Cabernet Sauvignon has long been the grape of choice for the discerning red wine drinker. Fans of this wine all around the world will be pleased to know that the red wine has now received scientific confirmation as King of red wines. Studies have shown that the wine can help to prevent heart disease and Alzheimer's which leaves everyone with no better excuse to enjoy their favourite wine.
Studies have been done into the polyphenols from red wine which are found in the likes of Cabernet Sauvignon. The results have shown that they decrease the production of artery clogging proteins and this wine is the most polyphenol-full of all the grapes.
There's no surprise then that the Cabernet Sauvignon grape is the most widely planted in the world - despite a long growing time and relatively low fruit yield. Used as the main grape in many Bordeaux wines, it is grown in most of the world's wine regions.
Some of the world's greatest red wines, such as Red Bordeaux, are based on the Cabernet Sauvignon grape. Top examples improve for decades and stay drinkable for a century.
This improvement is a result of high tannin levels in Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, a product of their thick, tough skin. However, experts consider high tannin wines lacking in elements of flavour and tend to blend Cabernet Sauvignon with grapes like Merlot and Shiraz. The less widely known Cabernet Franc is another grape blended with Cabernet Sauvignon to create more aromas and flavours.
As a group, however, Cabernet Sauvignon red wine is generally full-flavored, with a stronger flavor than the likes of Merlot and with a smooth and lingering taste. It also has a well documented aroma. In Old World (Western European) wines, like Bordeaux, the experts will explain Cabernet Sauvignon aroma as a smell of violets, blackcurrant, cedar and spice.
New World wines of this grape can often share the aromas of their Old World counterparts, but are more often dominated by aromas of chocolate, ripe jammy berries, oak, pepper and earth (in truth much of these flavours come from intentional flavour-impregnation from use of oak casks). In Australia, there is often a strong smell of eucalyptus in their Cabernet - perhaps they make their barrels from eucalyptus wood.
After Bordeaux, California is the biggest global grower of this wine - famously the Napa Valley. As in Bordeaux, it is often blended with Merlot and Cabernet Franc to produce world-class red wine.
Cabernet Sauvignon's most notable success over the past decade has been its use in the wines of the "New World". The consistently good climate, strong investment and new techniques have seen countries like Canada, Argentina, Croatia, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia produce very good and often outstanding Cabernet Sauvignon at competitive prices.
