Your guide to red grapes | How to choose the right Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon is the most planted grape variety in the world and is a major celebrity in Bordeaux. However, the Cabernet Sauvignon grape is also incredibly well-travelled, planted in locations as diverse as Chile, Australia and India. The secret to its global popularity is simple: Cabernet Sauvignon’s tiny, dark-blue berries are packed full of flavour compounds, tannin, and colour. Careful winemaking and oak barrel ageing will yield unbelievably complex and structured Cabernet Sauvignon red wine.
Cabernet Sauvignon originated in the 1600s due to breeding between Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Franc. Sauvignon Blanc offers mineral characteristics, while Cabernet Franc gives a fruit flavour. In the grape’s home of Bordeaux, 100% varietal wine is rare. However, many ‘Napa Cab’ labels include just Cabernet Sauvignon. Awarded cult status by the world’s critics, California Cabernets can be every bit as fine as top Bordeaux labels.
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What are the characteristics of Cabernet Sauvignon?
Cabernet Sauvignon is cultivated in regions with vastly different soils and climates, ranging from the gravel of Pauillac to the Terra Rossa of Coonawarra in South Australia. As a result, the Cabernet Sauvignon produced in southwest France varies significantly from its Californian counterparts. However, as a general rule, cooler-climate expressions will often be medium-bodied, with balanced acidity and characteristic black fruit and cedar wood scents – unripe Cabernet has a herbaceous, green pepper flavour. From the top estates of the Haut-Medoc, you’ll encounter a striking balance between fruit, acidity, and tannin. Bordeaux wine is renowned for grippy tannins and a savoury, firm structure. This is precisely why Cru Classé wines live for decades.
In warmer areas, such as McLaren Vale or California, Cabernet Sauvignon acquires more texture and richness, often revealing flavours of chocolate and mint. Hot-climate varietal expressions can be gloriously opulent. However, much will depend on where the grape is grown and vintage conditions. Hotter climates and prolonged vine ripening lead to riper, softer tannins. This means that even young Cabernet Sauvignon will be relatively approachable.
Cabernet Sauvignon by region
Bordeaux
By the 19th century, Cabernet Sauvignon had been established as the most important red wine grape in the Medoc region of Bordeaux. Much loved worldwide, the grape has a natural affinity with the well-drained gravel terroirs of the Left Bank – although some is still grown on the right – these stone fragments aid berry development by reflecting heat back into the vine canopy. Thankfully, it resists rot relatively successfully – a significant advantage when faced with autumn downpours. Cabernet Sauvignon is a late-ripening variety when planted in a maritime climate. Hence, Cabernet Sauvignon’s suitability for the vineyards of the Medoc; yielding very fragrant and elegant wine.
Blackcurrants are its signature flavour, often joined by blackberry and black cherry. Top vintages, meanwhile, are renowned for their longevity, developing tertiary aromas of cigar and tobacco leaf as they age in bottle. But, unlike the New World, very few Bordeaux wineries market a single-varietal red wine. Blending is a risk management tool – protecting against rain-soaked vintages in Bordeaux – and also a way of enhancing body and complexity.
North Coast California
There is often a presumption that Californian Cabernet is an unsophisticated fruit bomb. However, this is a gross oversimplification. California’s North Coast regions, particularly Napa and Sonoma Valleys, are responsible for magnificent expressions. Grapes ripen with ease in the hot climate of Napa Valley. Top Californian labels are structured and opulent, with an intensely fruity aroma you wouldn’t associate with cool-vintage Medoc wines. The tannins are more subtle and rounded. In fact, in 1976 at the Judgment of Paris, Californian Cabernet out-ranked Bordeaux when judged blind by top French wine connoissuers. This infamous event demonstrates that top Californian Cabernet can impress the most Fracophillic wine aficionados.
