WineLife365

From: South Africa

Price: $8.79

Full Disclosure:  I openly admit that I am personally not a big fan of most red wines from South Africa, especially Pinotage.  Why my beef with South African red wines you ask?  Because most that I’ve tasted over the years are just way too smoky for my liking.  So many that I’ve tried have made me feel as if I was smoking the wine rather than drinking them.  And since I refrain from smoking cigarettes and other peace pipe offerings, I’d also prefer not consuming any nicotine in my liquid libation just the same.

But on this occasion, I had a pre-op plan before heading down that all too familiar smoky mountain, South African road.  To be on the safe side, before opening up the 16 Hands Cabernet Sauvignon, I slapped on a nicotine patch just in case this South African red was ready to deal me a generous amount of smoky tobacco flavors that would bring back memories of my grandfather’s beloved Red Man chewing tobacco and one little boy eager to try a pinch, and afterwards turning green inside and out.

So with my patch in place, I was ready to give this red wine a worry-free whirl.

Thank goodness for the pre-plan, because the 2006 16 Hands Cabernet Sauvignon screamed smoky!  I was greeted with a decent punch of sweet cherry tobacco, cedar, and dark fruit that left me feeling a little green like my childhood experience.  Needless to say, the 2006 16 Hands Cabernet Sauvignon was not for me.  But if you don’t personally mind a shot of nicotine in your gut, I mean glass, then this red wine might be palatable to your taste buds.

I award the 2006 16 Hands Cabernet Sauvignon 2 stars out of 4.  I realize now that the “smoky factor” is a common and “natural” trait found in most South African red wines – especially Pinotage.  Unfortunately, that cherry tobacco cigar box flavor just doesn’t sit right with me.

WineLife365 Rating: 2-Star

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