This was a spontaneous last minute decision; I'd actually been thinking about trying the new Meridian Cabernet Sauvignon release, but saw this Liberty Creek Cabernet Sauvignon on the shelf, and was curious. It's an E. and J. Gallo wine, from their lowest tier with a label that unabashedly describes the wine as "California table wine." This is about as generic as you can get in terms of California Cabernet Sauvignon.

It's lightly fruity, and only very faintly tannic, about twenty minutes after opening, but a lovely deep red, almost purple, in color. An hour later the wine opened up and displayed some aroma. It has hints of plum and possibly black cherry, but it's a much tamer Cabernet Sauvignon than say, Meridian, which is not at all unreasonable for self-declared table wine. It's a quaffable wine, for a casual dinner and at 12% ABV a little lower than most comparable California Cabernet Sauvignons, not at all a bad thing in a table wine. It's non-vintage, but it also has absolutely no pretension at all. It's definitely not a wine for a wine snob, as this blogger notes. At $5.99 for a 1.5 liter, on sale from about $8.50 at the local RiteAid, this was a bargain as well as a budget wine.