CABERNET SAUVIGNON, All That You Need To Know
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 พ.ค. 2024
- In this video, Bob Paulinski, Master of Wine discusses Cabernet Sauvignon. I’ll provide a bit about its history, where it’s grown, the types of wine that it produces, along with some classic food pairings.
The video will wrap up with a comparative tasting of Cabernet Sauvignon from different places of the world at varying quality levels, ranging from $7 to $170 per bottle, including some narrative on quality and style differences and why the prices vary so greatly. Along with some practical shopping advice.
In terms of winemaking history, Cabernet Sauvignon is relative newbie on the scene, with Bordelais origins in western France. CS came into existence in the 18 century. With DNA testing that took place in the 1990s, it was established that it’s the love child of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc.
Where is Cabernet Sauvignon grown? In most wine producing countries around the world. Why is that? Its versatile, grows in a variety of soils and a fairly broad range of climates. It has the capability of producing high yields while retaining a good level of varietal character. Also, it generally sells well. Demand is the driver.
Another factor playing to Cabernet Sauvignon's advantage is that French origin grape varieties are blessed with the silver spoon, so to speak. They drive much of the wine world. Long track record of quality and longevity. In more recent years, many Asian markets have embraced Cabernet Sauvignon, propelling the demand to new heights. The most significant plantings are in France, Chile, US, Australia, Argentina and Central and Eastern Europe. Surprisingly big player is China. Combine all of the world’s plantings, roughly the size of Rhode Island. There are a few holdouts like Portugal and Georgia that have nearly none. Also, it’s not broad found in cool climate places like Germany, Austria and Switzerland. In a place like New Zealand, it’s only a bit player in Hawkes Bay.
Small clusters, tiny berries, thick skinned.
It buds late in the Spring, ripens late in the fall. Likes warmish to even warmer climates. In somewhat cooler climates, it shows more red fruit, mint, pepper notes. Warmer climates tend to make lusher, broader styles with darker fruit notes.
Types of wine it produces? As mentioned the success of Cabernet Sauvignon is driven by the Bordeaux (Left Bank) has made it the most copied wine in the world. Generally, lots of extract, dense color, moderate acidity, solid tannin levels. Within it’s home base of Bordeaux, it’s rarely a single grape variety wine. Often blended with other varieties to soften it, round it out and to add nuance. In the US, only 75% Cabernet Sauvignon needs to be labelled as such. Many other countries, the percentage is 85%. Cabernet Sauvignon can play the role of the dominant grape variety, but it often plays a supporting role, as can be the case with wines like Ribera del Duero or Chianti. With the latter I’d argue its not to the benefit of the wines.
Generally Cabernet Sauvignon is well structured, concentrated, with good tannin levels, often good aging potential. Affinity to oak, smoke, vanilla, charred, nutmeg, coconut character. One marker of Cabernet Sauvignon is pyrazine, bell pepper notes, a bit adds complexity, too much is not a good thing. It’s also worth noting, Cabernet Sauvignon makes some rather nice rose’ as well.
Classic food and wine pairing. Red meats of many sorts, the tannin cuts through the fat to keep the palate clean and fresh. Works well with tomato based dishes, but maybe not the best pairing. Not a good match with spicy food, accentuates the heat. For many, it’s the rock star combo chocolate, especially dark chocolate, maybe for some, not so much for me.
#winelife #winetasting #cabernetsauvignon #redwine #masterofwine #bobpaulinski #wset
If you're looking for more content on Cabernet Sauvignon based wines, be sure to check this link on the wines of Bordeaux. th-cam.com/video/J9-_KyBhKEg/w-d-xo.html
underrated channel
Thanks. It’s a newbie channel, only been around for about five months.
I'm sure it'll get there sooner or later
@@juanmanuelmunozhernandez7032 Good steady progress is being made!
It will find it's viewers.True high end wine talk.
