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Big red 2008: Cabernet Sauvignon

As Australia’s reputation for great shiraz has skyrocketed, it seems to have overshadowed the former star, cabernet sauvignon. Cabernet had a head start of several decades to establish a foothold in Australia and was soon elevated to a seemingly unassailable position as our greatest red. This was based on its overseas reputation and the evidence of wines produced across the country, especially in regions such as Coonawarra. More recently, however, Britain and the United States have realised that Australia can offer them something unique with its shiraz, and they have embraced it wholeheartedly. Today, cabernet sauvignon is inexplicably out of favour.

It seems bizarre that we could even imagine such a scenario. Cabernet is, after all, the greatest grape on the planet in many people’s minds. It is the cerebral ying to pinot noir’s emotional yang. The leading grape of Bordeaux, it is the driving force behind the great first growths, as well as most of the supporting cast of seconds and their ilk. No other red variety has success stamped all over it to the same extent. The finest wines from North America, notably the Napa Valley, are cabernet based. It has been successful in the Antipodes, and there are brilliant efforts from Italy, Spain and elsewhere.

Certainly, if overcropped or not sufficiently ripened, cabernet can appear as thin, green, weedy and diluted. At its best, cabernet is both elegant and powerful, the typical “iron fist in a velvet glove’’, often finishing with strong tannins and impeccable structure. It offers myriad flavours, especially in the black fruit spectrum, with cigar box, cedar, tobacco leaf and much more. Its potential for longevity is unchallenged.

Why should cabernet have fallen from favour? The one thing that almost everyone can agree on is that it is not a matter of quality. Is the world going through a straight-not-blended phase? Almost all of cabernet’s success comes from playing the leading role in an ensemble, whether with the full array of the Bordeaux blend varieties (including cabernet franc, petit verdot, merlot and malbec) or just merlot. Locally, it has been teamed with shiraz for many years, but as plantings of merlot have come on stream, that pairing has assumed less importance. Is it that the world has turned to the blockbuster, in-your-face style of wine that tramples grapes offering subtle elegance into the dust? If so, shiraz is ideally suited, though cabernet, with its firm structure and sometimes stern tannins, could never be mistaken for a shrinking violet. More likely, the fact that it is out of favour seems to be a combination of factors, not least that it is simply the victim of a fad. No doubt, cabernet sauvignon will again rise and enjoy its rightful place as one of the truly great grapes in the world, capable of sublime wines.

REGIONS
Cabernet works best in regions that can provide suitable partners, Bordeaux being the obvious example. It means that top cabernets are usually blends rather than straight varietals and that there is often a multi-regional aspect to some of the wines.

Barossa
Barossa shiraz is so famous that its cabernet hardly rates a mention. Yet it has some strong supporters. Conditions here demand that cabernet be granted access to the cooler sites, and it’s likely to only shine in cooler years. When the stars align, the resulting wines tend to the coffee bean/chocolate end of the fruit spectrum, rather than the more leafy, dry herb-style New World cabernet.
Icon wine Penfolds Block 42 Kalimna Cabernet Sauvignon, available on the secondary market
It may have only been produced a few times, but, coming from the world’s oldest cabernet vines, it has proven to be extraordinary.
Emerging star 2004 Saltram Mamre Brook Cabernet Sauvignon, A$24

Eden Valley
The cooler climate of neighbouring Eden Valley makes it better suited to cabernet. Flavours are more classical, with deep cassis and black cherry notes. The wines are elegant, but if viticultural practices are not closely watched they can tend to a slight herbaceous note.
Icon wine 2005 Henschke Cyril Henschke Cabernet Sauvignon, A$100/NZ$120
Emerging star 2005 Sorby Adams Cabernet Sauvignon, A$38

Adelaide Hills
The emergence of Adelaide Hills as a quality wine-producing region is based more on the quality of the chardonnay and pinot noir than on cabernet. Care is needed to avoid the regional leafy notes, greenness and herbaceousness. Cabernet is a minor variety here, but in good vintages and from select sites can make worthy wines.
Icon wine 2002 Chain of Ponds Amadeus Cabernet Sauvignon, A$30
Emerging star 2003 Nepenthe Hungry Ground Cabernet Sauvignon, A$60

