Celebrating Black History Month
While we will be celebrating Black winemakers and professionals as usual this month, it is impossible to celebrate Black History Month this year without acknowledging the pain of the Black community. The recent murders of Black people by the police have unfortunately again highlighted the racism, police brutality, and lack of humanity faced by millions of Americans.
Black Lives Matter.
Donate to the Keenan Anderson Memorial Fund.
Donate to the Tyre Nichols Memorial Fund.
I will be perfectly honest, we do not love Cabernet. In the words of Erin: “it’s not my favorite, it’s not my least favorite.” And Melissa has a firm belief that if Chardonnay is gonna be called “mommy juice,” then Cab also deserves a reputation as a dad wine (literally ask any white man over 45 what his favorite wine is and he’ll say Napa Cabs).
But we know that a lot of you LOVE a good Cab. And you’re in good company, Cab is the most popular red wine in the world. It has a high concentration of flavors, both from the grapes themselves, the oak barrels used in winemaking, and from aging. It can add structure and flavors to other grapes in blends, or stand strong on its own. It’s a tough grape that's almost impervious to disease and rot, allowing it to be grown around the world. No matter how you like your red wine, from restrained, spicy, or jammy, there’s a version of Cabernet Sauvignon that fits the bill.
Flavors: Black fruits, red currant, green bell pepper, eucalyptus, violet, vanilla, cedar, spice, pepper, tobacco
Oak Barrel Aging
Ages well
Often used in blends to add structure
Regions to Know
Bordeaux, France
Cab’s premiere wine region, it’s actually best known for Merlot blends than varietal Cabernet. The warm ocean current, three rivers, and well, the warming climate make this a fertile viticultural area where grapes have ample development time.
Napa, California
One of the purest expressions of varietal Cabernet Sauvignon. Napa is warm enough for Cabernet to develop lush fruit flavors, cool breezes to maintain structure, and has over 100 types of soil, making it a perfect place for Cab to grow.
Tuscany, Italy
It was actually illegal to grow Cab here for years, and when winemakers struck out, they were forbidden from putting Tuscany on the bottle. Today these Super Tuscans, blends of Cab, Merlot, and Sangiovese made on the Tuscan Coast, are considered some of Italy’s best wines.
Stellenbosch, South Africa
In the past 20 years, Stellenbosch has built a reputation for top tier Cab, often making Bordeaux style blends. Stellenbosh Cabs are known for their floral notes, especailly violet. While high end wines abound, this is also a good region to try and find great wines at lower prices.
Colchagua Valley, Chile
Cab is the most planted red grape in Chile, but the Colchagua Valley is where it really thrives. These Cabs are very ripe fruit flavors along with green notes, such as bell pepper. They are also frequently blended with Merlot, Carmenére, or Syrah.
Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand
The Gimblett Gravels region of Hawke’s Bay has heat absorbing gravel that makes it ideal to ripen Cab in NZ's cooler climate. Hawke's Bay makes both high end Bordeaux style blends and Napa Style varietal wines.
Coonawarra & Margaret River, Australia
These are Australia’s premiere wine regions, making elegant Bordeaux style Cabernet. Australian Cab is known for its distinct minty eucalyptus aromas.
Age Before Beauty
Look, we get it, Cab Sauv can be pricey. So it’s tempting to grab a younger, and cheaper, bottle. But the thing about Cab is it really does get better with age. This isn’t true of all wines, despite what you may have heard, however time allows the tannins in Cab to relax and more flavors to develop. We would recommend for a bottle to be at least 5 years old before drinking, though honestly most would be better with 7-10 years of aging. So if you don’t like Cab, it may be that you’re just drinking it too young!
Blend Baby Blend
Cabernet is often added with other red grapes in blends, especially in cooler regions where they sometimes have a hard time fully ripening. The most classic Cabernets-from Bordeaux-are almost always blended with Merlot (and sometimes Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot). Many other regions emulate this by blending Cabs with Merlot and local varietals.
Blending with helps the Cab get more fruit flavors, and it gives other wines more body, tannin, and alcohol.
Our Picks
Best Value: Band of Vintners Napa Cabernet-$27.99
Cabernet Sauvignon is kind of pricey, even bargain bottles usually retail for $30, so finding a bottle this good, from Napa, for this price (I found it once for $20 in a local shop) is a real steal. With warm California fruit flavors, a little smoky, and easy tannins, this is Melissa’s go-to Cab.
Impress: Yalumba Wineries The Menzies Cabernet Sauvignon 2017-$72
This is a great Australian Cab, with notes of blackcurrants, anise, violet, and eucalyptus. It has the sturcture of a Cab you expect, but discticnt flavors that your Napa Cab dad won't be expecting.
Splurge: Chateau Leoville Poyferre 2018–$150
2018 was an exceptional vintage for Bordeauxs, and this wine was ranked as one of the Top 100 Wines of 2021. Juicy fruit, complex body, and strong tannins make this an almost perfect Bordeaux wine. Château Leoville Poyferreis a 2nd Grande Cru Classé, meaning it’s one of the best vineyards in Bordeaux, so anyone in the know will be impressed.
ICYMI
Congrats to Melissa for passing her WSET Level 3 with MERIT! This is the equivalent to a Masters degree in the WSET levels.