My tasting often conforms the heavy tannins*, full body and fruitiness of this grape. The fruit is classically described as blackcurrant (cassis) and sometimes there is a vegetal hint of bell pepper (capsicum). This vegetal character may be present in wines where the grapes have not ripened to their optimum level, perhaps due to a cooler climate.
I definitely recommend decanting cabs as this will take a little off the tannin edge. Another common practice is for the winemaker to blend cab with another grape (merlot in France, shiraz in Australia) and this adds to the character of the wine and downplays the cabs robustness. That robustness helps cabs age and with age the tannins can diminish.
For this article I refreshed my memory and my palate by trying a cab from the Napa Valley, California. The 2003 Twenty Bench cabernet sauvignon displays a 'jammy' quality and has a hint of wood (cedar? oak?). I also detected spiciness (nowhere near as spicy as a Shiraz) and a smoky quality, perhaps that is the cedar? It was not as strong in tannins as I would have expected from a relatively young wine but that was a good thing. The tasting notes below allude to cherry and licorice but I did not pick up on these. I may be confusing the licorice with spiciness and the cherry with blackcurrant. Overall I enjoyed this bottle and even at $CAN25 (Euro18, $AUS29, UKP13) it was worth it.
* tannins - it is the skin and seeds of the grape that contribute the tannins to a red wine. To counteract this astringent quality, decant and aerate the wine or eat cheese. The fat in cheese counteracts tannins just as milk in tea does. (source: the wine bible)
For more information ...
the wine bible
twenty bench (tasting notes)
2 comments:
I love wine preferably reds, and I really enjoyed this post, are there any other red wines that you would recommend? Keep note that I hate the tannins, they layer on my tongue.
Try Abrazo, a spanish red that is quite light. You can get it at Webbs in the Farmers market or in Glenmore Lnading.
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