McLaren Vale
McLaren Vale cabernet suffers from much the same problems as its counterpart in the Barossa. There’s no doubt that cabernet does not match the best of shiraz, but in cooler vintages some delicious examples can be made. They offer a charming richness of flavour, especially the district’s chocolatey characters and blackberry. With the regional shiraz, they share an ability to age extremely well.
Icon wine 2004 Wirra Wirra The Angelus Cabernet Sauvignon, A$50
Emerging star 2005 Mitolo Serpico Cabernet Sauvignon, A$80/NZ$90

Langhorne Creek
If Langhorne Creek is the unsung hero of Aussie shiraz, it is even more so when it comes to cabernet. This region has provided gorgeous ripe, chocolatey, minty cabernet fruit for many of our top producers. If the three Jimmy Watson trophies won by Wolf Blass in the first half of the 1970s, with their reliance on fruit from Langhorne Creek, couldn’t bring fame to the region, it’s hard to know what will. Fruit from this region is the ultimate blender, contributing to regional and varietal mixes. It’s used substantially by Jacob’s Creek.
Icon wine 2005 Bleasdale Frank Potts, A$29/NZ$33.50
Emerging star 2002 Ben Potts Lenny’s Block Cabernet Malbec, A$32

Clare Valley
One of the never-ending debates of the Australian wine industry is whether the Clare Valley is better suited to shiraz or cabernet. It is likely that adherents of each will never concede, so it makes much more sense to enjoy the excellent examples of both. The region’s top cabernets, almost always blends and, rather surprisingly, often incorporating malbec, walk the tightrope between elegance and concentration, offering delicious blackcurrant notes. Overall, I’d put myself in the shiraz camp, finding them less foursquare than many of the cabernets. However, that said, a wine such as Grosset Gaia is as good as any red coming from the region.
Icon wine 2004 Wendouree Cabernet Malbec, A$99.95
Emerging star 2005 Grosset Gaia, A$58/NZ$70

Coonawarra
For decades, Coonawarra ruled supreme, not only as our top cabernet producer but also as our leading red wine district. It is working hard to regain former glories. A quick scan of the producers and their wines confirms that this region is still providing many of our top cabernets. Some of the established names are at their peak, while new names are challenging them for supremacy. These are gloriously sculptured and generously flavoured cabernets, full of cassis and various black fruit.
Icon wine 2005 Balnaves The Tally Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, A$80
Emerging star 2004 Majella Cabernet Sauvignon, A$28

Wrattonbully
After being known as the land that Coonawarra didn’t want, this cabernet-dominant region, squeezed between Coonawarra and Padthaway, is coming into its own. The wines often exhibit a little more tannin than most but produce a pleasing fullness, even softness.
Icon wine 2004 Tapanappa Whalebone Vineyard Cabernet Shiraz, A$75
Emerging star 2002 Barristers Block Cabernet Sauvignon, A$25

Yarra Valley
For a region so closely linked to Burgundian varieties, it is easy to forget that the revival of the Yarra owes much to cabernet. Almost always used in a blend, the wines epitomise elegance. They are deceptive, with satiny tannins sometimes appearing almost non-existent. The fine balance is just one of the factors contributing to their longevity.
Icon wine 2004 Mount Mary Quintet, A$100
Emerging star 2004 Oakridge 864 Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot, A$60

Margaret River
Margaret River has achieved the impossible – usurping Coonawarra as producer of our finest cabernets. And it has done so in a surprisingly short time. The wines have an elegance matched by underlying power and finish with gravelly tannins. The fruit can be gloriously lush.
Icon wines 2004 Cullen Diana Madeline, A$105/NZ$120; 2003 Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon, A$95/NZ$105; 2004 Cape Mentelle Cabernet Sauvignon, A$85/NZ$95
Emerging star 2005 Woodlands Margaret Reserve Cabernet Merlot, A$40

TEXT KEN GARGETT PHOTOGRAPHY WILL HORNER

This article appeared in the June/July 2008 issue of Gourmet Traveller WINE.