Sarah Ahmed – The Wine Detective

Today is Cabernet Day and I can think of no better way to celebrate this, the world’s most fêted red variety, than to compile my personal list of out and out favourite Cabernets/Cabernet blends tasted this last year for each of my areas of focus. Yep, that includes the Loire and Portugal!

The wines are listed strictly in alphabetical order.  I’ve imposed my own restriction – only one wine per producer – so this really is the cream of the crop!  And I hope you enjoy the winemaker anecdotes sprinkled in and amongst.

Australia

Cullen Diana Madeline 2007 (Margaret River) – a gorgeous nose, lifted yet rich with chocolate edged cassis and fresh blackcurrant.  The palate shows lovely freshness and balance, with ripe but well-defined black and red currant and berry fruit supported by firm, savoury tannins.  Subtle hints of cedar and tobacco come through on a long finish.  For Chief Winemaker Vanya Cullen, “Cabernet should be medium-bodied,” though she says she fears it has sometimes “lost its way” in Australia because of a tendency to make it like Shiraz.

Domaine A Cabernet Sauvignon 2000 (Tasmania) – now I don’t have a detailed tasting note for this wine, which I recently savoured over dinner with friends.   Suffice to say it was a divine match texturally (fine grain meets fine grain) and flavourwise ( intense blackcurrants, with an earthy, savoury edge) with Lincolnshire Poacher cheese and Maggie Beer Cabernet jelly.   I love great Cabernet with hard cheese!

Howard Park Abercrombie Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 (Margaret River) – this blew me away with its fragrance, fine tannins, freshness, fabulous fruit purity (cassis and black olive) and subtle cedary oak.  Howard Park’s owner Jeff Burch told me, using the kit he bought for Marchand and Burch Pinot Noir (a wine he makes in collaboration with Burgundy’s Pascal Marchand), Abercrombie fruit underwent even more rigorous selection across the vibrating sorting table in 2008, resulting in less petioles (leaf stalks), so finer tannins.  And the tannins are also finer because the wine was fermented in small, open topped stainless steel tanks with twice daily aerative pump overs.  There’s a little less new oak too (40% compared with 50% in 2007).  A gorgeous, elegant Cabernet which bagged Cabernet of The Year in Winefront duo Campbell Mattinson’s and Gary Walsh’s The Big Red Wine Book 2010/11.

Katnook Odyssey Cabernet Sauvignon 1991 – impressively youthful in colour and flavour profile with fresh, mineral acidity licking the ripe, sweet black berry and cassis fruit into sleek shape.  Lovely purity here.  Long and juicy with super fine tannins.  Very good indeed.  Winemaker Wayne Stehbens observed that this, the first release of Odyssey, was a little overlooked compared with the weightier 90, the so-called vintage of the century.  For him, the 91 shows more restraint, a better tannin structure and slightly riper fruit without nudging into the sweet vegetal flavours you can get in Coonawarra.  He reckons it will last 20 years yet because it still has good middle palate fruit and richness, while the 1990s’ mid palates are drying off a bit in comparison.  Absolutely – no shortage of vigour here!

Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 (Padthaway, Barossa Valley, Coonawarra) – that challenging year – sustained periods of high temperature (40 degrees centigrade for 10 days on the trot and over 30 degrees for 15 successive days)  - made for tiny grapes with high skin to juice ratios.  For this wine, Chief Winemaker Peter Gago says multi-regional blending really showed its worth; grapes (100% Cabernet Sauvignon) were harvested selectively parcel by parcel to optimise flavour, structure and balance.  He reckons the Bin 707 2007 is quite possibly that year’s stand out wine and I’m inclined to agree.   It shows a very opulent nose, which put me in mind of Blackcurrant Chewits, a childhood sweet or, in adult speak a really flamboyant cassis.  In the mouth, cassis with a lift of mint is tempered by savoury black olive, malty earthy notes and firm, bony tannins, which suggest a long life ahead – terrific grunt.   And, in case you didn’t know, the Barossa Valley component derives from Block 42.  Planted around 1888 it is home to the world’s oldest surviving genetic Cabernet Sauvignon material (pictured). Aged 15 months in 100% new American oak hogsheads, it goes its own way, or the Penfolds’ way at any rate!

