Cabernet Sauvignon

In 1997 Bowers and Meredith showed with microsatellite DNA markers that Cabernet Sauvignon is the offspring of two other Bordeaux varieties, Cabernet Franc and the white Sauvignon Blanc. A link to Cabernet Franc had long been suspected; the Sauvignon Blanc parent was a surprise, despite the shared name. VIVC lists the pedigree as confirmed by markers. The variety has been grown in Bordeaux at least since the 17th century.

The vine is vigorous, with long shoots that need careful trellising and hard wood that is slow to prune. It resists grey rot well but is very susceptible to trunk diseases (esca, eutypa dieback) and to powdery mildew. Bunches and berries are small.

When fully ripe it gives deep colour and a firm tannic structure suited to ageing in wood. Unripe grapes give vegetal, bell-pepper notes from pyrazines. On its own it can lack body and fullness, which is one reason it is so often blended. In the Médoc it is the traditional base, joined by Merlot and smaller shares of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.

OIV counted 341,000 ha in 2015, about 4% of the world's vineyards, mainly in China, France, Chile, the United States, Australia, Spain, Argentina, Italy and South Africa. It is the most planted variety in Chile (43,000 ha, about 20% of the national vineyard). In France it grew from 7,841 ha in 1958 to 60,385 ha in 2008, then fell to 47,751 ha in 2018.