Old World vs. New World Round One: Cabernet!

Welcome to Old World vs. New World, a recurring column in which I pit classic wines against their varietal renditions around the world. Nearly every wine book I’ve consumed seems to begin with Bordeaux, and in this tradition I am kicking things off with Cabernet Sauvignon. The son of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc, it’s beyond me how those naming it missed out on the stellar branding that could have been the Franc n’ Blanc. First a few more Cab facts! Primary flavors it is known for include cassis (aka currant), blackberries, violets, tobacco, and when underripe, pyrazines. Pyrazines are a green bell pepper sort of flavor I used to call “vine-y” before I became an educated wine jerk and learned about pyrazines. It tends to have high tannins due both to its thick skin and its high pip to pulp ratio. It buds and ripens late and needs relatively mild temperatures to achieve its full glory and avoid vine-iness. Trying to make vine-y a thing here. For all its structure and status it’s a hell of a team player. In Bordeaux it partners mostly with Cabernet Franc (gotta stay on good terms with Dad) and Merlot (your half-sister Dad had when cheating on Mom), but also Malbec and Petit Verdot. In Super Tuscans it cozies up with Sangiovese (kinky like that), and in California one can find Cab blended with Syrah, a common practice long ago in Bordeaux. Cab gets around. Everyone likes him. He gets the job done. Often in oak. But before we jump into different regions I know everyone is dying to know the answer to the eternal shower wine question. The answer is…Nebbiolo! Just kidding that’s what I am trying tonight as I edit and detox from Cab. With Nebbiolo. That is how it works right? In reality it was an Italian choice though! Super Tuscans are Super Tub wine. Now, lets get down to particulars. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ THE OLD WORLD! BORDEAUX We have the Dutch to thank for creating drainage channels making a good deal of the Bordeaux land ideal for viticulture. Between being a prime trade route and beloved by the British, the area rose to prominence. While the maritime climate can be humid, the gravel soils of the Left Bank are perfect for Cabernet Sauvignon. The original first growths of 1855 are the famed superstars, but there are other levels of wine to be savored from the French. I chose to stick with reviewing Cabs in approachable price points. 2013 Château Moulin de Tricot Margaux It may not be Chateau Margaux but this commune level wine is exemplary of Old World earth. Dried green bell pepper blended with dusty dried cassis and maybe not totally dried blackberry. With some raisins sprinkled on top. 2015 Château Malescasse Haut-Medoc Cru Bourgeois Hot tip: look for Cru Bourgeois wines. These wines are re-evaluated yearly unlike the original Napoleonic declaration of the cru classé chateaux. They are a good value. The Malescasse is very ripe fruit, leather and fruit leather. The fruit leather has been hanging in a pencil box. It has those graphite notes. It is a sturdy wine and desperately seeking…steak? I’m assuming. I’m vegetarian but this wine desires food. TUSCANY Super Tuscans seem to toe the line between Old and New World. Italy is Old World but Super Tuscans are a relatively “new” phenomenon in the wine world, when you consider the centuries of winemaking leading up to them. To be called any of the old-school DOC names like Chianti legally, “international varieties” like our buddy Cab were not allowed. Then rebels in the 70’s started making stunning wine using them. Be glad they did. 2014 Tenuta Frescobaldi di Castiglione A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Sangiovese this is baking spice, redcurrants, cherries and cedar. On the lighter bodied end of things as far as Cab goes, it has a sweetness on the nose that translates to ripeness on the palate. For all its fruit it manages an agile body, light enough to be my shower wine of choice. I give it two loofahs up. 2011 Campo Alla Sughera Arnione Bolgheri Superiore A Super Tuscan lower in Cabernet percentage, but worth the mention. 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Cabernet Franc, 20% Merlot and 20% Petit Verdot add up to a ripe, plush and mineral-laden brew. The crunchy soil nature calls to mind Burgundies that had a good deal of whole cluster fermentation, which is mind-boggling and worth exploring. NOW TO THE NEW WORLD! AUSTRALIA Two regions stand out for me in Australia: the Limestone Coast’s Coonawara and Western Australia’s Margaret River. I took a trip down the aisle at K&L to get the goodies. 2015 Rymill Coonawara Cabernet Sauvignon There are four major influential environmental influencers in Coonawara. The cooling ocean currents from Antarctica moderate the Australian heat. The gorgeous terra rosa soil lies over limestone with its all-important draining ability. The eucalyptus grows all around, and the oils from it blow through the breeze and adhere to grape skins lending a certain mentholated note. And the final and most important influencer: koalas. Not really. They have nothing to do with the wine but next time you sip a Coonawara Cab imagine a koala munching eucalyptus nearby and see if you don’t feel a bit happier. The eucalyptus on the Rymill really hits you. The fruit is ripe as heck but I swear the mint-y nose mitigates it in the way mint does sweetness in your fruit salad. Cab that is refreshing? It’s good stuff. Also koalas. 2013 Vasse Felix Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon In the Margaret River, the Bordeaux gravel comparisons abide although the fruit is still going to be riper and lusher than that of France. Blackcurrants are the driving force, but as with Coonawara there is a refreshing undercurrent. In Coonawara it was the mint. In Margaret River it’s an intriguing salinity that hydrates and refreshes rather than dries. Runner up shower wine. SOUTH AFRICA I looked to Stellanbosch first. Cooled by the winds of False Bay it is home to a variety of aspects and altitudes, providing fruit of varying levels of ripeness and richness. It is known for its Bordeaux blends. 