy grapes
from them, they don't evenanswer.
You know keep away from me, kid.
And they've been calling aroundasking people if they want
grapes Because all thesecontracts are being closed,
people who had really widebrands.
They have wine of everything.

(04:15):
Nope, they're bringingeverything down to more
manageable because they're notselling.
So this is early.
This is from.
This is a 2021 vintage.
This isn't something new,though this could be a wine, and
this is me just talking, offthe top of my head, a wine that
was meant to be selling at ahigher price and it got
cancelled and it went to traderjoe's for cost or whatever.

(04:38):
Maybe not for cost, but it wasgoing to be a whole lot more
expensive.
That's a possibility, that's.
That's just something I made up, that don't don't.
Don't tell anybody that this isa $50 wine for $12.99.
That's me talking.
I'm going to take another sip,okay, but it might be.

(05:02):
It's good.
It's a deep, rich, pleasurablewine.
This tastes good.
It's really well made.
Allison Crowe is the head ofwinemaking for it's another
thing I just forgot for PlataWine Partners.
She's a big name winery.

(05:24):
A lot of these wineries in NapaValley, like all the name
brands, have a winemaker who's arock star.
Well, allison Crowe kind of is,but she does a lot of things.
She's not just concentrating onone small winery doing their
array of wines.
So not only is this made bykind of a high-end, really

(05:48):
really good winemaker,everything else is high-end too,
and it's $12.99.
And I don't know what to tellyou.
I mean, this is one of thosewines that you know, if you're
in the market for a value priceCabernet Sauvignon right now,
get this one.
It's the bargain of the month.
I mean, no matter how good theother ones are, they're not

(06:10):
going to have these details andit's not going to last forever.
I don't know how many bottlesthey have.
Trader Joe's might sell themout, though.
I know Trader Joe's has had awine from 2021 that's still
trying to sell it off.
It's four years later.
They can't get rid of it, butthat's another story.
I'm going to take another sip.

(06:31):
So there you go.
This is the $12.99 Trader Joe'sGrand Reserve Napa Valley
Cabernet Sauvignon 2021.
Keep that in mind.
You want the 2021.
You want the age, you want theageability, even if you're just
going to drink it, becausethere's quality in the

(06:52):
production.
That is there, not that Valleyof Friars.
Wines don't have quality, butthis one does.
So, adios, keep it cheap.
I'll be talking to you in acouple of days.
It's good to be back from Napaand stay couple days.
It's good to be back from Napa,stay tuned and I'll be talking
to you.
Adios, bye-bye.