By Caitlin Ferguson, vinotecalondon.wordpress.com/
The star
Last summer, I wrote my final WSET Diploma exam, consisting of two parts – a blind tasting of 12 wines, followed by 3 hours of theory. The theory section was particularly daunting, considering you know you could be faced with questions regarding ANY aspect of the global (still) wine industry. You can bet, that one random topic that you didn’t cover in your weeks of study (ie. indigenous Greek varietals), will be on there. Even scarier, is that within the theory section, there is one mandatory question, worth high marks, the type of question that can make or break you. In my examination this question asked students to discuss the pros and cons of Cabernet Sauvignon in the vineyard, the winery, and the market. Quite a challenging question, but once I started writing, It became clear that there is much more to this grape than most wine drinkers realise.
Since my exam, I haven’t given Cabernet Sauvignon much thought. A Christmas spent in the Bordeaux region entailed consuming large amounts of wines dominated by it, but I haven’t spent much time pondering the role of Cab Sauv in the world of wine.
That is until a recent afternoon, while attending a Château Haut Brion tasting at Bibendum Wine Ltd. Tasting wines of this calibre is a rare and exciting event for someone like myself, despite being lucky enough to work in the wine trade, my place of work focuses more on offering good value than posh wines, so tasting some of the most expensive wines on the planet doesn’t seem to happen that often.
As I listened to 3rd generation Chateau Haut Brion winemaker Jean-Phillipe talk us through his wines (all from the 2004 vintage), giving each wine’s grape percentage break down, it brought me back to Cabernet Sauvignon. There may be some negative aspects working against this grape (late ripening, high tannin, demands aging to name a few), but you can’t argue with the fact that it is the foundation of some the best wines on the planet.
Haut Brion line up
The Bordeaux region has been producing wine for centuries, giving them ample amounts of time to develop strategies in the vineyard, which will produce the highest quality of wine. For some consumers it may seem confusing that wines from Bordeaux don’t usually state which grapes are in the bottle, or that you have to memorise which side of the river a vineyard is on to make a stab at which grape may be dominating the blend. I assume one of the main reasons for not listing grape percentages on their labels is because from vintage to vintage their blends are always changing. This is one their strategies for dealing with the sometimes difficult Cabernet Sauvignon. Take the vineyards of Chateau Haut Brion Rouge for example, you will find the three key grapes of the Bordeaux region – Merlot, Cabernet Franc & Cabernet Sauvignon. This is their way of taking out a sort of ‘insurance policy’ on Cabernet Sauvignon. If the weather doesn’t co-operate in a particular vintage, and the Cab Sauv doesn’t quite reach the quality level required, then they will look to Merlot & Cabernet Franc (who will have developed differently in the vineyard), to step in (blending), and help Cab Sauv to perform at it’s very best.
Another downfall of Cabernet Sauvignon that baffles consumers, is that most of them aren’t ready to drink upon release. Despite Jean-Pierre’s wines having 6 years in bottle, they are still considered young, and would benefit from many more years in bottle. Wines like these are in a whole other league, and for me the hardest ‘con’ to swallow are the prices. I sadly, will never have cellar full of Chateau Haut Brion. These precious opportunities to taste them will have to do, which I believe actually make me appreciate them even more than if price was not a concern. Despite Cabernet Sauvignon being a tough grape to love at times, the ‘pros’ are in the glass, and on the palate. Cabernet Sauvignon can produce some of the most intense, complex & stunning wines that one could ever come across, which I believe firmly crowns it as ‘The King’ of grapes.
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Tags: Bloggers, Bordeaux, Cabernet Sauvignon, Caitlin Ferguson, Fine Wine, Haut Brion