Happy Cabernet Sauvignon Day
The most planted wine grape in the world is a household name even for those who don’t drink wine (often). All but the historically coolest of wine producing nations have invested heavily in this grape, but even they are beginning to take an interest as the global climate continues to warm.
Much to the delight of this wine’s ardent fans. France, Chile, and California produce the highest volumes. But although it is made and consumed in colossal quantities, it’s not easy to get right. We’ll get into that shortly. Commonly referred to by an abbreviated name, we celebrate this grape on August 30 - International Cabernet Sauvignon Day!
Cab Sav is every bar and restaurant’s workhorse. For anyone who just wants a big full red without staring glassy eyed at an intimidating wine list or trying to decipher labels behind the bar, Cab Sav it is - the rest is irrelevant. It’s a popular one in BC too, with 973 acres planted, putting it in 3rd place for red wine grapes in the province. The vast majority of these acres are in Oliver and Osoyoos.
Why is Cab Sav mostly grown in the south Okanagan, why do some wines fall short, and how is this all connected? It comes down to the matter of ripeness. Chile and California have no problem achieving unmatched fruit development, while Bordeaux can struggle (hence the tradition of blending). Cabernet requires tremendous amounts of heat energy over its growing season in order to fully ripen. That’s different from saying it likes very hot weather. It actually does not perform well in very hot sites, where grapes like Grenache and Mourvèdre do. This is what is meant when we say Cab Sav is a late ripening variety. It does well in warmer regions and moderate climates with warming influences such as vineyard aspect, slope, lake effect, or stony/gravely soils. If vineyard temperatures get too hot for extended periods, the fruit flavours can become overly jammy and stewed so producers - here in BC too - manage the canopy carefully to hit the ripening bullseye. Sunburn is a potential threat in areas with intense and prolonged sun exposure but without cooling influences such as altitude or ocean breezes. Grapes affected by sunburn can be unsuitable for wine production.
Photo Credit: Wines of BC
Having two herbaceous parents like Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc (a natural crossing that occurred only a few hundred years ago) means that this celebrated variety has a bit of a green streak - but from its lofted throne at the peak of Mount Wine, it couldn’t care less. It’s true if not fully ripened, vegetal notes are more prominent in Cab Sav, reminiscent of kitchen scraps. It’s the grapes’ thick skins that require complete ripening in order to avoid overly herbaceous and capsicum notes. When warmth is adequate throughout a lengthy season, the wines have more sophisticated ‘green’ aromas of mint, peppercorn, eucalyptus, lavender, sage, or bay leaf. On the fruit spectrum, Cabernet is known for having intense black fruit character like black currant, blackberry, and dark plum. A whiff of graphite or pencil lead is another tell that you’ve got Cab Sav in the glass. One thing I love about this wine is how the combination of aromas - black cherry, dark chocolate, whipped cream - can reproduce a delicious (and low calorie!) Black Forest cake.
So as I was saying, we need to nail the ripening sweet spot with Cabernet Sauvignon. This is most reliably achieved in our warmer viticultural areas such as Oliver, Osoyoos, and the Similkameen. After the fruit is grown and harvested to the winemaker’s standards, the next important considerations are the extraction and the oak program. Will pump overs or punch downs be used to enrich the wine with colour and tannins? How long should the wine be matured in oak? What kind of oak, and what percentage should be new? All these decisions have an impact on the final product (the taste, texture, freshness, longevity, and the price). Barrel aging not only adds complex flavours of vanilla, cocoa, baking spices, and smoke, but also provides the trace level of oxidation necessary to soften the aggressive tannins Cabernet often brings.
Speaking of tannins, I suppose that’s one aspect that can turn people off of this variety, and send them running into the tender embrace of Pinot Noir. Like I was saying with the herbaceous character like green pepper that can be too forward in the wine when the grapes are under ripe, the same applies to tannin. When under ripe they are astringent and harsh, but fully ripe they are softer, finer, and smoother. Young Cabernet can benefit from decanting, using an aerator, or even just lots of swirling in the glass. You’ll notice the tannins relax in real time.
