Wednesday, December 16, 2009

NV Harthill Farms Cabernet Sauvignon - California

Terry post:

The first thing you should know when you visit Wholefoods Market is it's nickname: "whole paycheck". Wholefoods Market is an expensive place to shop for your groceries. The Porches, Mercedes and Volvos in the parking lot tell you all you need to know about the demographic which shops at Whole
Paycheck.

So imagine my surprise when I saw a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon at the endcap of check-out counter for $4.99. The wine, a non-vintage Harthill Farms is a California appellation is of an unknown origin. I tried searching for Harthill Farm Winery on the web, and all I could find was a horse farm in Ocala, Florida. I am left with assuming that some middle-man has aggregated a lot of juice and brokered a high-volume deal with Wholefoods Market. Think of Harthill Farm as the upscale version of "Two-Buck Chuck".

My Impression: Medium red in color. Thin nose with very little fruit across the palate. Moderate soft tannins on the woody finish. It is a pretty simple wine without much going on other a little fruit and a respectable amount of tannins at the end. No real flaws.

I paired the wine with a bowl of chili this evening. In boxing terms, the wine was fighting outside of it its weight class. While I found Harthill Farms Cabernet Sauvignon acceptable, it did not have the intensity to stand up to the spicy beef, beans and tomatoes. All-in-all, at $4.99 for a 750 mL bottle with no critical faults the NV Harthill Farms Cabernet Sauvignon is a very good value and worthy of a try. Just be careful when you park your truck next to the Porche.

~ Terry


10 comments:

  1. Is this also bottled under the Oak Creek brand and sold at CVS for about $3 a bottle? I just opened a bottle of Harthill and it tasted familiar. I looked at a bottle of Oak Creek I had just thrown out, and the cork and Livermore & Ripon, CA were the same.. Even the bottles are similar.

    ReplyDelete
  2. gotta tell you it the best wine I have had in awhile.. I could not believe I got it at Whole Foods..So i went back and bought a case of it ,just in case the price was wrong...nice wine watching tv before bed time... The Cabernet///

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for the review. My husband and I are not expensive wine snobs but we do have a personal prohibition against "Two Buck Chuck". However, we discovered Harthhill Farms and were surprisingly pleased with the fruity, easy to drink cab! For only $2 more than 2 buck chuck this wine is do delightful it's been know to show itself before 5oclock! Unfortunately, we have only been able to find it at Whole Foods. Do you know of an online source? Thanks again, Mary Chris~~ www.twoprettypleased.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. I am always trying different wines...this is a wonderful Merlot! It's priced very nicely and is delicious. I was very surprised AND delighted.

    ReplyDelete
  5. People, people, people... are you @#$% nuts? Do you even KNOW wine? I should direct some of this criticism towards myself since i fell for the $3.99 trap at Whole Foods in Cambridge... this crap isn't even wine... it is sour, slightly alcoholic grape juice. I knew it even before I tasted it, when, upon pouring it into my glass, the color of the liquid resembled more like the water which runs off my hands when i am trying to get red marker off.
    This "wine" is an embarrassment to Bacchus and to wine lovers, let alone drinkers, everywhere. Avoid this sh#$ like the plague!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Just cracked a bottle tonight and admit I like it. I like the flowery, fruity flavors. For $4.99, this wine is well worth it.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Interesting discussion on this brand.

    I am reminded of the MILLIONS of dollars that the Australian critter brands are making by selling easily accessible wine to the US market. Harthill Farm is cut of the same cloth: unoffending wine with no major faults and no real character, either.

    ReplyDelete
  8. The Merlot is actually very good.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I just tried the Pinot Grigio from the same brand. Very much a wine of little character that when poured into the evening's asparagus risotto was just about perfect. At $7 a bottle you can't go wrong, crisp light and refreshing after a day's driving in my porsche...

    ReplyDelete
  10. i was very happy to discover the harthill wines ! great table wine at a good value.

    ReplyDelete