Cabernet Sauvignon Flashcards
Characteristics
- Thick skins containing high level of colour
- High tannin
- Dry
- High acidity
- Medium to full body
- Pronounced flavours of black fruit (black currant, black cherry), herbal (mint), or herbaceous notes (green bell pepper)
- Can develop complex tertiary flavours (dried fruits, earth, forest floor)
Terroir
Moderate and warm climate
Winemaking
- Often be matrued in oak barrels for months or years
- Oak maturation softens the tannins
- New oak barrels impart complex secondary flavours (smoke, vanilla, cloves)
France
Regions
Bordeux
* Château indicates that the wine was made from grapes grown on the producer’s land
* Grand Cru Classé/Cru Classé
* Cru Bourgeois - wines from the Médoc but not classified as Grand Cru Classé
* Left Bank
* Gravel soils helps Cab to ripen
* Médoc AOC
* Haut-Médoc AOC
* Margaux AOC
* Pauillac AOC
* Graves AOC
* Pessac-Léognan AOC
South of France
USA
Regions
Napa Valley
Sonoma
Oakville,Rutherford
* Full body
* Pronounced ripe black fruit
* High and ripe tannin
Calistoga
Chile
Regions
- Cabernet Sauvignon is the most widely planted variety
Central Valley - Maipo Valley and Colchagua Valley
- Spreading laterally from the foothills of the Andes Mountains
- Herbal (mint) and herbaceous (green bell pepper) characteristics
- Black fruit flabour
South Africa
Regions
Stellenbosch
* Cab and Merlot are belended with other local grapes, such as Pinotage, called Cape Blend
Australia
Regions
Margaret River
* Known for the quality of Cab, sometimes blended with Merlot
* Ripe black fruit aromas and notes from oak
Coonawarra
* Herbal (mint) characters
* Pronounced black currant flabours
* Smoke and cedar flavours from oak
New Zealand
Regions
Hawke’s Bay
* Moderate climate
* Red fruit, black fruit, and herbaceous notes