Red Wine Varietals Flashcards
Cabernet Sauvignon General Style
High Acid
High Tannin, grippy when young
From simple fruity to full bodied complex wines
Usually oaked
Blackcurrant, black cherry, black fruits, herbaceous
Thick skinned fruit, late ripening, usually destemmed
Cabernet Sauvignon Regions
France, Bordeaux, Haut-Medoc and other left bank, usually blended
USA, California, Napa
Australia, Coonwarra and Margaret River
New Zealand, Hawke’s Bay
South Africa, Stellenbosch
Chile, Colchagua Valley
Merlot General Style
Medium acidity
Medium tannins
Ripens earlier than Cabernet Sauvignon
2 main styles:
* late as possible harvest for maximum intense purple color, concentrated blackberry and plum, soft velvety tannins, often oaked. “International” style
* earlier harvest for medium body and alcohol, higher acidity, more red fruit and some vegetal, leafy aromas. Common only in Bordeaux
Vanilla, toast, and clove notes of new oak add to the juicy plum fruit of Merlot
Merlot Regions
Most common in Bordeaux right bank
Pinot Noir General Style
High acidity
Low to medium tannins
Lighter bodied
Early budding and ripening, thin skinned, cool and moderate climates. Risk of under-ripening with vegetal notes like cabbage and wet leaves.
Wide range of styles from light and fruity with red cherry notes to complex and earthy flavors of spice and forest floor.
Warmer fermentation >30C for complexity, cooler for light simpler wines.
Rarely blended
Pinot Noir Regions
France: Burgandy, entry level are light with acid and hints of oak. Better wines are intense and complex. Ranging from delicate and floral to tannic and spicy. Always risk of underripening and getting vegatal notes like cabbage and wet leaves.
Germany: Baden
USA: Los Carneros and Sonoma
New Zealand: Martinborough, Marlbourogh, Central Otago
Australia: Yarra Valley, Mornington Peninsula, Tasmania.
South Africa: Walker Bay
Chile: Casablanca Valley
Syrah General Style
Medium to high acidity
Medium to high tannin
Medium to high alcohol
Black fruits
Small grape, thick skinned, won’t ripen in cool climates. Wide range of styles by climate. From medium bodied with pepper and fresh black fruit to smooth full bodied ripe black fruit.
Often blended other than Northern Rhone
Syrah Regions
France Northern Rhone and blended in Southern Rhone, north is cool with grippy tannins, black fruit and pepper, with meat and leather when aging. Southern is blended with Grenache. Also blended in Languedoc and Roussillon
Australia (Shiraz) Hot areas have soft earthy, spicy styles with concentrated black fruit (Hunter and Barossa Valley), cooler areas have leaner more peppery styles (Great Southern, Geelong, Heathcote)
Also Chile, South Africa, New Zealand (Hawke’s Bay), Washington state.
Warm or hot areas can make more restrained wine styles by harvesting early
Grenache General Style
Low to medium acid
Low tannin
Full bodied
Light color
High alcohol
Red fruit flavors, often “stewed”
Hot climates, good drought resistance
Usually blended
Grenache Regions
France: Southern Rhone, most widely planted, usually blended. Languedoc and Roussillon for blending with Syrah, Mourvedre, Carignan, and Cinsault.
Spain (Garnacha). Priorat - blended with Carignan, high tannin, fresh black fruit. Rioja - blended with Tempranillo
Australia; Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale, old vines for more refined versions.