Seville Estate Old Vine Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 (Yarra Valley) – a refined, polished nose with tight blackberry and currant, a whiff of classy oak and a hint of mint augurs well.  In the mouth it shows juicy, intense plum and red cherry as well as darker cassis and blackberry, with lifted violets and subtle bay leaf spice.  There’s an “After Eight” dark chocolate with minty freshness quality to the finish, long and persistent, supported by silky, fine grained tannins and beautifully integrated acidity.  Lovely, seamless wine.  

Woodlands Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 (Margaret River)  – this has a terrific concentration of cassis with a vibrant sour cherry twist underscored by liquorice.  It’s a powerful wine with a great thrust of energy about it – animated fruit collides and conjoins with textured tannins, of the oak and fruit variety, adding savoury depth and length.  Tons of potential.  I can see why winemaker Stuart Watson says if he could make a vintage every year, it’d be 2007 for its line and persistence.  Watson who only started making the wines in 2002, is choc-ful of ideas about how maceration, splashing, use of lees and pressings can attain the qualities he so admires in great Bordeaux – “concentration without sweetness…I like savoury.”

Wynns John Riddoch 2004 (Coonawarra) – Winemaker Sue Hodder told me Wynns didn’t make the Riddoch for four years between 1998 and 2003 while the vineyards, “a very nerve racking sea of stumps,” underwent major renovation to address a build up of dead wood that needed cutting back.  Not all the vines have bounced back but she has seen “added freshness and ripeness” from those that have.  Based on this wine, Riddoch is back with avengeance!  A deep, inky hue.  An attractive subtly stalky, cedary note to the black berry and currant nose foreshadows the poise and finesse in the mouth.  This is a refined, beautifully structured Cabernet which, though a barrel selection, is typically comprised of fruit from the older, central strip planted in 60s.  Amongst the first fruit to ripen, it shows terrific balance, though amply concentrated with black currant, berry and olive which, combined with melting tannins, together form a plume  - the finish builds in the mouth, showing extraordinary length.  Outstanding. 

For more, click here for my Australia regional report page where you will find tasting and travel reports on Cabernet-focused regions Margaret River and Coonawarra Cabernet and watch this space for my report of the Landmark Tutorial Cabernet Sauvignon and Blends blind tasting on 21 September in the Yarra Valley.  Presented by Brian Croser, it will take the form of an introduction to a range of outstanding estate and regional expressions of Australian Cabernet Sauvignon (and blends), inviting contrasts and comparison with the great Cabernet terroirs of the world.

The Loire

The Loire is, of course, best known for the other Cabernet, Cabernet Franc which, believe it or not, together with Sauvignon Blanc is the parent of today’s revered one, Cabernet Sauvignon.  The later ripening Cabernet Sauvignon can be difficult to get ripe in this relatively cool region of France and it takes guts and ruthlessly low yields to get it right.  Though Anjou-Villages Brissac produces among the region’s most structured, long-lived Cabernet Franc , it’s also a hotspot for Cabernet Sauvignon.  Predominantly schist soils account for big-boned tannins which can be hard on the gums, but a mild summer followed by a dry, sunny September in 2008 made for long hang times and healthy ripe grapes.  It produced these two exceptional examples:

Domaine de Bablut Rocca Nigra  2008 (Anjou-Villages Brissac) – 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, cropped at a measly 20hl/ha.  Very dark and inky with chiselled minerals – a sense of vertical schist to this.  An intense wine with a savoury undertow.  Impressive but needs time.  A rare and great example of 100% Loire Cabernet Sauvignon.

Domaine des Rochelles La Croix de Mission 2008 (Anjou-Brissac) – a blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon/10% Cabernet Franc this is an amazing buy for a little over a tenner.  It shows a subtle fresh stalky/bell pepper note to the nose, in this case youthful and attractive because one senses there’s plenty of concentrated fruit lurking behind.  In the mouth, fine tannins are seamlessly integrated with fleshy plum, black berry and currant fruit.  Long and well balanced with a lovely freshness.  Very good, with at least a decade of charming life ahead of it.

