The 5 Main Red Grapes of Bordeaux

Cabernet Sauvignon

• Color> Very deep purple ink color
• Key aromas/flavors> Blackberry, blackcurrants, cassis, cigar, tobacco, olives, eucalyptus, vanilla, cedar wood, pencil shavings and cigar box
• Lots of acidity and tannin
• If somewhat under-ripe can be lean, tart and often smells very grassy, leafy or “herbaceous”
• Can have a dusty or mineral quality
• Cab is king in California. Mistaken cross-blend of Cabernet Franc & Sauvignon Blanc in 18C.
• Most important variety in Medoc and Graves, especially for the grand crus.
• Markedly tannic when young but develops great finesse and complexity
• Hardy variety that has a thick skin and is a late ripener
• Does best in gravelly soils and has a relatively low yield.
• Adds the backbone, structure and aging potential to the blend.

Merlot

• Color> ruby red and full-bodied
• Can be more about texture (soft, rounded and fruity, easy to enjoy without food) than flavor
• At its best it is succulent and silky, with velvety tannins: ‘smooth’
• Key aromas/flavors> Cherry, blueberry, strawberry, raspberries, blackberry, mint, beef broth; rich, spicy plumy sort of appeal of a rich fruitcake; gunshot, pheasant, and gamey
• Most important variety in St. Emilion and Pomerol but also important in the Medoc and Graves since it harmonizes so well with Cabernet Sauvignon.
• Wines deep in color, less tannic and higher in alcohol than Cabernet Sauvignon
• Does well in clay, where Cabernet Sauvignon does less well
• Early ripener and generous yielder but susceptible to rot in wet weather
• Plump and round, it helps make a blend amiable at a younger age.

Cabernet Franc

• Color> Lighter than Cabernet Sauvignon
• Similar to Cab Sauv, but usually more herbaceous, lighter bodied and color; and lower tannins
• Key aromas/flavors> roses, violets, flowery, much more giving of aromas than Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot, pencil shavings (wood part) aroma
• The original Cabernet grape
• Characteristics somewhere between Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot
• In St. Emilion it is generally known as “Bouchet”
• In Bordeaux it ripens more easily and in difficult years produces much sweeter, more balanced fruit than Cabernet Sauvignon.
• The cool soils of St. Emilion and Pomerol hardly ever ripen Cabernet Sauvignon, whereas Franc thrives there
• More productive and ripens slightly earlier than Cabernet Sauvignon

Malbec

• Color> Deep purple
• Like a cross between Cabernet Franc and Merlot
• Contributes a soft character, Soothing ripe, tannic structure.
• Key aromas/flavors> damsons, violet aromas, perfumed, tobacco leaf
• Known as “Cot” in Cahors (“black wine of Cahors”)
• Used to be particularly important in Fronsac, Pomerol and the Cotes de Bourg, as well as having a minor role in most Medoc vineyards
• Many chateaux still have a few old Malbec vines left.
• High-yielding, early ripening variety
• Slightly coarse it tends to lack finesse; adds fatness of texture
• Tends to “flip-flop” one year of reasonable crop followed by a year with significantly less; thus less economic for growers; also tendency to “shatter”
• Consumers far more likely to see it in the Argentina section (46,000 acres - #1 red)

Petit Verdot

• Color> Dark, black and inky
• Tannin-rich, strongly acidic but with a fine nose.
• Very concentrated, a “seasoning”, spicy
• Key aromas/flavors> violet aromas
• French translation – “little greenie”
• Used in small quantities in the Medoc, especially on the lighter soils of Margaux, but is of declining importance
• It is late in ripening and produced highly colored wines with strong tannin and adds complexity to wines for long ageing.
• When added to a blend it helps determine the individual character of a chateau’s wine

How a Blend is Made

• Top producers make wine in small “lots” (not in 100,000 gallon stainless steel tanks)
• “Free-run” and pressed juice
• New barrels as well as old barrels are used
• French barrels and American barrels
• Many, many “blending trials” are done - “A” versus “B”, head-on-head
• Thousands of permutations possible
• Ultimately, a subjective decision based on the winemaker’s palette
• Biggest influence on the unique character of the wine in priority order:
  • Appellation (the “terroir”)
  • Final varietal blend
  • Oak barrel treatment
• “Lessons Learned” from blending (some contrary to intuition):
  • You can have “too much of a good thing”
  • You can get poor results blending two great wines
  • Sometimes a very small amount of one wine grape added to a blend tips it negatively
  • Some grapes don’t take as well to blending

“Meritage” Wines from Califonia
The basic concept of blending embodies an idea express 2,300 years ago by Aristotle: “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”

Only ten known “Meritage” (rhymes with heritage) wines in California with all 5 of the main Bordeaux varietals:

Some Others with 3 or 4 Grapes