Cabernet Sauvignon Blind Tasting Profile
Cabernet Sauvignon Blind Tasting Profile
If Pinot Noir teaches you to respect delicacy, Cabernet Sauvignon teaches you to read tannin. It is the archetype of the structured red — full-bodied, deeply colored, and gripped by firm, often angular tannin that carries a long finish. When you call Cabernet, the tannin is usually your strongest piece of evidence, so be ready to defend its quality: not just "high," but fine-grained, drying, chalky, or coating.
The structural frame to state first:
Full body, high tannin, medium-plus acid, moderate-plus to high alcohol, a long structured finish.
Then check the aromatics against it. Cabernet's markers — blackcurrant, cassis, blackberry, cedar, graphite, tobacco, mint, cocoa, bell pepper — are a cluster, and the cedar-graphite spine plus that firm tannin is what separates it from softer, plusher reds.
The pyrazine question
Cabernet carries pyrazines, so a green, bell-pepper, or leafy note is on-brand rather than a fault — in cooler climates it's practically expected. That green edge is a genuine clue toward Cabernet (and away from Merlot or Grenache), but read it against ripeness: a cool Bordeaux vintage can show herbaceous lift, while a warm Napa site buries it under ripe black fruit. Don't call the grape on the pyrazine alone, and don't reject it because the wine is ripe.
Free preview
Create an account to unlock the full deep dive.
Members can read the complete article, including the remaining tasting logic, theory details, and service language.