15 Cabernet Sauvignon

Question 1

Cabernet Sauvignon GI

Answer 1

France: Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc, Pauillac, Margaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

South of France

USA: California, Napa Valley (Oakville, Rutherford, Calistoga), Sonoma

Chile: Central Valley, Maipo Valley, Colchagua Valley

South Africa: Stellenbosch

Australia: Coonawarra, Margaret River

New Zealand: Hawke’s Bay

Question 2

Cabernet Sauvignon Climate

Answer 2

Moderate (Cab prefers the warmest sites within moderate climates)

Warm

Question 3

Why does Cabernet Sauvignon need a warmer climate, or the warmest of sites in moderate climates, to fully ripen?

Answer 3

It has thick skins (that have higher levels of colour, flavors and tannins), and these skins need a long and warm growing season to ripen fully.

Question 4

Cabernet Sauvignon

3,4,5,6,8(Age),9,10

Answer 4

3 Medium to Full

4 Dry

5 High

6 High

8 Black fruit (Blackcurrant, black cherry)

Herbal (Mint)

Herbaceous (Green bell pepper)

Age = Dried fruit, Earth, Forest floor

9 Oaked

10 Single or Blended

Often blended with Merlot

Question 5

What characteristics about Cabernet Sauvignon make it age worthy?

Answer 5

・High acidity

・High tannins

Both structural components behave as natural preservatives.

Question 6

Cabernet Sauvignon is often matured in ___.

Answer 6

New-oak barell

Question 7

Why is Cabernet Sauvignon so often barrel fermented/aged?

Answer 7

・Cabernet Sauvignon has the capability to age in oak for years due to its sturdy structure (high acid, high tannin);

・Oak maturation allows small amounts of oxygen into the wine: this helps to soften the tannins.

・Oak aging imparts complex secondary flavours to Cabernet Sauvignon (clove, vanilla, cloves).

Question 8

Which Bank in Bordeaux typically has a higher ratio of Cabernet Sauvignon to Merlot in the blends?

Answer 8

Left Bank

Question 9

What feature about Bordeaux’s soils in Left Bank helps Cabernet Sauvigon to ripen in this moderate climate?

Answer 9

Bordeaux has soils known as gravel, which do 2 things:

・The stones allow rainwater to drain away quickly so that the vine’s roots are not cold and damp.

・They absorb heat during the day and warm the vineyards at night.

Question 10

Why is Cabernet Sauvignon usually blended with Merlot?

Answer 10

Merlot softens the hard edges (high acid, high tannin) of Cabernet Sauvignon, especially if the Cab is from a cooler site/moderate climate and struggled to ripen.

Merlot also adds red fruit flavors to the black fruitedness of Cabernet Sauvignon.

Conversely, Cabernet Sauvignon will add structure and black fruits to a plush, soft, red-fruited Merlot.

Question 11

What does the term “Château” indicate on a bottle of Bordeaux?

Answer 11

That the grapes used to make the wine in that bottle were grown on the producer’s own land (they were not purchased grapes).

Question 12

What term can Châteaux use on their label if the estate has been classified as one of the best in Bordeaux?

Answer 12

Grand Cru Classé or Cru Classé

Very expensive and has high age potential.

Question 13

A wine from the Médoc AOC that hasn’t been classified as Grand Cru Classé or Cru Classé can apply to use a different term called ___.

Answer 13

Cru Bourgeois

Cru Bourgeous wines won’t be as expensive or as long aged as Grand Cru Classé or Cru Classé.

Question 14

Which Napa Valley subregions that are well known for their Cabernet Sauvignons is the warmest?

Answer 14

Calistoga

Question 15

Compare the style of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon to the style of Left Bank Bordeaux.

Answer 15

Napa Valley

Full body

High, ripe tannin

Ripe, black fruit flavors

Left Bank Bordeaux

Medium to full body

High tannin

black fruit flavors

More herbaceous

Question 16

If a Cabernet Sauvignon just has the appellation “California” on the label, where are the grapes allowed to come from?

Oaked or unoaked?

Answer 16

All over California, but most of it is from the hot, irrigated vineyards of the Central Valley.

This style of Cab often sees some oak influence from oak chips or staves.

Question 17

Which appellations in Chile are you most likely to find Cabernet Sauvignon?

Answer 17

Central Valley and its 2 subregions: Maipo Valley and Colchagua Valley.

Question 18

Both Maipo Valley and Colchagua Valley run ___ to ___.

Answer 18

East to west, from the Andes mountain to the Pacific Ocean.

Question 19

How does this benefit winegrowers?

Answer 19

This benefits winegrowers by giving them a vast number of sites from which to select grapes, e.g. higher elevation and lower elevation, and warmer sites and cooler sites.

Question 20

In Chile, Cabernet Sauvignon is usually blended with which 2 grapes?

Answer 20

Merlot

Carmenère

Question 21

What are the features of Stellenbosch that allow it to make varying styles of Cabernet Sauvignon?

Answer 21

・It’s mountainous/has varying elevation

・Moderate to warm climate

Style of Cabs from Stellenbosch can be vary:

herbal, medium-bodied, and red fruited to full-throttle, high alcohol, and cooked black fruit flavors.

Question 22

What are the grapes in Cape Blend?

Answer 22

・Pinotage

・Merlot

・Cabernet Sauvignon

Question 23

What weather features of Margaret River help this warm region maintain freshness in its Cabernets?

Answer 23

・Costal breezes

・Plentiful winter rainfall

Question 24

The Cabernet Sauvignon wines from Margaret river typically display ___ aromas and subtle notes from ___.

Answer 24

ripe black fruit

oak

Question 25

What are the weather features in Coonawara that help it produce outstanding-quality Cabernets?

Answer 25

・Cloud cover

・Cooling breezes from the south

Question 26

What flavor characteristic do Cabernet Sauvignon from Coonawarra region usually have that makes them distinct from Cabernets grown outside Australia?

Answer 26

They tend to have a distinctive herbal (Mint) characteristics, pronounced blackcurrant flvours, smoke and cedar flavours from oak.

Question 27

Hawke’s Bay, NZ has a moderate climate. Where do farmers have to plant their Cabernet Sauvignon vines here to ensure the grapes ripen?

Single or blended?

Answer 27

In the warmest possible sites.

Because Hawke’s Bay has a moderate climate like Bordeaux, Cabernet Sauvignon is usually blended with Merlot.