Cabernet sauvignon is known for its deep colour, firm structure and notes of rich fruit and herbs. Once a wine to be cellared, there's been a shift toward drinking cabernet in its youth. Due to the acidity, tannins and alcohol found in cabernet it's well-suited to a feast – whether it's your favourite cut of steak, a slow-cooked beef ragu or an aged gouda – cabernet is a wine that demands food.
Wednesday August 30 is International Cabernet Sauvignon Day. To help celebrate the world's most widely planted grape, here are four cabernet sauvignon wines to try.
2020 Cape Mentelle Cabernet Sauvignon
Deep glowing crimson. Fragrant and forward with red fruit notes and a hint of bay leaves. The palate has notes of bright red berries on the forefront nicely balanced with fine tannins, complete with blueberries and cranberries suggesting warmth and comfort. This wine is a classic example of Margaret River cabernet made to enhance the fruit purity with elegance and approachable structure.Senior winemaker Coralie Lewis says: Cape Mentelle cabernet sauvignon is famous for its depth, complexity and ageability. We produce several iterations of cabernet sauvignon, each reveals a different perspective on our most iconic wine. In every iteration, our cabernet sauvignon has a distinct signature of fruit purity, power and elegance. Fine tannins bring focus and length while accentuating the interplay between plush berry fruits, dried herbs, florals and savoury complexity.
H. How do you approach the winemaking process when it comes to cabernet?
CL. Every vintage showcases what our vineyard can provide. Great wine is an accumulation of care and attention to detail. Following a thorough study of our vineyards and the intra-block distribution, we follow technological and phenological maturities alongside numerous berry tastings to pick at the optimum maturity of each plot. Our aim is to capture personalities and translate that into the wines. Every step is meticulously thought through to elevate our site potential, and then after complete review of each plot, we start building our masterpieces. The aim is to produce a wine that has stunning structure and where fruit shines.
H. How is this cabernet sauvignon best enjoyed?
CL. Pair the 2020 with slow-cooked beef cheek and mushroom ragù with homemade pappardelle, mediterranean grilled eggplant, or aged Jamón ibérico.
RRP $60 | Drink to 2038 | capementelle.com.au
2019 Voyager Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
Harvested from our oldest organically farmed blocks, this cabernet sauvignon displays the quiet dignity of Voyager Estate coupled with the elegant personality of the cool 2019 vintage. Gravelly, dusty tannins woven around a powerful but harmonious fruit core. Has the potential to be long-lived.Chief winemaker Tim Shand says: The cabernet sauvignon vine is resilient and balanced; I love the honesty to how it grows and crops. It rewards every hour of work we put into it with incrementally higher quality fruit.
H. How do you approach the winemaking process when it comes to cabernet?
TS. Cabernet always brings its formidable structure to the party, so our focus is on amplifying the brightness and fresh fruit of the wine. This can be influenced by the timing of harvest, the type of fermentation vessel (open, static, concrete or oak), maceration and pressing.
H. How is this cabernet sauvignon best enjoyed?
TS. The 2019 is best enjoyed with close friends. It's elegant and supple and pairs wonderfully with a cut of beef (one with less fat would be best). Try it with a flat-iron or porterhouse steak, served with a cherry sauce that's been made with shallots and balsamic vinegar.
RRP $95 | Drink to 2040 | voyagerestate.com.au
2015 Handpicked® Wines Single Vineyard Brindle Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon
Select parcels from mature vines and an outstanding vintage combined to make this special wine with ripe blackberries and cassis balanced by savoury bay leaf, driving tannin and spicy oak. Hand-picked in April in fine, warm conditions followed by open-vat fermentation with meticulous hand plunging. Matured in the finest new and old French barriques.Chief winemaker Peter Dillon says: What I love about cabernet sauvignon is the richness and vibrancy of the fruit combined with the stateliness of the tannins, ultimately delivering a lovely presence, structure and restrained elegance.
H. How do you approach the winemaking process when it comes to cabernet sauvignon?
PD. We approach it by finding a selection of the best clones from the best sites. We aim for fruit that gives us the most expressive wines possible, and that are ultimately paired with some elegance. When it comes to our Brindle Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, we had a site that delivered exactly what we’re looking for – fruit that was not overripe or underripe, with a lovely fragrance and perfume that displayed those Margaret River herbs – a lovely balance altogether.
H. How is this cabernet sauvignon best enjoyed?
PD. Enjoy the Brindle with braised beef short ribs, roast lamb, and aged cheddar.
RRP $125 | Drink to 2035 | handpickedwines.com.au
2020 Cape Mentelle Icon Cabernet Sauvignon
The alluring perfumed nose has an abundance of blue fruits, sweet blackberry and soft florals, with underlying leathery, briar notes. A wine with great energy, richness, density and opulence however it remains elegant with fine grained tannins. Juicy black pastilles, plus warm cassis and wild blueberries. A masterpiece in a glass, showing what cabernet from Cape Mentelle can be, this will develop beautifully with age.Senior winemaker Coralie Lewis says: Cabernet sauvignon is the grand finale of our journey of wine growing and winemaking throughout the year. Our cabernet is a wonderful testament to the stunning pedigree of our vineyard and showcases the passionate work of our entire team, generation after generation.
H.How do you approach the winemaking process when it comes to cabernet sauvignon?
CL. Care and attention to detail are at the core of our process, in order to ensure we capture the finest of Cape Mentelle vineyards in a complex, generous and harmonious wine supported by a remarkable presence on the palate. We strive to elevate personalities of each intra block of our prestigious terroirs into one masterpiece where they will unleash subtlety year after year.
H. How is this cabernet sauvignon best enjoyed?
CL. Pair the 2020 Icon Cabernet Sauvignon with a rib-eye seared and served with mustard, a balsamic braised leek risotto, or charcuterie board with manchego and aged cheddar. Will age
RRP $110 | Drink to 2048 | capementelle.com.au
