Rubus Cabernet Sauvignon

From the back label: "flavors of blackberry, currant, and chocolate"... unfortunately, I'm allergic to blackberry and currant. It took several years of research, but my very unscientific explanation is that blackberries, grapes, and blueberries are all related. They all grow on vines, but grapes and blueberries are smooth, but blackberries (and raspberries) are "bumpy". I'm allergic to bumpy berries.

In the universal order of things, some grapes are closer to blackberries and some are closer to blueberries. Currants are smooth, but fall right between the blackberries and grapes. As such, any wine that describes itself as tasting of currants and blackberries will cause my throat to swell, and I'll choke and cough. Cabernet Sauvignon is such a wine.

So why would I buy a bottle of wine with the potential of choking me to death? I didn't, my son the chef bought this, not knowing the potential side effects. Of course I drank it anyway.

Once you discount the likelihood of a slow an torturous demise, he actually did a good job. He picked an older wine, a 2007, specifically claiming to be "old vine" grapes. The older the vines, the deeper the root system, and the more stable the flavor. The wine had good body and flavor, but I can only give it a 4 out of 10, on the grounds that I wouldn't chance it again.