A couple of notes before getting to the review. Suffice it to say, no one is more surprised than I at how unoffended I was by this, my first introduction to Bourbon barrel-aged wine. I was fully prepared with a list of preconceptions: thick, viscous, dense, over-extracted, pungent, and so on. None of those are true, and in fact, I liked it. Also, my guess is that this particular wine benefitted from a gentle touch with a treatment that could easily be overused - and the same can be said for oak.
2019 Josh Cellars Bourbon Barrel Aged Cabernet Sauvignon $22
On site and smell, it makes a surprising first impression. Deep garnet with medium opacity, its aromas are surprisingly cabernet-like. Warm, round, and plump in the nose, but no detectable overtones of bourbon or barrel. Certainly there is an open stitched texture with pecan pie tones over top the black fruit, but no overt non-wine flavorings expected. There is a bit of boozy sweetness on the finish, but that's true of most California reds these day. Chalky tannins round out a stylistically refined wine that may not turn many heads, but will definitely be emptied out of many glasses. Finished for 3 months in Bourbon barrels. Enjoyable. 89 points. (Sample)