Trader Joe's Diamond Reserve Rutherford Meritage- Napa Style Bordeaux on a budget

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Ever wondered if you could find a legitimate Napa Valley wine for $20? The Trader Joe's Diamond Reserve Rutherford Meritage 2022 might just be that unicorn. This isn't your typical grocery store wine – it's a serious Bordeaux-style blend from one of Napa's most prestigious growing regions.

The Rutherford AVA sits in the widest part of Napa Valley, benefiting from abundant sunshine and dramatic temperature shifts (90°F days to 50°F nights) that create perfect conditions for developing complex flavors. This particular Meritage combines all five classic Bordeaux varieties – predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon (68%), supported by Merlot, Petit Verdot, the rarely-seen Malbec, and Cabernet Franc. What makes this especially intriguing is that it's crafted by a company owned by a Master Sommelier, bringing expert blending skills to an accessible price point.

Don't let the modest price tag fool you – this wine received premium treatment with 20 months aging in French oak (30% new barrels), a regimen typically reserved for much more expensive bottles. The result is a fruit-forward yet balanced wine offering layers of blackberry, blueberry, pomegranate and plum, complemented by savory notes and subtle spices. At 15.3% alcohol, it delivers impressive structure without veering into sweetness. Current challenges in California's wine industry likely explain how such quality has found its way to Trader Joe's shelves at this price.

Whether you're a curious wine explorer or a seasoned Napa enthusiast looking for a weeknight bargain, this Diamond Reserve deserves a spot in your glass. Try it alongside your next special meal and see if you agree it drinks like a wine at twice the price. Then let us know what you think – have you found other hidden gems in Trader Joe's wine section?

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hey, welcome.
It's Domain Day fromCheapWineFindercom again, like
always, here to do a podcast fora wine we wrote up on the
CheapWineFindercom website Threea week we do and three times a
week we do a companion podcastand we got one of the more
expensive Trader Joe's wines.
This is the Trader Joe'sDiamond Reserve, rutherford AVA,

(00:25):
napa Valley, meritage 2022.
Meritage means Bordeaux Blend.
There's an organization inCalifornia that promotes and
studies the Bordeaux grapes andthe blends in California and you
have to pay a fee to put thename on there, which I always

(00:47):
find it funny because sometimesyou get these Trader Joe's
reserve wines that are $8.99.
Someone paid so much a bottleto put the Meritage Reserve name
on there.
But that's what this is.
It's a Bordeaux wine.
It's mostly Cabernet Sauvignon,I think, like 68%.

(01:08):
I thought it was like 15%Merlot, 10% I'm going off memory
so I could be wrong PetitVerdot and then like 4%, malbec
and 3% Cabernet Franc, and thoseare the five grapes of Bordeaux
red grapes.
The Malbec you do not see veryoften the Malbec that grape was

(01:30):
decimated during the phloxeradays of 1800s in Bordeaux and a
lot of those vines did not getreplanted after they were
decimated and they end upgetting shipped to Argentina,

(01:51):
and that's where you get goodMalbec nowadays.
So there you go.
So one bad thing turned intosomething good, so there we go.
So we have this $20 RutherfordAVA.
Rutherford is in Napa Valley.
It's in the widest part of NapaValley so it gets a lot of
sunlight.
It doesn't have the steep wallsblocking the sun.
The bench land on the west sideis the best stuff and that's

(02:15):
where a lot of these reallyfancy, fancy wineries and
vineyards are.
But the whole area is pretty,pretty pristine.
It's pretty good.
Where these grapes came from, Idon't know.
Uh, it was made by a um acompany that's owned by a master
sommelier who mostly makeswines in passeroble area, uh, of

(02:39):
um central coast.
So this isn't one of their umstrongholds.
But uh, they obviously know howto make wine and they actually
made it a lot of times.
It's dummy companies.
This is produced and bottled byit's ACE 1542, which is part of
Myria Vineyards.
The links are on the website ofcheapwinefindercom.

(03:01):
So Rutherford is legitimate.
It has 90 degree weather duringthe days In the summer it can,
but then it can go down to 50 atnight and that temperature
differentiation is wonderful forthe grapes because the sunlight
gets all there, thephotosynthesis going nuts, and

(03:24):
then the cool hits and they goto sleep.
And then the cool hits and theygo to sleep and then so it
actually kind of allows it inwarmer temperatures to have a
longer growing season.
It also makes it kind of riper.
This is 15.3, I think on thealcohol, like 10, 12 years ago
when Shiraz from Australia withall the rage you know they were

(03:50):
typically 15 and 16% alcoholbecause it's kind of cold on the
south side of Australia andthey are thought to be mad dog
wines.
But like 12 years later it'sstarting to be kind of normal in
California.
Let me take a sip.
It's fruit forward, slightlyjammy, but it's not a sweet wine

(04:21):
.
With all those five grapesgoing on, you've got a bunch of
different flavors.
You're going to have ablackberry, blueberry.
You're going to get pomegranate.
You're going to get plums.
You're going to get some savorynotes.
You're going to have ablackberry, blueberry.
You're going to get pomegranate.
You're going to get plums.
You're going to get some savorynotes.
You're going to get some coolspices.
It was 20 months in French oakbarrels, 30% new.
That's kind of a lot of newbarrels.

(04:41):
New barrels give off moreinfluence than a used barrel,
depending on how you know.
Some barrels can be used two,three times, three, I think by
five times it doesn't they'reconsidered neutral.
But 30 new barrels for 20months is a legit, high-end
california napa uh red wine, umbarrel program which you don't

(05:04):
get in 1999 wines, you know.
I've always wondered it's likecan I get a wine from a at a
retail store for close to this,from napping in the?
You never know, because theydon't know anything about this.
They don't tell you anything,you don't know what side it's
from, who made it the?
The people who made it aren'treally napa vintners, um, so you

(05:27):
don't really know what you'regetting, though the place is run
by a master sommelier whodoesn't know how to taste wine.
So we, you know the blending isthe key, since he knows what
he's doing.
So, um, I always wonder you gettowards 20 bucks, but but then
again there was a CabernetSauvignon from Napa, just I

(05:50):
think.
Last week we did anotherblack-labeled Diamond Reserve
and that was a single vineyardin Napa which they couldn't tell
you where it was from, it wasso exclusive.
So these wines seem to be comingfrom places that are a little
bit ahead of what the price is,and there's problems in

(06:11):
California and wine right now.
So these things happen.
So keep an eye out for thesebargains, because this is a
bargain.
It's worth $20.
Even if it's not a $30 wine,it's still worth $20 wine and it
might be a $30 wine.
So there you go.
This is the Trader Joe'sDiamond Reserve Rutherford
Meritage 2022.
Keep it cheap.
So there you go.
This is the Trader Joe'sDiamond Reserve Rutherford

(06:31):
Meritage 2022.
Keep it cheap.
This is Domain Davecheapwinefindercom.
Check us out and like us whereyou like your podcasts and adios
.
Keep it cheap.
I'll be talking to everybodylater.
Adios, bye-bye.