red grape

Cabernet Sauvignon

Natural crossing of Cabernet Franc × Sauvignon Blanc (17th-century Bordeaux)

Small, thick-skinned berries — hence deep colour and high tannin — budding and ripening late, which is why it thrives on warm, well-drained gravel (Médoc) and in sunny climates (Napa, Columbia Valley).

Structure tendencies

body
medium-plus to full
tannin
medium-plus to high
acidity
medium to medium-plus
alcohol
medium to high (climate-dependent)

tendencies in prose, as read by critics/consensus — not measured ordinals

Classic descriptors

Cassis is the universal Cabernet marker. Graphite attaches to gravel-grown Old World examples (Pauillac above all); mocha/mint/eucalyptus to ripe New World examples; bell-pepper (pyrazines) appears when fruit is less ripe.

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