Red Wine Grapes

When heading out to the liquor store in search of a bottle of wine, there are times when deciding on what type of wine to buy can be overwhelming. Most people rely on the back label of a bottle to describe what the wine tastes like. I thought is would be interesting to look at a few common varieties and see how they flavor red wine...

Cabernet Sauvignon

Spiritual home: Bordeaux.

Grown elsewhere: Widely cultivated throughout the world.

Key flavour: Blackcurrants.

Profile: Renowned for the wines it produces on the well-drained, gravelly soils on the left bank of the Gironde in Bordeaux, cabernet Sauvignon has been a natural choice for New World winemakers wishing to emulate the fine wine that is claret. It is a robust grape that has travelled well, and is now cultivated in Australia, South Africa, North America and South America, but has also been put to use in Italy, Spain and Eastern Europe. It has small, blue-black berries which have thick skins, providing necessary tannin, colour and flavour. Characteristics aromas and flavours are blackcurrants, cedar, old furniture and cabinets, coffee, tobacco, cigars, cigar boxes, violets, minerals, green pepper (especially if grapes are somewhat under-ripe), chocolate and so on. Young wines start off intensely fruity, whilst the more complex aromas will develop with age.

Merlot

Spiritual home: Bordeaux.

Grown elsewhere: Important in Italy and California.

Key flavours: Chocolate, fruitcake.

Profile: Whereas Cabernet Sauvignon has its spiritual home in the left bank communes of Bordeaux, Merlot is most famous for the wines from the right bank, especially from Pomerol and St Emilion. Although somewhat less widely travelled when compared to Cabernet, this thin-skinned, large-berried variety has found a new home in California. It is also important in some of the top wines of Italy, and can also be found in Australia and Eastern Europe. Spicy fruitcake, Christmas cake and chocolate characteristics will often give Merlot away, although it may also display blackcurrant, black cherry and plums. It is less tannic than Cabernet Sauvignon, and is often used in clarets when they need to be 'fleshed out' in weaker vintages.

Pinot Noir

Spiritual home: Burgundy, important in Champagne.

Grown elsewhere: Success in New Zealand, California, Australia.

Keywords: Summer berry fruits (primary characteristics).

Profile: Without doubt, although many winemakers of the New World have tried their hand at cultivating this variety, none have come close to emulating the fine wine that can be produced in Burgundy. Nevertheless, the wines of New Zealand have received critical acclaim in recent years, and there are also extremely good examples from California, Australia and South Africa to be found, although all are made in a richly fruity style quite distinct from Burgundy. This variety is thin skinned, grows in small bunches, and is prone to problems with yields. Accepted wisdom states that consistently low yields are necessary to maintain quality, and although high-yield clones have been developed (there are many different clones of Pinot Noir, all of which have different flavour, yield, disease resistance and so on) the final product lacks the necessary quality. When discussing Pinot Noir, it is also worth remembering that it plays a vital role as one of the three grapes widely planted in Champagne. Primary aromas and flavours (those present when young) are redcurrants, cranberries, strawberries, blackberries and chocolate. The secondary aromas (those that develop with age) include horsehair and animal fur, farmyard aromas, manure and compost. Lovely!

Syrah/Shiraz

Spiritual home: Rhône Valley, particularly the north.

Grown elsewhere: Australia, but many other countries also.

Keywords: Black fruits & black pepper.

Profile: Syrah is the grape behind fine wines of the Northern Rhône, not only Côte Rôtie ("roasted slope") and Hermitage, but also Cornas and Crozes-Hermitage. Nevertheless, most wine drinkers are familiar with it as Shiraz, the name by which it is known in Australia, where it is responsible for richly fruity wines, ranging from inexpensive everyday bottles right up to Australia's first growth, Penfolds Grange (once known as Grange 'Hermitage'). This thick-skinned grape may produce potentially tannic and long-lived wines. It is also late-ripening, explaining why it has gravitated towards warm regions such as the Rhône and Australia, although it is also producing good wines in South Africa, Chile and California. Typical descriptors include black fruits and black pepper, but more intriguingly raspberries, spice, herbs, grilled meats, charcoal, smoke and tar may be found. When aged it may develop rubbery aromas, particularly when from the Northern Rhône.

Cabernet Franc: Dominant grape in the Loire Valley, but also extremely important in Bordeaux where it is general used as a minor component of the blend by most châteaux, although by itself it is the grape behind the wine from one of the regions top estates, Cheval Blanc. Characteristics: blackcurrants, blackcurrant leaves, green/bell peppers, smoke, spice.

Grenache: Important in the Southern Rhône, where it dominates. Nevertheless, in almost all cases in is blended with other varieties such as Syrah and Mourvèdre, which is standard practice in this region. It may also be found in Spain and Australia. Characteristics: raspberries, white pepper.

Malbec: Like Cabernet Franc, this is used as part of the blend by some Bordeaux estates. It is also the grape behind Cahors, a southern French appellation. It is becoming more widely known, however, for the steadily improving wines it is producing in Argentina. Characteristics: intense summer fruits, spice.