South Australia
South Australian Cabernet Sauvignon is quite distinct from the red wine of Bordeaux. With some key exceptions, Antipodean Cabernet is fruit-driven and approachable, with softer tannins. The intense flavours come through distinctly: mint, eucalyptus, chocolate, and cassis. Single-varietal expressions are also widespread in Australia. The wines made in cooler zones of Western Australia are more akin to Left Bank claret, with good acidity and notes of blackcurrant and olive.
Wine production and maturation
Growers and oenologists love to work with Cabernet Sauvignon. It is relatively easy to grow and harvest; the grape adapts very well to different soils and climates; a favourable ratio of skin to juice allows for complex wines. Cabernet Sauvignon also has a natural affinity with oak. The type of wood, and duration of maturation, will have a decisive impact on the final wine style.
Approaches to winemaking can vary significantly. However, most premium Cabernet Sauvignon wines are based on hand-harvested fruit, crushed with care and precision. The wines will then be fermented – most commonly in traditional oak vats or stainless steel. Some Cabernets are partly fermented in oak barrels. All top labels are matured in wood.
Maturation
Maturation is where the wines divide. The choice of new or used wood and oak type is key in determining wine style. In general, winemakers in Bordeaux age their wines in French oak. Maturation in new French barrels imparts impressions of tobacco, roasted coffee beans and cedar wood. Older barrels will have a more subtle impact on the wine’s profile.
In California and Australia, both American and French oak is used. New American oak is associated with potent vanilla, coconut, and sweet spices aromas. Some wines are fermented in American oak and then matured in French oak (or vice versa). This produces a very concentrated and opulent style of wine, especially if the barrels are brand-new.
How to choose the right Cabernet Sauvignon for you
Bordeaux, California and Australia do not hold a monopoly over exceptional Cabernet Sauvignon wine. Quite the opposite: there is no shortage of prestigious labels in Tuscany, South America, New Zealand, and Chile. Due to the Cabernet grape’s versatility, plenty of high-quality brands are attractively priced.
To choose the best Cabernet Sauvignon, ask yourself what you want from your wine. Choose a noble château of the Left Bank for an iconic bottle that improves with age. Serve these magnificent bottles alongside a leg or rack of young roast lamb seasoned with plenty of fresh herbs.
Cabernet Sauvignon from the New World will likely be your best bet for ripe fruit and easy, immediate drinking. Choose Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon for a ripe and opulent experience. To pair with food, choose a blend from Auckland or Margaret River.
Choose a New World Cabernet matured in American oak if you enjoy vanilla, baking spices and chocolate notes in your red wine. Alternatively, choose a mature Bordeaux red if you enjoy savoury spices, leather, tobacco, coffee, and herbs.
Explore our range of Cabernet Sauvignon wines today!
Frequently asked questions
How do you drink Cabernet Sauvignon?
Cabernet Sauvignon will match a wide variety of occasions and dishes. Even young wines benefit from some air to open up the bouquet. However, decanting older wines for sediment removal and oxygenation is standard practice. Cabernet Sauvignon is best when served at just below room temperature: 18 °C.
Is Cabernet Sauvignon dry or sweet?
In the vast majority of cases, every last ounce of sugar is fermented dry when making Cabernet Sauvignon wines. However, you may encounter a small volume of residual sugar in hot-climate wines due to the higher ripeness of the grapes.
Which is better, Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot?
Merlot is softer than Cabernet Sauvignon and is frequently added to Merlot on the Left Bank for balance. It produces fragrant and plummy wines that can usually be enjoyed at a young age. Cabernet Sauvignon, in contrast, creates a more tannic style of red. Neither Cabernet nor Merlot is better, it merely depends on preference.
Why is Cabernet Sauvignon expensive?
Cabernet Sauvignon is a versatile grape variety that is easy to grow and adaptable to various climates, unlike Pinot Noir. As a result of its versatility, the cost of a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon covers the whole spectrum, from affordable supermarket labels to the First Growth majesty of Château Latour.
What to read next
A guide to the Haut-Medoc wine region
A guide to the Californian wine: The North Coast