When wines fall in love
In the wine industry there is no greater love story than when two wine styles meet, fall in love, and the union of the two is greater than the sum of the two as single varieties. And nowhere is this love story more apparent than the pairing of the Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot; the Brangelina of the wine world.
Cabernet Sauvignon is highly regarded as the king of the wine world. It claims it can satisfy every wine drinker's desire, but I'm here to tell you often it can't. It suffers from a form of impotence, unable to truly satisfy its drinker.
I ask you to taste a 100 per cent Cabernet Sauvignon. Let it wash over your tongue and see if your tongue sighs with dissatisfaction. If it does, blame the ‘doughnut effect’. This strange phenomena is common when you taste 100 per cent Cabernet Sauvignon; the middle of your tongue (or middle palate) misses out on any of the gorgeous blackberry/cassis flavour. It's difficult to explain why, just accept it as one of life's little mysteries.
As in all scenarios like this, there is a heroine that saves the day, and her name is Merlot. We'll call Ms Merlot a whole filler! You see, when you taste Merlot on its own, it will have an abundance of flavour on the middle palate.
Wine writers in all their wisdom liken grape varieties to the masculine and feminine form. Cabernet Sauvignon is considered a masculine grape variety whilst Merlot is considered feminine. And when you put the two together a perfect and natural match is attained.
But why is one considered masculine and the other feminine? Cabernet Sauvignon is powerful and tannic (having a grippy mouth feel). It feels and tastes very structural in your mouth, like a skeleton. Merlot is fleshy, smooth and fruity. When the two are put together it’s like putting flesh onto a skeleton to form one complete person.
A Cabernet Merlot blend is often referred to as the Bordeaux Blend, after the French region that popularised the pairing. But Cabernet and Merlot aren’t the only ingredients to this magical blend. The French have also included several other lesser know components to the recipe.
• Cabernet Franc. feminine: aromatic, fragrant
• Malbec. Masculine: tannic, can taste quite vegetative
• and Petit Verdot. Quite acidic and not often used. Saved for very warm years when the other components are quite ripe and fleshy; this wine balances out the fleshiness with much needed acidity).
Of course Australia has its own version of the Bordeaux Blend; the Cabernet Shiraz. Just as the flavour of Cabernet starts to fall away, Shiraz jumps up and takes over. A blend from heaven and if you’re ever buying red wine under $12 a bottle, I always recommend a Cabernet Shiraz as a failsafe bet.
In the wine industry there is no greater love story than when two wine styles meet, fall in love, and the union of the two is greater than the sum of the two as single varieties. And nowhere is this love story more apparent than the pairing of the Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot; the Brangelina of the wine world.
Cabernet Sauvignon is highly regarded as the king of the wine world. It claims it can satisfy every wine drinker's desire, but I'm here to tell you often it can't. It suffers from a form of impotence, unable to truly satisfy its drinker.
I ask you to taste a 100 per cent Cabernet Sauvignon. Let it wash over your tongue and see if your tongue sighs with dissatisfaction. If it does, blame the ‘doughnut effect’. This strange phenomena is common when you taste 100 per cent Cabernet Sauvignon; the middle of your tongue (or middle palate) misses out on any of the gorgeous blackberry/cassis flavour. It's difficult to explain why, just accept it as one of life's little mysteries.
As in all scenarios like this, there is a heroine that saves the day, and her name is Merlot. We'll call Ms Merlot a whole filler! You see, when you taste Merlot on its own, it will have an abundance of flavour on the middle palate.
Wine writers in all their wisdom liken grape varieties to the masculine and feminine form. Cabernet Sauvignon is considered a masculine grape variety whilst Merlot is considered feminine. And when you put the two together a perfect and natural match is attained.
But why is one considered masculine and the other feminine? Cabernet Sauvignon is powerful and tannic (having a grippy mouth feel). It feels and tastes very structural in your mouth, like a skeleton. Merlot is fleshy, smooth and fruity. When the two are put together it’s like putting flesh onto a skeleton to form one complete person.
A Cabernet Merlot blend is often referred to as the Bordeaux Blend, after the French region that popularised the pairing. But Cabernet and Merlot aren’t the only ingredients to this magical blend. The French have also included several other lesser know components to the recipe.
• Cabernet Franc. feminine: aromatic, fragrant
• Malbec. Masculine: tannic, can taste quite vegetative
• and Petit Verdot. Quite acidic and not often used. Saved for very warm years when the other components are quite ripe and fleshy; this wine balances out the fleshiness with much needed acidity).
Of course Australia has its own version of the Bordeaux Blend; the Cabernet Shiraz. Just as the flavour of Cabernet starts to fall away, Shiraz jumps up and takes over. A blend from heaven and if you’re ever buying red wine under $12 a bottle, I always recommend a Cabernet Shiraz as a failsafe bet.
0 comments:
Post a Comment