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2018 Taken Wine Company Red Blend

2018 Taken Wine Company Red Blend

Costco Notes: Ripe notes of raspberry, blackberry, black currant, and plum with floral undertones.  The body is defined by flavors of quince, roasted fig, and extra dark chocolate with a dash of allspice with gives….(cut off)

Left Coast Tasting Notes:

AVA: Napa

Time on Gas: 48 hours

Color: Nice Dark Cabernet Sauvignon color

Nose (aromas): Very pleasant with slight hints of fruit.  Having the wine under gas did not change the nose of this wine.

Palate (flavors): Opening a new bottle, there was a bit of tightness, the expected fruit in the Costco notes was not present.  The tannins and acid did not have enough time to age in the bottle.  Taken needs time to open up, which it did.  The gassed bottle provided a very smooth, well balanced wine with a bit of acid on the finish.

Summary: This wine will be lovely with a time in the bottle.  If you can’t wait, then decant many hours before you sit down to enjoy this wine with a red meat or red pasta meal.  The body is between medium to heavy, a nicely put together wine. We enjoyed cheese with this wine, it made a significant difference.    

Rating: We agreed, this is a solid Thursday after being opened for a period of time. 

2018 James Suckling  91  points

Vivino 4.0 with 7,100+ votes                                    

Value:  For $16.99, if you have room in your wine stores, pick a couple of bottles and let them rest for a couple of years.  By then the tannins will mellow and the acid will lay down.

Grapes:  65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Zinfandel, 11% Merlot, 7% Malbec, 2% Petite Sirah

Alcohol: 14.3%          

Costco SKU: 978598

Price: $21.99 less a $5.00 instant savings, reduced to $16.99

Store Location: Danville, CA

Tasting Date: 12/17/2021

Tasting Panel: M.S., M.C., C.P., A.T., B.T., M.A., W.W., C.Y., C.H., B.H.

This review is part of a series of guest posts from Left Coast Wine Bloggers, a great group of wine lovers enjoying and reviewing Costco wines they find on the West Coast. You can read more about them here, and learn more about their rating system. We hope the addition of their wine reviews will expand the geographic coverage of the blog so you can find more of the wines we feature. Cheers.