2011 Glenelly Estate ‘Lady May’ Cabernet Sauvignon A wine with stature strength and attitude! The grapes were grown in the Glenelly Estate vineyards of Simonsberg-Stellanbosch, where many slopes face east, cooling the temperature. Which is good because things got hot there in 2011. It’s full of raspberry jelly, cassis jam, lavender, violet velvet and sage. I don’t know that the acid is high enough to age much longer but if it does I look forward to the tobacco and savory mushroom notes I detect a hint of. 2011 Noble Hill Paarl Cabernet Sauvignon Slightly inland from Stellenbosch, Paarl is more known for Syrah/Shiraz but the granitic soils do decent things for Cab. This is more fruit and less earth, but sometimes I want less tar and chew, and more spicy fruit. Which is what I get along with a bit of green wood—cedar lets say. It is both a sipper and a swiller, as the acid is high enough to keep your mouth watering for more. NAPA Ah, yes. Probably Bordeaux’s biggest contender for both prestige and ability to get away with ludicrous price points. Most of them need time to age and balance and meld themselves into the magic they are capable of. Napa wines can be big and blowsy, or overly alcoholic but they also frequently deserve the term “F***ing Delicious” because they are. A wee bit on the spendy side sometimes but I’ll be jiggered if they aren’t crowd pleasers. 2015 Venge Bone Ash Vineyard Calistoga Naturally boughten by me because “Bone Ash” sounded so goth. Once opened although—I would love to have been wealthy enough to get two bottles and age this. Yet it is absolutely scrumptious NOW. The tannins are already friendly with the richness of fruit. I see this as being exquisite in a different way in five-ten years, but DAMN it is balanced now. A blackberry, blueberry and cinnamon stew. Said stew was placed in a cedar bowl and set sailing on a saline sea. Sexy, smashing, spices and smolder. 2014 Long Meadow Ranch Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Petit Verdot, 4% Petite Sirah and 100% certified by California Certified Organic Farmers! Long Meadow does sound like a ranch—in addition to wine they grow olives to make olive oil, breed horsies and cattle and have a flock of poultry for happy organic eggs (the best sort). From the nose I got a balance of juicy but not overripe fruit and slight pepper. On the tongue came dried cherries, prunes and black currants with hints of sage-y earth and baking spice such as allspice and mild cinnamon. And the acid is high enough to keep the fruit from being a bully. It could pair with queso, steak, mushroom madness or…some really gooey hunks of cheese. Clearly I am hungry as I type this. WASHINGTON Everyone thinks of Washington as being eternally cloudy and rainy as Seattle. But the Columbia valley is in a rain shadow, meaning it is dry enough for grapes to grow. Cabernet is making a name for itself there. The sub-region of Red Mountain is getting more play too—its slopes allow that high diurnal range. The sun gets the grapes all ripped n rosy by day then temperatures swing low at night to preserve acidity. 2014 Canvasback Red Mountain The wine is indicative of 2014 being one of the hottest years, but it runs in the range of blackberry coulis without veering into overcooked jam. Overcooked is a flaw I saw quite a few Washington Cabs veering into sadly. But not this one. A blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot, 2% Malbec and 2% Cabernet Franc, the 40% new oak melds delightfully in with floral vanilla notes. Fantabulous value. 2016 Columbia Winery At 80% Cab Sauvignon this one is a pleasant enough medley of every other Bordeaux-sanctioned grape plus the erstwhile blender Syrah. I got rich blackberries and chocolate with a smidge of oak. The tannins aren’t quite as integrated as I prefer but this is a very decently priced workaday Cab. BONUS ROUND Julien Pineau Bocca Di Rosa I’m throwing this rosé Petillant natural of Cab Sauvignon from the Loire because it was too good not to mention. Oh the glory of exploration. This was my true fave but I’m putty in a rosé sparkler’s hands. It is solidly sound natural wine, and the only Cab I could find at my neighborhood’s new natural wine shop Psychic Wines. It is strawberries macerated in white pepper and balsamic on the tongue. It has that undercurrent of funk but the beauty of the color distracts you. Our brains synthesize ALL incoming information into experience and I will be damned if appearance is not a legitimate flavor. Which is why I think its stupid that people discount wine tasting when people taste and don’t know if it is white or red. I repeat color is flavor and this unicorn tastes like shiny fuchsia. CONCLUSIONS I found it hard to actually pit Old World vs the New here as the typical differences are amplified in a grape like Cab. Old world wines are more earth and mineral forward and new world are fruit forward. As for the heavyweights, Bordeaux and Napa are top-billed Cabernets and they are exquisite…when they are. And they both cost…so much. Are these prices worth it? Sometimes. But The New World presents quite a few high-quality options when you can’t break the bank and don’t need wine that makes you weak in the knees. Like sometimes I am in heels and need not to fall over so say, “no thank you I’ll pass on that Screaming Eagle”. That’s hyperbole. If someone handed me that I’d drink it and keel over happily. But that’s an unlikely scenario. I will be so bold as to declare a quality for price winner. Aside from my precious natural pet nat rosé, I’d say South African Cabernet Sauvignon was a happy surprise. It is not as abundant here in Southern California, but worth seeking out wherever you are. But if you have a casual bottle of Haut-Brion or Stag’s Leap hanging about, give me a call. I’ll sit down for that.