It’s common (although flawed) knowledge that wines get better with age. I say ‘flawed’ because while all wines will change with age, some might even get better. And it’s quite unsurprising how often the ‘experts’ are wrong about which (and how) wines age beneficially. (Read this!)
But, rather than going down that particular rabbit hole again, let me just say that when we find a bottle of wine that actually benefits from some bottle age and sells for $20, thats huge news!
There is, however, a bit of cheating involved….this wine doesn’t usually sell for $20, it usually sells for $60. But, because we actually do this for a living (as opposed to the wine commentators, who dabble in wine, while, presumably, exhibiting some degree of excellence in an unrelated endeavor), we sometimes sniff out some remarkable deals.Amapola Creek is Dick Arrowood’s second act;his namesake winery was a genuine star in Sonoma and Arrowood was one of the North Coast’s early proponents of organic farming and balanced winemaking. His wines from Amapola show the same level of restraint and quality (which makes them potentially age-worthy). This wine, the 2008 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon ($19.99, 750 ml), is structured and full without being overblown or sweet and the 10 years in bottle has allowed the tannins to seamlessly fold into the wine, yielding a balanced and genuinely versatile California Cab. And it’s only $19.99!