$7.99 well spent on Belle Ambiance

Belle Ambiance Cabernet Sauvignon 2015|California
I was checking out the on-sale stuff at Publix on senior discount day. (Unfortunately alcohol doesn’t quality for the old fart discount). I haven’t done a cheap wine bastard review in a while so I sought out something under $10 I haven’t tried. Then I saw a $9.99 bottle marked down to $7.99. Right up my alley. Belle Ambiance Cabernet Sauvignon was the pick of the evening.
I wanted something I could sip as I walked around the backyard checking out the tomatoes and peppers in our garden. We have started to pick quite a few, much earlier than last year. I think its from that Global Warming that the Democrats caused. As I sipped I thought that this was a nice little cab. Not over-the-top extruded fruit. Nothing fancy but for $7.99 it beats expectations.
Back in side I cheated and cut up a delicious heirloom tomato Mrs. Dan bought. I put a thick slice (it was juicy and sweet) on whole wheat, a dab of mayonnaise, some Jarlsberg cheese, a thin slice of chicken and a sprinkle of salt. I then poured some more Belle Ambiance. I usually find that the acid in tomatoes will totally screw up your taste buds and make an expense wine taste horrible. I don’t know if it was the sweetness of the heirloom or the strength of the Belle Ambiance but it held it’s own. ( I also had a Zaxby’s Chicken Nibbler with it and it tasted pretty good).
It didn’t jump out and sparkle like some wines do with a big fat steak. But I think it made the heirloom sandwich better. Most often I seem to say that the food makes the wine great. I can’t remember the last time that I said the wine made the food great.
It has dark fruit flavors but there isn’t one type of dark fruit that really jumps out. I’d buy this wine at $9.99.
I checked out their website to see what they had to say (these notes are actually for the 2014 but I’m going to assume they are close). “Take in tantalizing aromas of black cherries and blackberries along with hints of violet and freshly-cracked peppercorn before plunging into flavors of dense black fruit compote and black currant, beautifully highlighted with a hint of earth and spice. This medium-bodied wine is jammy and juicy with plush, velvety tannins.”
I’ll go with the dense black fruit compote and black currant and the hint of earth and spice. But I don’t consider this to be a jammy wine. If this is a jammy wine then I would have to redefine how I describe wines like Apothic Dark or Jam Jar.
The other odd thing is that I had 2 full glasses. Despite being labeled as 13% ABV I would swear that the ABV was much lower, almost like drinking 2 glasses of 6% beer. I was not feeling the affects of the alcohol. And that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Mrs. Dan liked it. She was glad that I wasn’t pushing off one of my usual Saturday night specials on her.
Bottomline. This is a Cheap Wine Bastard favorite.
Website: Belle Ambiance Family Vineyards