Cabernet Sauvignon

Next week is D-Day: I take the Unit 3 exam for the WSET Diploma. This unit is called "Wines of the World," which encompasses just about every wine region you've heard of and plenty you haven't. From Israel to Itata, Greece to Geelong, Chinon to Cafayate, I need to know something about everything. It's going to be a long day: two hours blind tasting four flights of three wines followed by three hours writing five essays.

For all the areas covered though, there are some basics that are likely to come up in the exam in some form. So for our last meeting, our study group tasted five Cabernet Sauvignons from major regions around the world: Bordeaux, California, South Africa, Western Australia, and Chile.

It was a fascinating tasting, revealing why winemakers around the world are so drawn to this grape. Each wine in its different way represented its region, with a surprising variety of flavours and styles for a grape that can sometimes be produced in a homeogeneous way.

the grape

In France, Cabernet Sauvignon is the backbone for some of its greatest wines in Bordeaux. There, however, it is usually blended with other Bordeaux grapes, particularly Merlot (for its ripe fruits and soft tannins), as well as Cabernet Franc (for its red fruit aromas) and Petit Verdot (in warm vintages adding black fruits and deep colour). Following Bordeaux's lead, I generally believe that Cabernet is at its best in a blend: its big tannins, which come from its thick skins, and its concentrated blackcurrant aromas need to be softened. There's also a practicality to blending in Bordeaux: Cabernet Sauvignon ripens late and not always reliably in Bordeaux's moderate maritime climate, so the other grapes are planted as a back up.

In warmer regions around the world, ripening Cabernet successfully is not a problem. This makes blending less of an imperative, though I feel it still adds quality to the wine. The commercial importance of varietal labelling pressurises winemakers not to blend - but, as in most regions a varietal wine need only be 85% of that variety (75% in California), there's still room for experimentation.

the regions

Cabernet is now grown pretty much anywhere it's warm enough for it to ripen. Even cool areas such as the Loire and Germany (albeit only 353ha) see it planted. It led the rise of Bulgarian wine in the 1980s, the international rise of Napa, and the trend for high-quality, expensive superTuscans: it's this versatility that makes the grape so attractive to growers and producers. There are many other grapes varieties I prefer but there are few that adapt to so many different areas.

the wines

Kathryn Hall Napa Valley 2009 (c.$55)

This was quite a beautiful example of Cabernet Sauvignon, showcasing the appeal but also the frustration of Napa. Ripe, black fruits, smoky oak, dried fruits of prunes and currants, and an earthy, leathery maturity, this wine is ageing well. However, not unusually for Napa, alcohol is a colossal 15.8% and it was the most expensive wine we tasted. It's impressive that such a high alcohol wine can have so much finesse but that level of alcohol is avoidable. ✪✪✪✪✪

John X Merriman Rustenberg Stellenbosch 2011 ($30)

When underripe, Cabernet Sauvignon can have noticeably green, herbaceous aromas. I quite like them, as long as they don't dominate, but I have met Napa producers who see that greenness as a sign of failure. This South African wine embraces that underripe greenness, with a very herbaceous nose, but engages in quite a bit of blending to counter it: 55% Cabernet, 37% Merlot, 4% Petit Verdot, 2% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Malbec. The cool climate is also reflected in the incredibly dry, dusty tannins. South Africa prides itself in being more Old World than New World and this wine demonstrates that sensibility. However, I would have liked to have seen riper fruits to break through the big, drying tannins. ✪✪✪✪

Cape Mentelle Margaret River 2011 (c.$45)

From the winery in Western Australia that created New Zealand's Cloudy Bay, this wine felt a little weak after the first two wines. It was, however, characteristic of Western Australia, with aromas of mint and eucalyptus apparent over the black fruits. Alcohol was lower than the first two wines at 13.5%, making it more balanced. Overall, however, the wine lacked complexity and concentration. ✪✪✪✪

Black Box Central Valley Chile 2013 ($20)

Wine in a box certainly has its place and $20 for the equivalent of four bottles is a deal. Working out at $5 a bottle, though, means that quality is compromised. A very bitter, green, stalky nose with chocolate, cola, currants, and cherries gives lots of aromas, but not all of them are pleasant. If I were at party drinking this boxed wine, I'd be happy enough. Although Jancis Robinson says there is a revolution in the quality of Chilean wine, I'm still looking forward to tasting it. ✪✪✪ 

Château Beauregard-Ducourt Bordeaux AC 2010 (c.$15)

And we finished with Bordeaux, the spiritual home of Cabernet. I find Bordeaux either too expensive to know what it tastes like or too cheap to want to taste it. This fell into the latter category. The nose was pleasant enough with raspberries and blackcurrants, lavender and roses, with some smoky, clove-like oakiness, but the palate was dominated by acidity and tannins which just weren't in balance. ✪✪✪

The finest wine of the five was from Napa, but it was also the most expensive and the one most likely to lead to domestic violence. South Africa provided the best value for the quality, and tasted more Bordeaux than the Bordeaux itself. The wine also provided the advantage of being blended with other grapes bringing their own moderating qualities: the wine may have been undrinkable if it had been 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. I think there's a lesson in that.