Cabernet Sauvignon

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Cabernet Sauvignon

• 2/16/06

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General Info

• Premier red grape worldwide
• Produces tannic wines that age well
• Usually blended to increase complexity
• Grown in warmer climates than other grapes

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Facts

• Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc
• Most common grape planted
• berry have incredible blue hue and thickness of
  skin.
• The finest Cabernet Sauvignon is cultivated in
  Bordeauxs Medoc and Californias Napa Valley.
• The most over-priced Cabernet comes from Napa
  Valley where start-up wineries routinely charge
  50-75 a bottle for wines with no track record.
• Most Cabernet Sauvignon is blended with Merlot
  and Cabernet Franc (and to a lesser extent Petit
  Verdot and Malbec) to make Bordeaux-style red
  wines. Years ago, Napa Valley Cabernets were
  often 100 varietal but this is less and less the
  case.
• Up-and-coming regions for Cabernet are
  Washington, South Africa, Italy, Argentina, and
  Chile.

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• 6. Virtually all top-flight Cabernets (and blends
  thereof) are aged in oak barrels, usually French.
  In Bordeaux, the so-called first-growths are
  typically raised in 100 new barrels as are many
  of Californias boutique Cabs (Harlan, Colgin,
  Bryant Family, Screaming Eagle, etc.). These
  wines are also produced from relatively low
  yields, producing more concentrated wines which
  can easily absorb the oak. Lesser producers often
  attempt to use new oak to cover up under-fruited
  Cabernets with a veneer of vanilla toast presumed
  to hide their deficiencies. This is where the
  phrase over-oaked originates whereas the more
  proper term is under-fruited.
• 7. Vintages do matter. One only needs to taste
  Napa Cabernets from 1998 or 2000 or Bordeaux from
  1991, 1992, 1993, and 1997 to grasp the
  importance of sunlight and the absence of harvest
  rain on quality.
• 8. Bordeaux producers typically charge less in
  weaker vintages. In California prices move in
  only one direction.

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Flavors and food pairings

• Flavors aromas dark cherry, cedar, tobacco,
  black currant green pepper, olive vanilla and
  oak
• Pair with Manly meat! Chocolate?

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California

• Sonoma, Napa, and Paso Robles produce
  highest-rated versions

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Bordeaux

• Dominant grape of Bordeaux (along with Merlot
  Cabernet Franc)

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Chile
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Quiz! Merlot or Cabernet?
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Merlot or Cabernet?
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Merlot or Cabernet?
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Merlot or Cabernet?