Ok, so the name sucks, but the wine doesn’t. This juicy, perfumey wine is named after France’s 337 cabernet sauvignon clone. In the world of grapes, “clone” is a term used for naturally-occurring (sometimes mutating) genetic subtypes of the same grape variety. Chardonnay has a ton of them, as does pinot noir. They’re not exact copies but slightly different and each clone produces a very different wine. Kind of like a sibling.
Clone 337 hails originally from Bordeaux and is planted all over California, including the warm Lodi wine region where this wine was born. The winery claims clone 337 avoids any green flavors, so often found in wines made from other cabernet clones. And I can attest it has no green stuff… no green pepper, no jalapeno, no herbs. Only flowery raspberry, blueberry, sultry blackberry and clove. Well integrated tannins, low acidity and a low price make it really, really easy to swallow. Sustainably farmed. Sweetness=2 out of 10 (from dry to sweet), $13. 4.5 stars.
Tampa folks: It’s available at upscale Publix, Total Wine and More, ABC Fine Wines, Whole Foods Market, 717 South, and Charley’s Steakhouse
Did a quick search on Total Wine and did not find it..
The distributor rep told me it was there… haven’t looked myself. In my experience, the online database for Total Wine isn’t always accurate.