Mar 23 2008
2005 Crane Lake Cabernet Sauvignon : Can a Sub-$4 Cab Cut It?
I overheard a guy talking about these $3.49 bottles of wine in the HyVee liquor store a couple of weeks ago. Apparently the guy’s barber was recommending them. He was talking to one of the store employees who was so surprised by the price that she went back to verify the price! We were at HyVee Thursday night because Sherry was teaching a class on skin care in the club house. We did a quick run of groceries– Sherry wanted to try another fruit wine for our Easter visit to my mom’s and I wanted to pick something up as well.
We picked up a Tabor Home raspberry for Sherry and I snagged a couple of these Crane Lake wines. HyVee seemed to have a full compliment of Crane Lake including this Cab, Shiraz, Sangiovese, Malbec, Chardonnay, Merlot, Zinfandel, and Sauvignon Blanc.
Doing a bit of research to see where this label came from– I found that Crane Lake is bottled by the infamous Bronco Wine Company! The Bronco Wine Company is better known as the purveyor of the Trader Joe’s exclusive Charles Shaw or “Two-Buck Chuck.” According to the wine guy at New Pioneer Co-Op in Iowa City, they essentially buy up all of the surplus grapes to make their wines. We don’t have a Trader Joe’s close to us, so I guess this is as close as I’m going to get to trying Two-Buck Chuck for now.
I would recommend the Cab. It isn’t very complicated and tends to improve as it breathes. It smells slightly grape to me and the drink starts with a sour and pepper spiciness and finishes with a mellow berry flavor. Very drinkable– it doesn’t compete with our standby 337 for overall satisfaction, but I’m sure going to keep some bottles of this around!
If you’re looking for an inexpensive way to fill a wine cellar, I think these wines might be a good bet!
[...] of the $3.49 wines from Crane Lake; this time a Sangiovese. Tart, watery with a slight smoke and chocolate flavor. The tartness hangs [...]
I’ve been drinking Crane Lake for a couple of years now. The Cab is my fav with the Sangiovese coming in a close 2nd. Great and inexpensive for an everyday wine. Easy to drink a bottle and not deal with a headache.
I cannot sing enough praises for this inexpensive wine. For you folks on a tight budget, yet you don’t want to sacrifice taste, then this is your best bet!
Drink it at “room temperature,” if possible. I’ve noticed that chilled red wines(especially cabernet’s & chianti’s) have a slight “bite” to them if you chill them, so I prefer my Cabernet Sauvignon(or Italian Chianti) to be served at “room temperature.