@@GorskiNunavut It’s a marathon, not a sprint. The channel growth is steadily building. Thanks. 🍷
This channel should explode this year 😮
That would be nice, I’ll keep pushing! 🍷
Wow! Thank you for sharing your wealth of knowledge. You have a gift for explaining your passion for wine. I’m surprised you don’t have more subscribers. Please keep it coming.
Thanks for the kind word. My channel hasn’t been around too long, just over one year. Plenty more videos to come. Cheers. 🍷
Great Video Bob.
Thanks Ron. 🍷
Keep them coming love it
Thanks. Cheers!
Thanks for all the great information on Cabernet Sauvignon - certainly new facts for me!
Glad to hear it! Cheers. 🍷
Napa wines did take first place for white and red at the Judgement of Paris however most of the Napa red wines entered finished towards the bottom. It did put Napa on the wine map anyway.
And some of the wines that showed very well, didn’t show as well in later vintages. As you said, it put Napa on the map. 🍷
Another great video!🍷👏
Thank you!
I've found that it's become trendy among professionals to look down on pyrazines and I can't understand why. Sure, there's cabs that are filled to the brim with pyrazines, but I also find off-putting levels of diacetyl in many, MANY low-priced whites that undergo spontaneous MLC, and that doesn't mean diacetyl is itself a bad thing (and it's not even a primary aroma).
I personally love the quirky touch of bell pepper here and there, and I certainly wouldn't rather have a wine business where it's avoided at all costs because the critique says so.
Hi Juan, thanks for the detailed comment. I’m ok with a bit of Pyrazine, just like I’m ok with a bit of Brett. Funky wines are often the most interesting.
Another great video! So happy that I subscribed. Always learn something new while enjoying the content. Keep the videos coming. Salute!
Hi James, thanks for the good word, I’m glad you found my channel. Many more videos to come! 🍷
Great overview and tasting. Coonawarra has always been a favorite region of mine, having lived very close by for a few years. Great work as always!
Your comment is much appreciated. To know Coonawarra is to love Coonawarra! 😂
Always good content, cheers, and thanks
Thank you, much appreciated. 🍷
While watching this I am Eating 86% dark chocolate, drinking a dark Cabernet a favorite combination at the end of the day.😊
Living large! Glad to hear it. Cheers!
Another great video. Bob, Cabernet is such a tricky varietal for me. When it’s good, it’s really good. But it can also be expensive and disappointing. If I get a $40-50 bottle of zin or syrah, I generally know it’s going to be tasty and an interesting variation of varietal character and place. But a $40 bottle of cab is a crapshoot. Too much oak, too flabby, not integrated, too generic-tough to know what to expect, unless I’m familiar with the producer and vintage.
Thanks for the good feedback. Truth be told, I don’t drink a lot of Cab Sauv. As you mentioned, there are often other options that bring better value. For me, it’s usually Grenache blends, Zin and Syrah are both in my short list as well. Cheers. 🍷
Great video, please continue with the deep dive video’s on regions and grape varieties :)
I appreciate your good word. I’ll continue with the deep dive. Cheers. 🍷
"maybe it's kissed a toothpick" 😂 got to remember that one.
Interesting vid and thanks for going into detail about the grape and what it's capable of and why.
Question... Why does a wine go transparent at the meniscus?
Thanks!
I was curious to see if anyone caught that comment. 😂 As for your question, it’s simple a matter of color extraction. For example, Cabernet Sauvignon typically has more color density versus Pinot Noir. The latter will show more fade at the rim of the glass. Also, as a wine ages, color compounds will gradually bond into long chain molecules and fall out of the solution in the form of sediment. Slow oxidation is another contributing factor.
Good to know some Napa 2017s are drinking alright after the wildfires
It’s crazy to think that smoke taint is increasingly an issue when choosing a wine.
Love it
Thanks for the good word! 🍷
Good video Bob, but I can't believe you didn't mention Margaret River when talking about Cabernet Sauvignon in Australia. These days Margaret River is considered the premier region for Cabernet Sauvignon in Australia. It is the home of world-class producers such as Cullen, Moss Wood, Vasse Felix, Voyager Estate, Deep Woods Estate, Xanadu, Cape Mentelle, etc.
