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Red Wines
Cabernet Sauvignon
The world's most planted red grape: thick-skinned, deeply coloured and firmly structured, capable of ageing for decades.
In detail
- Origin
- Bordeaux, France — a seventeenth-century crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc.
- Major regions
- Médoc & Pauillac · Napa Valley · Coonawarra · Maipo Valley · Tuscan coast
- Grapes
- Cabernet Sauvignon
- Flavour profile
- Blackcurrant, black cherry, cedar, graphite, green bell pepper when less ripe, vanilla and tobacco with oak.
- Body
- Full
- Acidity
- Medium-high
- Sweetness
- Dry
Recommended Glass
Bordeaux Glass
The tallest of the red wine glasses, with a long, straight-sided bowl that gives high-tannin wines maximum contact with air.
About this glass →Serving Temperature
16–18°C (61–64°F)
A little cooler than room temperature for reds; properly cold but not frozen for whites and sparkling.
Food Pairings
- Grilled ribeye
- Rack of lamb
- Aged cheddar
- Braised short rib
- Mushroom and beef pie
Notable examples & brands
- Château Margaux
- Opus One
- Silver Oak Alexander Valley
- Penfolds Bin 707