Wine Focus April 2023: Benchmarks of Cabernet Sauvignon

[David M. Bueker]

Well the first quarter of 2023 is already behind us. My how time flies. Seems like only yesterday it was 1855 and they were revealing the Bordeaux classification!

All jokes aside, it's time to focus on one of, and quite likely the most recognized grape, Cabernet Sauvignon. In Pauillac Cabernet is king. Yes it's generally blended, but it's the star, and the best of Bordeaux set a standard for the rest of the world to meet. Now there are benchmark Cabernets all over the world, and in all sorts of styles.

So let's settle in for an exploration of all things Cabernet Sauvignon, and wines where Cabernet Sauvignon is the star. It's OK if a little Merlot or Cabernet Franc, or Petit Verdot, or (gasp!) Carmenere gets in there. What are the benchmark styles of Cabernet in 2023 - old or new?

[Robin Garr]

Jumping in a day early with a little bit of a cheat: This is actually a Merlot-dominant Right Bank Bordeaux. But it's got Cab Sauv in it, I swear, and it's a good bargain at its typical $18 retail price and a great bargain for $13 at the wine shop down the street. Good wine, would buy again ...

Château German 2018 Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux ($12.99)

A typical Bordeaux Right Bank blend of 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10% Cabernet Franc, Château German Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux is on the soft and easy-sipping side, but it offers a delicious taste of Right Bank Bordeaux fruit for an appealing price. Dark garnet in color with a thin rosy edge, it offers up juicy black fruit – plums and cherries – that carry over on the palate with plenty of mouth-watering fresh-fruit acidity for structure. Soft, gently astringent tannins join black fruit in a long, clean finish. 13.5% alcohol. U.S. importer: Cutting Edge Selections Inc., Cincinnati. (March 30, 2023)

FOOD MATCH:
Wine-Searcher suggests a traditional Bordeaux match with beef or venison. We found a more earthy match for this rustic table wine with Field Roast fennel and garlic sausages with fresh fennel, mushrooms, onions, and garlic in a fresh tomato sauce over polenta.

WHEN TO DRINK:
It's ready now and won't likely improve with côellaring, but it should be safe to keep around for a few more years.

VALUE:
Wine-Searcher.com lists it at $18 average U.S. retail price, and it would be a fine bargain in the under $20 range. My local $13 sale price makes it a load-up-the-trunk bargain.

WEB LINK:
Here's an English-language fact sheet from the producers of Château German.

FIND THIS WINE ONLINE:
Check prices and find vendors for Château German Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux on Wine-Searcher.com.

Browse Wine-Searcher for the wines of Domaines Alain Aubert, producers of Château German.

Follow this Wine-Searcher link to learn more about Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux and browse listings for dozens of other wines from the region.

[David M. Bueker]

I’m not drinking any f***ing Merlot!

[Robin Garr]

[David M. Bueker]

Had this on Thursday...close enough. Bin 707 is one of the Benchmarks of Australian Cabernet.

1998 Penfolds Cabernet Sauvignon Bin 707 - Australia, South Australia (3/30/2023)
From a six bottle OWC in my dad's cellar that had never been opened, this was in fantastic shape, and showing off with about two hours of air. A short decant might have been even better, as the last bits post-tasting were continuing to flesh out. Either way the deep red and black fruit, integrated tannins and smoke, earth and cedar secondary aromas and flavors were everything I could want in a top Cabernet Sauvignon. Nothing over-the-top here, just a classy, structured Cabernet with a long life ahead. Happy to have more, and think any time will be a good time for a bottle from here on out.

[David M. Bueker]

There is a lot of Napa Cabernet made in a style that is its own benchmark. It may not be for everyone, but there’s a market for it, and even at much higher price points than this wine which costs $60.

