[ka-behr-NAY soh-vihn-YOHN; soh-vee-NYAWN] The most successful and popular of the top-quality red-wine grapes. Cabernet Sauvignon is the basis for most of California's superb red wines and the primary grape of most of the top vineyards in bordeaux's Médoc and Graves districts. In Bordeaux, Cabernet Sauvignon is most often blended with one or more of the following grapes: Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot or Malbec. In California, wines are more often made with 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, although some blending is now taking place. Cabernet Sauvignon grapes produce full-bodied, fruity wines that are rich, complex and intensely flavorful. There are a multitude of well-made Cabernet Sauvignon-based wines made throughout the world. Among the most notable are those from France's Château Lafite-Rothschild, Château Latour, Château Mouton-Rothschild and Château Margaux, and California's Beaulieu Vineyards, Caymus Vineyards, Heitz Wine Cellars and Robert Mondavi Winery.

Wine Lover's Companion: Cabernet Sauvignon

[ka-behr-NAY soh-vihn-YOHN (soh-vee-NYAWN)] If not the king of the top-quality red-wine grapes, as many argue, Cabernet Sauvignon is certainly the most successful and popular. It's the primary grape of most of the top vineyards in France's médoc and graves districts. It's also the source for most of California's superb red wines and, with about 70,000 acres as of the year 2000, the state's most widely planted red variety. Cabernet Sauvignon's reputation for excellence has made it popular around the world. There's been heavy planting (which continues) in chile, australia, and eastern Europe, especially Bulgaria. Cabernet Sauvignon has also begun making inroads into spain and italy in areas where local grapes have dominated for centuries. In 1997 researchers at university of california davis determined that Cabernet Sauvignon is an offspring of sauvignon blanc and cabernet franc. Since Cabernet Sauvignon appeared in the late seventeenth century prior to plant hybridization practices, UC Davis scientists believe that its origin was a natural occurrence rather than a planned cross of the two parents. This serendipitous union turned out to be viticulturally historical. The flavor, structure, complexity and longevity of wines made from Cabernet Sauvignon are what makes this grape so popular. Its fruity flavors have been described as cherry, black cherry, blackcurrant (or cassis), and raspberry. In addition, other flavor descriptions include minty, cedar chocolate and bell pepper; the word tobacco is often used to describe older vintages. The acidity and tannins found in Cabernet Sauvignon wines help form the basis for its structure and longevity. In Bordeaux, Cabernet Sauvignon is most often blended with one or more of the following: merlot, cabernet franc, petit verdot or malbec. In California, wines are more often made with 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, although the trend is now toward some blending, as in Bordeaux. In Australia, there is a predilection to blend Cabernet Sauvignon with shiraz, which is widely grown there. Although the Cabernet Sauvignon grape has been grown in Italy for over 150 years, it has only recently become more popular there. Italian winemakers are now blending small amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon with sangiovese the country's top red wine grape. They also make a few top-quality wines with a majority of Cabernet Sauvignon. In Spain, there are blends of Cabernet Sauvignon and the local favorite, tempranillo. Throughout the world you'll find a multitude of well-made Cabernet Sauvignon-based wines. Among the most notable are those from France's Château Lafite-Rothschild, Château Latour, Château Mouton-Rothschild, and Château Margaux and California's Beaulieu Vineyards, Caymus Vineyards, Heitz Wine Cellars and Robert Mondavi Winery. Although known as Cabernet Sauvignon throughout most of the world, in parts of France this grape is also called Bouche, Bouchet, Petit-Cabernet, Sauvignon Rouge, and Vidure. See also ruby cabernet.

Wikipedia: Cabernet Sauvignon

Cab Sauvignon grapes.

Cabernet Sauvignon is a variety of red grape mainly used for wine production, and is, along with Chardonnay, one of the most widely-planted of the world's grape varieties.^[1]

The principal grape in many Bordeaux wines, Cabernet Sauvignon is grown in most of the world's wine regions, although it requires a long growing season to ripen properly and gives low yields. Many of the red wines regarded as among the world's greatest, such as Red Bordeaux, are predominantly made from Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. World-class examples can improve for decades and remain drinkable for a century.