Classic food pairings with Cabernet Sauvignon almost always include meat. The bold structure can support fatty, earthy dishes and the tannins need some protein to bind to other than the inside of your mouth. Grilled steaks, tenderloin, spiced lamb, roast beef, pot roast, or stew/goulash pair well, as long as there is ample salt in the dish and concentrated fruit flavours in the wine. Without the latter, the astringency of the tannins will be exaggerated and likely unpleasant. Unless you’re a wine sadist, in which case, you do you.
Wines made from Cabernet Sauvignon in BC can either be single-varietal or blended. Blending can bring more complexity to a wine by adding other flavours and textures from, for example, plush Merlot (as in Bordeaux) or, as is sometimes the case in BC, meaty, peppery Syrah. It also allows winemakers to adjust proportions of the blend components depending on how well the weather during that vintage allowed the grapes to fare. The wines featured in this article are 100% Cabernet Sauvignon.
Vasanti 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon
Longtime Okanagan grape growers and newcomers to the winemaking scene in BC, Vasanti are based in Oliver. Their Cab Sav is available to club members only. The fruit is sourced from an east-facing Osoyoos vineyard on sandy, lightly granitic soils. These promote drainage and encourage the vines to dig deep and produce concentrated fruit. Stainless steel fermentation keeps the fruit bright and fresh, with multiple daily pump overs to extract colour and tannin. Aging is carried out over 19 months in 50% new American oak and 50% neutral oak barrels. This wine won a bronze medal from WineAlign in 2024. The fruit character stands out most prominently on the nose and palate. Power and weight are provided by the concentrated black currant, wild blackberry, and plum notes. A dusting of dark chocolate, vanilla cream and mint sweeten the deal. Punchy acidity and stoic tannins build a sturdy structure that would be gaudy without the bold, ripe fruit achieved here - and yet there’s still freshness and excitement too. Keep your eyes on these guys!
Culmina 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon
The Bordeaux variety specialists from Oliver produced this Cabernet Sauvignon from their Golden Mile Bench estate. The wine is aged 16 months in 60% 1- & 2-year old French oak and 40% new. This wine is also a bronze medal winner from WineAlign in 2023. If the Vasanti wine had the most primary fruit characteristics, the Culmina had the most tertiary characteristics. That is, stewed black plums and black cherries, blackberry jam, and fig spread. These are indications of precise oxidative development and the benefit of one extra year of bottle age. Filling out the sophisticated profile are notes of vanilla, clove, cedar, and lavender. Acidity is elevated and tannins even more so - actually still a bit rough, tasting without decanting or significant aeration, but these interventions will really help soften the edge. While the just-less-than-full body initially felt like a shortfall, it actually brings a fresh and elegant lift that will certainly extend its aging potential. Coastal California ripeness meets Bordeaux backbone.
Black Sage 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon
There’s no guessing from which South Okanagan bench these grapes are sourced. Destemmed and crushed fruit underwent stainless steel fermentation with twice daily pump overs. 12 months of aging takes place in both French and American oak for a more complex toasty profile. With three different wines in this lineup, each highlighting either primary, secondary, or tertiary characteristics, this wine seems to fit in perfectly. Secondary notes (from oak maturation) predominate: sandalwood, cedar, vanilla, cocoa, smoke. But there’s more indulgence as well: plum cake, black cherry compote, boysenberry preserve, dried fig, and sweet sage. Structure is shaped by medium acidity and smooth but tightly coiled tannins. At under $30 this is a good value BC Cab Sav for any occasion.
Full-bodied, high in tannin and with mouth watering acidity, Cabernet Sauvignon is the textbook wine for aging. The ones featured here are no exception. Clearly, ripeness was not an issue - not a pyrazine to be seen. For this style of wine, 2020s and 21s are still very young. Introduce some aeration if drinking now, or cellar for a few years and let time do its thing. Because of all these characteristics, it’s not a good gateway wine, but better appreciated by aficionados and those already interested in trying new and exciting things. To each their own! As always, I encourage a spirit of discovery and will do my part to help you explore BC wine one glass at a time.
This blog post was written by our contributor: Matt Tinney.