The wine guide

Sunset, Oct, 1997 by Karen MacNeil

Don't forget Cabernet Sauvignon

* I once asked a well-known chef why she didn't serve roast chicken. Her roast chicken, it should be added, was extraordinary. She had, in fact, spent more than a decade perfecting it.

But just at her moment of mastery, diners in the restaurant decided that chicken was, well, uninteresting. Didn't she make quail or something?

Cabernet Sauvignon has suffered a similar paradoxical fate. The grape variety that put American wine on the international map has come of age. But now that there are dozens upon dozens of delicious Cabs out there, the stylish thing to sip is Syrah (more glamorous), Zinfandel (more homey), Sangiovese (more Euro chic), or Merlot (more Gen X).

What's fascinating about top Cabernets, however, is their seemingly oxymoronic ability to taste both powerful and elegant at the same time. In the 1970s, Warren Winiarski, owner-winemaker of Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, gave Cabernet Sauvignon the ultimate description: "an iron fist in a velvet glove."

Cabernet is produced everywhere from Texas to the Golan Heights, but its historic home is Bordeaux, a large wine region on France's Atlantic coast. In Bordeaux, however, Cabernet is almost always blended with up to four other red varieties: Merlot, Malbec, Petite Verdot, and Cabernet Franc.

Here in the West, the top Cabernets come from California and Washington. These are the James Bonds of red wine - sophisticated, worldly, highly focused, sexy but driven. In both states, a wine labeled Cabernet can be either 100 percent Cabernet or blended with other Bordeaux varieties (these latter wines are sometimes called Bordeaux blends or meritage wines).

There are also a slew of tasty Cabernets on the market from numerous other countries, including Australia (big, teddy bear-esque Cabernets) and Chile (leaner, but good and juicy and bargain-priced).

If a dozen of the top makers were asked why Cabernet is so good these days, one answer would keep cropping up: ripeness. Cabernet is rather like a melon. If it's even slightly under-ripe, it tastes green and one-dimensional. If it's overripe, it tastes flat and one-dimensional.

But at perfect ripeness, the flavor of a melon is rich and nuanced. And so it is with Cabernet.

Only in the last 10 years or so have winemakers truly understood Cabernet ripeness. For decades Cabernet was harvested when the sugars in the grapes reached a certain numerical point on a small 'instrument not unlike a thermometer. What winemakers now know, however, is that the sugar in wine grapes can be ripe even though other components in the grape are still immature.

Ripe sugar aside, the critical issue with Cabernet is whether the grapes have ripe tannin. How can a winemaker tell? By using the instrument used since antiquity - the tongue. Only by tasting a zillion grapes and by years of practice can a smart winemaker learn to determine when grapes are fully ripe. Like chefs, Cabernet makers must rely on their sense of taste and texture to determine that magical moment.

Finally, Cabernets can't be discussed without a word on price. They range from $6 to several hundred dollars a bottle. Inexpensive Cabs can be delightful wines full of good blackberry and cassis flavors. More expensive Cabernets are generally lusher and more nuanced, and their flavors last longer in the mouth. And of course, the very greatest (usually very expensive) Cabernets can be gorgeously deep in flavor and packed with personality. In all cases, what you want is a full-flavored Cab that's generous in the mouth. If it tastes thin and remotely like canned green beans, you've got the wrong Cab.

BEST BETS

(The following Cabernets are from California unless otherwise noted.)

* Inexpensive, $6 to $12

Bandiera 1995 Caliterra 1995 (Chile) Lindemans "Bin 45" 1995 (Australia) Napa Ridge 1994 Rosemount Estate 1995 (Australia)

* Moderate to expensive, $14 to $30

Beringer Knights Valley 1994 Chateau Souverain Alexander Valley 1994 Geyser Peak Reserve 1994 Grgich Hills 1993 Guenoc Estate 1994 Silverado 1994 Simi 1994

* Expensive, more than $40

Araujo Estate "Eisele Vineyard" 1994 Caymus Special Selection 1994 Dominus "Napanook Vineyard" 1994 Joseph Phelps Insignia 1994 Ridge Monte Bello 1993 Shafer Hillside Select 1993 Silver Oak Alexander Valley 1993

WINE DICTIONARY

Tannin

Tannins are compounds found in a grape's skin, seeds, and stem. Because red wines are fermented with their skins, they have far more tannin than white wines. Tannins act as preservatives (which is why certain red wines can last for a long time). Tannins also give red wines their firm structure. It's common for highly tannic wines to feel "tight" in the mouth when the wine is young. But the wine is considered poorly made if the tannins are extremely dry, harsh, and scratchy. - K. M.