Cabernet Sauvignon around the world

The broad Tuscan Sangiovese appellation surrounding Chianti Classico — lighter, cheaper and much more variable.

Against its siblings: lighter, less oaky, more restrained in fruit.

• Warm climate. Fuller ripening tends to raise sugar and therefore alcohol, soften acidity, and push fruit character from tart towards ripe and jammy.

Sangiovese from the historic hills between Florence and Siena: sour cherry, dried herbs and firm acidity, built for the table.

Against its siblings: more herbal and green, more restrained in fruit, fresher and more acidic.

• Warm climate. Fuller ripening tends to raise sugar and therefore alcohol, soften acidity, and push fruit character from tart towards ripe and jammy.
• Oak ageing. Extended time in barrel adds spice and structure and slowly softens tannin.

The blended Cabernet–Merlot benchmark: structured, cedary and built to age, with two distinct characters depending on which bank of the river it comes from.

Against its siblings: more restrained in fruit, earthier, leaner and more cutting.

The broad statewide category — a very wide quality range, from Central Valley volume wine to serious coastal bottlings.

Against its siblings: more fruit-driven, riper and less green, cleaner and more fruit-focused.

• Warm climate. Fuller ripening tends to raise sugar and therefore alcohol, soften acidity, and push fruit character from tart towards ripe and jammy.
• Prominent oak. Barrel ageing adds vanilla, toast and spice, and rounds the texture.
• Oak ageing. Extended time in barrel adds spice and structure and slowly softens tannin.

Reliable, cassis-driven Cabernet with a distinctive mint or eucalyptus note — and consistently among the best value in the world.

Against its siblings: cleaner and more fruit-focused.

• Warm climate. Fuller ripening tends to raise sugar and therefore alcohol, soften acidity, and push fruit character from tart towards ripe and jammy.
• Oak ageing. Extended time in barrel adds spice and structure and slowly softens tannin.

High-altitude Mediterranean blends of Cinsault, Syrah and Cabernet from one of the oldest wine regions on earth.

Against its siblings: earthier, riper and less green.

• Oak ageing. Extended time in barrel adds spice and structure and slowly softens tannin.

Chianti Classico held back for longer ageing before release — denser, more structured and longer-lived.

Against its siblings: earthier, more savoury, more restrained in fruit.

• Warm climate. Fuller ripening tends to raise sugar and therefore alcohol, soften acidity, and push fruit character from tart towards ripe and jammy.
• Oak ageing. Extended time in barrel adds spice and structure and slowly softens tannin.

Cassis, mint and eucalyptus from a narrow strip of red terra rossa soil — Australia’s most distinctive Cabernet.

Against its siblings: cleaner and more fruit-focused.

• Cool climate. Slower ripening tends to retain acidity and hold alcohol down, and green or citrus notes survive where a warmer site would ripen them away.
• Oak ageing. Extended time in barrel adds spice and structure and slowly softens tannin.

Structured, refined Cabernet from a strongly maritime corner of Western Australia — the New World region closest to Bordeaux in balance.

Against its siblings: cleaner and more fruit-focused.

• Warm climate. Fuller ripening tends to raise sugar and therefore alcohol, soften acidity, and push fruit character from tart towards ripe and jammy.
• Oak ageing. Extended time in barrel adds spice and structure and slowly softens tannin.

Structured, savoury Cabernet and Bordeaux blends from Stellenbosch’s mountain slopes — South Africa’s most recognised reds.

Against its siblings: earthier.

• Warm climate. Fuller ripening tends to raise sugar and therefore alcohol, soften acidity, and push fruit character from tart towards ripe and jammy.
• Oak ageing. Extended time in barrel adds spice and structure and slowly softens tannin.

Merlot-led Bordeaux blends from the Gimblett Gravels — New Zealand’s most serious red beyond Pinot Noir.

Against its siblings: cleaner and more fruit-focused.

• Oak ageing. Extended time in barrel adds spice and structure and slowly softens tannin.

The New World Cabernet benchmark: ripe cassis and cocoa, plush tannin, generous new oak and high alcohol.

Against its siblings: rounder and creamier in texture, cleaner and more fruit-focused, softer and rounder.

• Warm climate. Fuller ripening tends to raise sugar and therefore alcohol, soften acidity, and push fruit character from tart towards ripe and jammy.
• Prominent oak. Barrel ageing adds vanilla, toast and spice, and rounds the texture.
• Oak ageing. Extended time in barrel adds spice and structure and slowly softens tannin.

Dense, mineral Garnacha and Cariñena from steep slate terraces in Catalonia — one of only two Spanish regions at the top classification tier.

Against its siblings: earthier, riper and less green, rounder and creamier in texture.

• Warm climate. Fuller ripening tends to raise sugar and therefore alcohol, soften acidity, and push fruit character from tart towards ripe and jammy.
• Oak ageing. Extended time in barrel adds spice and structure and slowly softens tannin.

A commercial category rather than an appellation: ambitious Tuscan reds that fell outside the DOC rules, usually built on Bordeaux varieties.

Against its siblings: cleaner and more fruit-focused, more oaky.

• Warm climate. Fuller ripening tends to raise sugar and therefore alcohol, soften acidity, and push fruit character from tart towards ripe and jammy.
• Prominent oak. Barrel ageing adds vanilla, toast and spice, and rounds the texture.
• Oak ageing. Extended time in barrel adds spice and structure and slowly softens tannin.

Coastal Tuscan Bordeaux blends — the appellation created to give the Super Tuscan idea a legal home.

Against its siblings: cleaner and more fruit-focused, fruitier, more oaky.

• Warm climate. Fuller ripening tends to raise sugar and therefore alcohol, soften acidity, and push fruit character from tart towards ripe and jammy.
• Prominent oak. Barrel ageing adds vanilla, toast and spice, and rounds the texture.
• Oak ageing. Extended time in barrel adds spice and structure and slowly softens tannin.

Cabernet from Sonoma’s warmer inland valleys — a little softer and more red-fruited than Napa.

Against its siblings: riper and less green, cleaner and more fruit-focused, softer and rounder.

• Warm climate. Fuller ripening tends to raise sugar and therefore alcohol, soften acidity, and push fruit character from tart towards ripe and jammy.
• Prominent oak. Barrel ageing adds vanilla, toast and spice, and rounds the texture.
• Oak ageing. Extended time in barrel adds spice and structure and slowly softens tannin.

New World ripeness with Old World structure — a product of desert heat and extreme diurnal swing east of the Cascades.

Against its siblings: riper and less green, cleaner and more fruit-focused, fruitier.

• Oak ageing. Extended time in barrel adds spice and structure and slowly softens tannin.

Tannat from south-west France: among the most tannic red wines made anywhere, and the birthplace of micro-oxygenation.

Against its siblings: riper and less green, more tannic and structured, earthier.

• Cool climate. Slower ripening tends to retain acidity and hold alcohol down, and green or citrus notes survive where a warmer site would ripen them away.
• Oak ageing. Extended time in barrel adds spice and structure and slowly softens tannin.