Surprising Wines
  • Wine
  • Wine Chat and Terms
  • Interviews
  • About

CB Initiales Cabernet Sauvignon (2005), From Morocco's Thalvin Domaine Ouled Thaleb, Interesting Characteristics In A Cab From North Africa

6/8/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
by Patrick Ogle

CB Initiales cabernet sauvignon (2005), from Morocco's Thalvin Domaine Ouled Thaleb has a great deal to recommend it. This wine, right out of the bottle, is tannic and needs some air to open up. It also has a strange finish--no real way to put it otherwise but it seems almost like...plastic. Yet this weird finish likewise changes with some air. Is the odd plastic-y taste something to do with the tannins? I cannot say, nor can I say what it is exactly. I checked with others and asked what they thought? And their response was the same, there is a peculiar finish here but this does not ruin the wine.


It has some black fruit to it as well and nice acidity--not too overwhelming and it brings a certain balance to the wine. There is a hint of black pepper here too. After the air gets to it the wine it smooths out and it is a nice version of cab--it is arguable it is more interesting than many varietal cabs.

You might want to decant and I say this as a person who often says "I don't decant" because I want to taste the wine as it evolves with its contact with air. I recently had a conversation with a French gentleman who said all wine should be decanted and he then went on to offend virtually everyone he spoke with about how they were wrong and he was right about wine. Decant if it appeals to you and don’t if it doesn’t. You are the expert when it comes to how you drink your wine.

If you live in a hot place? This wine maybe benefits from a little time in the chiller. You don’t want it cold but you don’t want it at Miami room temperature either.

Despite the odd taste right out of the bottle this Moroccan cab is more interesting than varietal cab I’ve had from France recently (French blends with cab as a major component are another matter). I’ve wondered if the weird taste I described as “plastic” had something to do with something I’d eaten or just the fact it was late in the day. It doesn’t jibe with the rest of this wine’s qualities, especially since no herbicides or fungicides are used at the vineyard.

For the price you may be able to find cabs that are “better” (better being subjective of course) but this Moroccan wine is worth a taste.

$25-30

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    WINE!

    There are thousands of wine grapes and many places that grow great wines. Why not find out about some surprising wines from surprising places?

    NOTE-Until recently I did not capitalize the names of varietal grapes (as a matter of style) but for a variety of reasons as of February, 2018 we will capitalize but I am not going back and altering the previous style!!!


    Archives

    August 2022
    July 2022
    September 2021
    May 2021
    August 2020
    July 2020
    April 2020
    November 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015

    Categories

    All
    Albana
    Albanello
    Albarino
    Alicante Bouschet
    Aligote
    Arneis
    Auxerrois
    Baga
    Barbera
    Bekari
    Blaufrankisch
    Blend
    Brachetto
    Cabernet Franc
    Cabernet Sauvignon
    Caladoc
    Carignan
    Catawba
    Centesimino
    Chambourcin
    Chardonel
    Chardonnay
    Chasselas
    Chenin Blanc
    Chinuri
    Cinsault
    Clairette Blanche
    Counoise
    Debina
    Dolcetto
    Frappato
    Fruit Wine
    Furmint
    Gamay
    Gamay Teinturier
    Garrut
    Gewurztraminer
    Glera
    Godello
    Grechetto
    Grenache
    Grenache Blanc
    Grenache Gris
    Grignolino
    Grolleau
    Gros Manseng
    Gruner Veltliner
    Italy
    Jacquère
    Kerner
    Lambrusco
    Limniona
    Listan
    Malbec
    Malvasia
    Malvasia Bianca
    Malvasia De Sitges
    Marsanne
    Marsellan
    Mataossu
    Mavrud
    Melon De Bourgogne
    Mission Grape
    Mourvedre/Monastrell
    Müller-Thurgau
    Muscadelle
    Muscadine
    Muscat
    Muscat Of Alexandria
    Muscat Of Hamburg
    Nascetta
    Nerello Mascalese
    Orangetraube
    Orange Wine
    Pais
    Parellada
    Pedro Ximenez
    Petit Courbu
    Petit Manseng
    Pet Nat
    Pineau D' Aunis
    Pinot Blanc
    Pinot Grigio
    Pinot Gris
    Pinot Meunier
    Pinot Noir
    Plavak
    Prosecco
    Red
    Ribolla Gialla
    Riesling
    Robola
    Romorantin
    Rose
    Rosé
    Roussanne
    Savagnin
    Sciaccarellu
    Semillon
    Skin Contact
    Sparkling
    St. Laurent
    Sumoll
    Sylvaner
    Symphony
    Syrah
    T. Amarela
    Tannat
    Tricadeira Preta
    Trollinger
    Trousseau Gris
    Trousseau Noir
    Valdiguié
    Valdiguié
    Verdeca
    Verdejo
    Verdelho
    Video
    Viognier
    Viura/Macabeo
    Vlahiko
    White
    Xarel Lo
    Xarel-Lo
    Xarel-lo Vermell
    Xinomavro
    Xynisteri
    Zinfandel
    Zweigelt

    RSS Feed

      We'd love to hear from you...(probably)...

    Submit