2018 Pott Wine Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley - USA, California, Napa Valley (4/3/2023)
Another wine from my late father’s cellar, where he bought for several vintages, but never opened a bottle. This is a ripe Napa Cabernet in miniature. There’s some super-ripe berry fruit that comes across as silky and plush, but it doesn’t succumb to the cloying. There’s enough structure to hold it together, and served at a cool 64 degrees or so the alcohol doesn’t poke through. It’s not a style I pursue, but it’s certainly worth drinking after a workday I would rather forget.

2017 Glenelly Estate Cabernet Sauvignon The Glass Collection (South Africa, Stellenbosch)

Glenelly-Cab-2017-small.jpg

100% Cabernet Sauvignon from Estate grown fruit. 14.5%abv.

I opened this because I thought it was aged enough at six years, but it had years ahead of it. Lots of sediment on the sides of the screwcapped bottle. Powerful with strong tannins and blackcurrant fruit. 2017 was a drought year, so they had to irrigate to relieve stress, and vines produced small berries which contributed intensity.

Glenelly was an old orchard by a cliff that had been quarried. It was bought in 2003 by 78 year old May de Lencquesaing. She owned Ch Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, a 2eme Growth in Pauillac. Approaching her 80s she realised that French inheritance laws would give equal parts to her children, some of whom weren't interested in running a wine estate. So she sold it, and bought Glenelly with her share. She built a modern glass walled gravity-fed winery in the quarry and planted red Bordeaux varieties along with Syrah and Chardonnay.

M. de Lencquesaing showcases her collection of glass at the winery, and this 'Glass Collection' range of wines is a second label under 'Estate Reserve' (which comprises a Chardonnay and a red blend of Bordeaux varieties plus Syrah), and way out at top, and priced five times more expensive than Glass Collection is the flagship 'Lady May', a Cab forward Bordeaux blend.

Wine fact sheet

[David M. Bueker]

I can’t believe I am actually drinking Silver Oak.

[David M. Bueker]

1996 Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley - USA, California, Napa Valley (4/10/2023)
Remember back in the day when Silver Oak was something to be sought after? Then several years later it became the object of derision. Turns out the wines were pretty well made, if on the (more than) decidedly oaky side. Twenty-seven years since release, and this has mellowed into a suave yet still oaky wine. It’s pretty good if you can accept the wood treatment. Tannins are resolved, there’s still some berry fruit, and it’s got a layer of vanilla cream that would make Ina Garten howl in jealousy. Serve with rich food, as it tames the obvious elements of the wine, and eases the guilt of the global deforestation required to create it.

Great month so far here. Happy to be back after a big computer crash 3 weeks ago. Thanks to Robin and David for all their help.

[David M. Bueker]

Glad to have you back Bob.

[Jenise]

Re Silver Oak, I remember preferring the Alexander to the Napa. Did it have less oak or was that my imagination?

[David M. Bueker]

Re Silver Oak, I remember preferring the Alexander to the Napa. Did it have less oak or was that my imagination?

I really don’t remember, but there’s plenty of Alexander Valley in my dad’s cellar, so I will find out.

If you think of Cabernet Sauvignon as a dry red wine, well not all are.

Cabernet Sauvignon ice-wine is a very very sweet luscious wine with the added twist of a pale red colour.

Pillitteri-icewine-small.jpg

2016 Pillitteri Estates Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Icewine (Canada, Niagara-on-the-Lake VQA)

I wouldn't say that it expresses Cabernet Sauvignon's varietal signature; the overpowering sensation is of sweetness. But by gosh it's luscious.

[David M. Bueker]

There are some "Bordeaux-variety" ice wines in other parts of Canada as well. One winery in the Okanagan (name escapes me right now, but I visited in 2003) has been making Cabernet (mostly Franc, some Sauvignon) ice wine. It sells very well to a specific market. At least that's what they told us when we visited.

[Jenise]

Welcome back, Bob.

