Cabernet Sauvignon
I was born and raised in Zambia, a landlocked country unsuitable for vine-growing, so I grew up drinking beer, only discovering wine when I moved to Cape Town 10 years ago while searching for stories to tell – I used to write screenplays. The stories I learned behind every bottle inspired me to study wine, and to pursue a career as a sommelier.
My favourite wines are those with structure, power, balance, intensity, complexity – and the potential for longevity. And the epitome for me has to be Cabernet Sauvignon. Its small berries (and hence high ratio of pip to pulp) and thick skins enable it to produce wines with high acidity and tannin levels, and deep colour. But one of the grape’s most amazing traits is its ability to produce a quality wine with clear varietal identity, wherever it’s grown and however it’s vinified. Many other grape varieties struggle to achieve this level of consistency.
No wonder then that, even though Cabernet Sauvignon hails from Bordeaux, where it forms the backbone of the wines from the Left Bank communes of Médoc and Graves, it has been planted successfully across the globe. Indeed, it’s the world’s most widely planted wine grape variety. Here in South Africa, great Cabernets come from Stellenbosch on the slopes of the Helderberg and Simonsig mountains, which offer a variety of aspects, topography and less-fertile soils, helping the grape to slowly ripen its tannins and concentrate the aromas and flavours, while at the same time enabling it to retain acidity, resulting in wines that have balance, depth of flavour and ageing potential. There have been small plantings of Cabernet in cooler areas such as Hemel-en-Aarde (see p96 for our focus on Hemel-enAarde Chardonnay), producing wines with herbal notes of eucalyptus, blackcurrant and tobacco leaf.
In South Africa, Cabernet Sauvignon not only makes great single-variety wines (see box), but is also a great component in full-bodied Bordeaux blends, combined with Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet
Franc or Petit Verdot, where it contributes black fruits, herbaceousness, tannin and structure. It was the clear go-to style when I decided to make my own wine, working with Jeremy Walker at Grangehurst in Stellenbosch. Our The Harp Red Blend 2017 sees 49% Cabernet Sauvignon blended with 31% Merlot and 20% Petit Verdot.
Meat dishes unsurprisingly provide some of the best pairings when it comes to serving Cabernet or Cabernet blends with food. The firm tannins bind with the protein in the dish, and the acidity will cut beautifully through any fatty elements. For a more unusual match, and for non-meat eaters, a young, vibrant Cabernet Sauvignon holds up well to the robust flavours in a spinach and ricotta ravioli served with ratatouille.