Definition: cabernet

A remarkable grape variety that produces the best reds in the Médoc, California, Australia, Chile and most wine-producing countries. Cabernet Sauvignon is by far the most widely grown variety. Cabernet Franc, cultivated in Bordeaux and the Loire Valley, is slowly gaining ground. It is a very interesting addition to blends, particularly on the right bank, where advocates of all-Merlot blends have tended to exclude it over the last decade. To reach its full potential, Cabernet Franc requires a limestone terroir or gravelly soil on a clay base, as Count Odart pointed out in an article published in 1855.