Thank you posting a comment. When editing the final video, I noticed that Margaret River was not mentioned. Perhaps I should’ve added text to call it out. I recently had a bottle of Moss Wood Cab, beautiful wine. Cheers. 🍷
I read recently about Steven Spurrier, the clever mind behind that famous competition that you mention in the video and got fascinated by him. Also, I seem to recall that he would never pay more than £50 for a bottle of wine. Brilliant!
P.S may he rest in peace.
I met him years ago at a wine competition in London. Lovely guy.
Great, informative video, thanks. Glad you mentioned "Judgement of Paris"--its a great book, but I found the most interesting part of it was not the actual tasting--it was the description of the combination of factors in Napa the 60's and 70's that propelled it forward so quickly on production of consistent, high quality wines. Low cost/barriers to entry, partnership with UC Davis, and cooperative culture among the new winemakers in the valley. If you are looking for topics for future videos, that would be a good one!
Hi Bruce, very interesting, I may need to pick it up. Thanks for the good word.
I got the roster for the Abruzzo trip in June... See ya there
Sounds good!
You mentioned Cab is not a great choice for spicy foods. I'd appreciate a video talking about how to pair wine with spicy foods. I keep hearing to avoid higher alcohol, but tequila and mezcal are classic pairings for spicy Mexican food, work well, and certainly have much higher alcohol than any wine. So why does mezcal work so well with Oaxaca cuisine while Cab does not?
Good question. A lot of it has to do tannin in red wine. Spicy foods accentuate the tannin making the wine seem more astringent and courser. Lighter red, lower in alcohol generally has less tannin as well. Tannin is derived mostly from the grape skins. I hope that helps. BTW, I’m a fan of both Tequila and Mezcal.
funny you mention Georgia, actually only appellation that has a non Georgian grape variety is Cabernet Sauvignon based, it is called Teliani and not many wines are produced within that appellation. having said that, I have tried Cabernets from that specific region and I have to say, they are amazing. so, even if plantings of Cabernet is very limited in Georgia, results are phenomenal 😊
p.s. it also blends beautifully with Saperavi
Interesting, thanks for the comment. I’m a Saperavi fan. 🍷
Re: The Judgement of Paris - The scoring system was very flawed as they gave no basis for how the judges should score the wines and so scores ranged from 3/20 up to the high teens. To me a 3 would be incredibly unpleasant if not undrinkable, which all the wines presented certainly weren't. So it seemed some judges were scoring based on a relative scale while others were judging on an absolute scale. I re-ran the scores based instead on each judge's rankings (10 points for their highest rated down to 1 for their lowest rated, averaging any ties) rather than nominal scores and Haut-Brion actually came out on top with Stag's Leap falling to second, Montrose moving up to third, and Margaux falling all the way to fourth. Just food for thought.
Thank you for the detailed comment. Very interesting. I didn’t realize the scoring system was egregiously flawed. I met Steven Spurrier a couple of times at wine competitions in the UK, although we never judged on the same panel. Given the chance, I would’ve liked to discuss The Judgement of Paris with him. Cheers.
Have you had much chambourcin? And if so
What are your thoughts on it?
I’ve had a few when I lived in MIchigan. It’s a hybrid, some decent wines, but a hybrid has its limitations.
Had Norton Cab in Austria while skiing last winter.Very basic cab.Well made wine,but nothing to preach about.Great cabs are costly 😔
We’re in agreement, decent, respectable bottle for cheap, but nothing all that exciting. 🍷
I don't like the taste of oak, can you make me some suggestions of some good cabernet sauvignon?
Reply
With Cabernet Sauvignon, the use of oak to varying degrees is nearly universal. You might be better off with Cabernet Franc. Look for Chinon, an appellation from Loire. Little or no oak is used. Another option is lesser expensive Bordeaux, so called petit chateaux. Many will be under $20, most have little oak. I hope that helps.