Portugal

On a recent trip to the Douro, AXA Millésimes MD Christian Seely memorably described why he didn’t expect Quinta do Noval to pursue making Cabernet Sauvignon there – “it stands out like a vulgar tourist.”  Doesn’t mince his words!  But Cabernet does do well in, surprise, surprise, maritime climes, like the westerly Peninsula de Setúbal and Lisboa.  Here are two of the best Portuguese Cabernets I’ve recently tasted:

Quinta da Bacalhôa Tinto (Peninsula de Setúbal) – Bacalhôa first produced this blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in 1979.  A wine of great pedigree, it’s always elegantly structured with terrific varietal expression (blackcurrant, cassis, plum and cherry, wet earth).  I cannot for the life of me remember which vintage I enjoyed over lunch with Adrian and Natasha Bridge of Taylors on a port trip this May – too much port ?  But, positively sigh worthy, it makes the cut!

Quinta de Chocapalha Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 (Lisboa, formerly Estremadura) – I like Chocapalha’s Cabernet which, to my mind, is Italianate in style, showing pronounced parma violets and a freshness to its quite fleshy, aromatic black and blue fruits, with well cast, sinewy tannins in splendid support. Well made.

And though this tasting note comes from 2008, it’s worth flagging another impressive Cabernet producer, also from Lisboa.  As you’ll see, this one very different from the Chocapalha:

Quinta de Pancas Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva 2005 (Estremadura) – a deep, inky colour, rich, leathery nose with cedary hints -  quite Aussie in its weight and fruit concentration in the mouth  – though the fruit is less exuberant it shares those dark, black and blue fruits, savoury olive and tar notes with a burnish of leather; an attractive, masculine style of cab, with grainy tannins.

South Africa

Sure, Rhone blends and Syrah/Shiraz have been hogging the limelight in recent years but, as South African Cabernet ace Andre Van Rensberg put it to me, Cabernet Sauvignon is the equivalent of “the little black number for ladies (á la Chanel!)”  - it never goes out of fashion.  Stellenbosch is the Cape’s Cabernet capital, but a Paarl number from none other than Zelma Long suggests it shouldn’t rest on its laurels! 

Ernie Els 2005 (Stellenbosch) - this blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot is deep purple with a smoky, mineral nose, quite tight and concentrated still vis a vis the fruit.  In the mouth, this muscular wine is a lush but tailored powerhouse with layers of cassis, mocha, minerals and just a hint of savoury roast beef.  Though the oak lends a sweet vanilla edge to this youthful wine, overall, it’s dark and brooding with plenty of vigour to the finish, supported by ripe, velvety tannins.  Impressive with plenty to give yet.

Guardian Peak Lapa Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 (Stellenbosch) - tight cassis nose on the nose with a warm earth undertow.  In the mouth, though  powerful, this IWC 2009 Trophy-bagger is a little more “leavened”  – not as lush or concentrated as the Els.  Juicy plums and blackberry surround a core of mocha-edged cassis, lending freshness and length.  There’s a herbal/tobacco note too.  Finishes long and lingering, with very attractive seamless tannins.  Very well done.

Jean Daneel Signature Red 2005 (Coastal Region) – a Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot blend with a judicious dash of Shiraz for mid-palate weight.  A lovely floral, perfumed nose with blueberry joined on the palate by balsamic-edged plum, blackberry and mineral notes.  Tightly wound, with taut tannins, this needs time – lots of potential.  Very good.

MR de Compostela 2007 (Stellenbosch) – a muscular blend of 32% Cabernet Franc, 24% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Malbec, 16% Petit Verdot and 8% Merlot  with a deep, spicy  nose and palate with concentrated blueberry, cassis and earthy, savoury lentil notes buttressed by tensile tannins – sinew and heft.  Impressive and needs time.

Tokara Directors Reserve Red 2006 (Stellenbosch) – 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Petit Verdot, 8% Merlot. Winemaker Miles Mossop impresses again!  This flagship red shows perfumed ripe blueberry and cassis with cinnamon and bay leaf spice; fine, cedar-dusted tannins make for apoised, elegant wine. Very good

Vilafonté Series M 2006 (Paarl) – I’m a fan of Vilafonte wines which are made by Zelma Long -  long in name, long on palate, with well-defined, juicy fruit and fine grained tannins, the wines have admirable elegance and this blend of 44% Cabernet Franc, 39% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot with 3% Malbec is no exception with fresh cinnamon-licked damson and plum fruit.

For more, click here for my South Africa regional report page where you will find reports of a vertical tasting with Andre Vans Rensberg of Vergelegen and more Cabernet highlights from Wines of South Africa’s recent “Taste the Earth” tasting.