2020 Kirkland Signature Cabernet Sauvignon Signature Series Suscol Napa Valley
Neighbor dropped off a bottle for me to try. $18 at local Costco. Just poured a glass. Shy nose hints at big plummy fruit and some spice. Reasonable mid-palate fruit across the dark berry spectrum shows up in the finish. Texture--tongue coating, and it doesn't really go away, it's paint-like--has me wondering if there's such a thing as an additive that makes wine feel thicker, glycerine-y. I know, sounds crazy, but I'm looking for that clean feeling after I swallow and it's not there. Otherwise very pleasant and a solid deal for under $20. Oh, and no fire smoke--first thing I think of when I look at some of these recent vintages.

[David M. Bueker]

Sounds like a good dose of Mega-Purple.

[Jenise]

I associate Mega Purple with both color and giant flavors. Apothic-like. It's texture too?

[David M. Bueker]

I associate Mega Purple with both color and giant flavors. Apothic-like. It's texture too?

It's never really been clear exactly what all it does. The information is appropriately opaque!

There are some "Bordeaux-variety" ice wines in other parts of Canada as well.

I've had Cab Franc ice-wine in Ontario. I know they have some winters cold enough to make ice-wine in Okanagen but cold winters are not as reliable as Ontario. I think CF was the first Canadian icewine I had.

[David M. Bueker]

There are some "Bordeaux-variety" ice wines in other parts of Canada as well.

I've had Cab Franc ice-wine in Ontario. I know they have some winters cold enough to make ice-wine in Okanagen but cold winters are not as reliable as Ontario. I think CF was the first Canadian icewine I had.

CF was my second Canadian Icewine. The first was Vidal Blanc. My how times have changed in Canadian wine.

I don't know if one can call Pontet-Canet benchmark Cabernet Sauvignon but, in the 90s and early 00s, it was benchmark Pauillac, if one excludes the 1er GCC stars. Since then Pontet-Canet has itself acquired star status with recent vintages selling for around €150/bottle. I have no experience of vintages more recent than this 2004, considered an average vintage, but I suspect that I may not like its current style as well as I liked it in its more modest days. At present the varietal composition of the vineyard (source RVF) is Cabernet Sauvignon 65%, Merlot 30%, Cabernet franc 4% and PV 1%. This is fairly typical for Pauillac though Mouton-Rothschild reaches as high as 79% Cabernet Sauvignon.

2004 Château Pontet-Canet - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac (15/04/2023)
This is classical left bank claret. The colour was quite youthful and dark with very little sign of bricking at the rim. The nose was quite discreet with fine fragrance of red fruit, hints of cedar and a touch of clayey minerals. The palate was medium++ bodied and also quite youthful with residual primary cassis and plum fruit, more clay and cedar hints, good underlying depth but with a fragrant overlay and a firm finish which seemed surprisingly tannic until a first mouthful of tournedos steak brought it into balance. This was classy in a rather austere vein. Very good.

Posted from CellarTracker

[David M. Bueker]

I'm a big fan of the 2004 Pontet Canet. Been working through a case of half bottles bought on futures. Always been a good drink.

There was a short period where PC went over the top. They have backed off from that in recent vintages. I had a small glass of the 2016 when it was released, and found it very much Bordeaux. Not buying it due to price, but if I had some cash I felt like lighting on fire I would certainly buy PC instead.

[David M. Bueker]

2018 Beta Cabernet Sauvignon Montecillo Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Moon Mountain District (4/20/2023)
Tasted after a two hour splash decant, this is certainly drinkable, though it is extremely tannic. Deep black fruit, savory tones and a minty top note create a pleasurable aromatic, and the depth of fruit is enough to buffer the tannins…for a while. Eventually is becomes quite stern, though the overall quality is still apparent. It actually reminds me a bit of the Corison Napa Cabernet, though I think the balance is managed better in the Corison. In the overall Napa Cabernet marketplace this is a good value for what will likely be a very ageable wine in the classic style.