It’s all About the Grape – Part I, the Reds
Carl Bird One of the most important components in determining whether or not we will like a wine is the grape from which it is made – the varietal. Let’s talk about the reds. Cabernet Sauvignon is opaque, ruby red when you buy it and changes to garnet and finally brick as it ages. It can smell of cassis and other berries, cedar and mint with hints of butterscotch, green peppers and chocolate. On the mouth it is a medium-bodied wine if from Europe and heavier-bodied if from Australia or USA. It has great balance of fruit and tannins (or astringency). In a young wine, Cabernet gives the wine that “puckery” feeling when you first taste it. It is grown in Bordeaux, California, Australia, S. America, S. Africa and Canada. It creates wines of great structure and complexity and has developed its enviable reputation in Bordeaux. It is adaptable to both warm and moderate climates and is grown worldwide. It is not unusual to see Cabernet Sauvignon being harvested from vines in excess of 75 years old or to find a bottle that is 75 years old as the best Cabernet Sauvignon wines are generally very long-lived. Merlot is the most widely planted grape in Bordeaux and when blended with Cabernet Sauvignon and/or Cabernet Franc, it is responsible for many of the greatest wines. It starts out purple/red in youth but evolves to garnet as it ages. It has a supple plumminess with an earthy bouquet or a quite distinct blueberry on the nose. It is normally softer and easier drinking that Cabernet Sauvignon, but is capable of great complexity and longevity. Like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot’s popularity as a grape is widespread and in addition to the regions where Cab is grown, Merlot is also grown in Italy and Eastern Europe. Pinot Noir is the most fickle of grapes. Pinot needs much more attention and nurturing than the other two classic grapes. It is thin skinned and difficult to grow and can often fail quite miserably. However, it is responsible for the greatest and longest lived Burgundies. Medium depth “burgundy” red in youth it shades to red-brown at maturity and is not nearly as opaque as Cabernet Sauvignon. Its nose exudes raspberry, strawberry, vanilla and an earthiness sometimes referred to as “barnyardy”. Curiously, Pinot Noir is also the primary grape in Brut and Extra Brut Champagne – a white wine. A fourth red grape, while not considered a “classic” grape, that has become very important to the wine industry in Australia and S. Africa is the Shiraz (or Syrah as it is known in Europe and N. America). In addition to its importance to Australia and S. Africa, the Syrah grape initially gained its fame in the Northern Rhône. It has an inky garnet colour with a pink to copper rim. Its nose is distinctively spicy and exhibits jammy fruit as well. It’s flavour is peppery and concentrated but develops a subtlety with age.
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