Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Blends

Perhaps the most extraordinary aspect of cabernet sauvignon is its ability to travel, to set down roots in distant lands and still produce something that is recognisably ‘cabernet’ whatever the circumstances. What makes cabernet sauvignon remarkable to taste is not primarily its flavour and aroma — the former often likened to blackcurrants, the latter to green capsicum — but its structure and ability to provide the perfect vehicle for individual vintage characteristics, winemaking and elevage techniques, and local physical attributes, or terroir. Jancis Robinson observes: ‘It is a wine variety that is extremely popular, commonly regarded as the world’s most renowned grape variety, grown in every country, and in just about every region in Australia, some with more success than others, and is seen as a very attractive and approachable wine because of its ability to age well in the bottle. It is a wine that requires intelligent, careful thought when matching it with appropriate food to bring out the best characteristics of the wine.’