The particularly thick skin of the Cabernet Sauvignon grape results in wines that can be high in tannin which provides both structure and ageability. This varietal, while frequently aromatic and with an attractive finish, also tends to lack mid-palate richness and so is often blended with lower tannin, but "fleshy" tasting grapes, particularly Merlot and, especially in Australia, Shiraz / Syrah. Cabernet Franc is often used in blends with Cabernet Sauvignon to add aromatics. As a group, Cabernet Sauvignon wines are generally full-flavored, with a stronger flavor than Merlot for instance, and with a smooth and lingering "finish".

Cabernet Sauvignon, like all noble wine grape varieties, is of the species Vitis vinifera, and genetic studies in 1997 indicated it is the result of a cross between Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc.^[1]

In 1961, a cross of Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache produced the French wine grape Marselan.^[2]

Aroma

Old vine Cabernet Sauvignon at Chateau Montelena in Napa Valley. As the grapes mature they will darken to a purple hue.

Cabernet Sauvignon has a well defined aroma. In Old World wines, particularly those made in Bordeaux, this is characterised by a smell of violets, blackcurrant, cedar and spice. New World wines of this grape can often share the aromas of their Old World counterparts, but are more often dominated by aromas of chocolate, ripe jammy berries, oak, pepper and earth. In Australia, there is often a strong smell of eucalyptus, particularly in wines made in Coonawarra. One of the most characteristic aromas of warm-climate examples is cassis (blackcurrant), while cherry and other red berry notes are not uncommon. Cooler-climate examples often reveal greener, herbaceous notes, such as eucalyptus or green pepper/capsicum. There is, however, a great deal of variation in flavor depending on the region, winemaking technique, seasonal weather, and bottle age. Nonetheless the wines retain a remarkable ability to be recognizably Cabernet.

Around the world

Cabernet Sauvignon leaf.

Bordeaux

Cabernet Sauvignon is most directly associated with the wines of Bordeaux, and especially those of its Left Bank, which includes the top tier appellations of St.-Estephe, Pauillac, St.-Julien, and Margaux, among others. It makes up the majority portion of the blends of all of the Grand Cru wines of the 1855 classification.

In Bordeaux, though, blending is common with the other allowable varietals: Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Pettit Verdot, and Malbec.

Cabernet Sauvignon is also cultivated in other areas in France, notably Languedoc-Rousillon, and has great acclaim the world over.

Italy

Traditionally, Italian wine-makers have long regarded the Cabernet Sauvignon grape with suspicion, despite a long history there, and it appears in very few of Italy's DOCs. In Tuscany in the 1970s however, a number of top winemakers deliberately introduced Cabernet Sauvignon into their wines, despite knowing that it fell outside of the DOC system, and produced the top class wines that are often known as "Super Tuscans". Famous examples include Sassicaia and Tignanello.

A bottle of Stag's Leap Cask 23 Cabernet Sauvignon, a California Cabernet.

United States

California is, after Bordeaux, the world's largest grower of Cabernet Sauvignon, most notably in the Napa Valley and warmer AVAs of Sonoma County. In California the area of Cabernet Sauvignon planting doubled in the 1990s, precipitously lowering prices and disrupting the health of the wine industry. As in Bordeaux, it is often blended with Merlot and Cabernet Franc to produce world-class wines. More commercial versions may be blended with Ruby Cabernet or other varietals that provide more structure and richness than Cabernet Sauvignon can provide. The grape has also found a home in Washington, though it requires the warmest vineyards such at the Red Mountain AVA in the lower Yakima Valley for it to ripen fully.

Other New World Producers

The grape's most notable success over the past decade has been its use in the wines of the "New World". The consistently optimal climates (more so than in Europe), strong investment and innovative winemaking techniques have allowed countries such as Canada's Niagara Peninsula, Chile, Argentina, Croatia, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia to produce very good and at times, outstanding, quality Cabernet Sauvignon-based wines at competitive prices.