We were excited to taste today’s Busca Wines 2015 Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon, but we weren’t prepared for just how great this budget-priced wine would be. This intriguing wine really delivers the goods, with style, finesse and just the right amount of complexity. Winemaker John Harley is one talented bloke!

At the center, a gorgeous ruby hue suffuses the wine, shrouded by a ring of mauve. The nose is quite approachable with a bramble, boysenberry, sandalwood, potpourri, and peonies. Interesting cab! Dark fruit is the name of the game when it comes to the flavor profile with brooding flavors of dark cherry, black plum, black currant, and pomegranate with a nice strawberry and anise twist on the finish. A highly structured wine with tannin like a two by four slung along the bottom of your palate. The perfect pairing for mama’s meatloaf!

This wine hails from the Petrified Forest Vineyard, at the edge of Sonoma County, a stone’s throw from the Napa Valley.

The Knights Valley AVA (American Viticultural Area), in Sonoma County, California, is one of Sonoma County’s initial five American Viticultural Areas. Formally designated an American Viticultural Area on October 21, 1983, the area includes approximately 38,000 acres, 2000 of which are planted to wine grapes.

The region is the easternmost AVA and it enjoys the warmest climate in the county. The Knights Valley lies between the Alexander Valley AVA and Chalk Hill AVA wine regions to the west and the Mayacamas Mountains to the east. The appellation separates the rest of Sonoma County from the Napa Valley AVA - which lies to the east.