Margaret River's Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc

Cabernet Sauvignon

Cabernet Sauvignon is perhaps the most famous red grape. Its home is Bordeaux where it is was created as a cross between Cabernet Franc (red grape) and Sauvignon Blanc (white grape). Since then its popularity has spread and it is grown all around the world. It prefers warmer climates to ripen fully and even in Bordeaux some years it does not ripen. That is why Cabernet Franc is also used in Bordeaux blends as it ripens faster. What makes Cabernet so popular is not its bouquet, which can range from blackcurrants to cigar box, but its structure, typically having both tannins and acidity to create a smooth feeling in the mouth. The structure allows the blending with other grapes, perhaps the most famous pairing is Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot where the Cabernet provides the structure and the Merlot gives the wine the soft, rounded feel in the mouth. Recently Cabernet has been mixed with Sangiovese (Chianti's grape) to create the SuperTuscans.

Chardonnay

Jancis Robinson described Chardonnay as the tart of the grape world, as it would lie down anywhere and do what the winemaker told it to do! In other words it will grow almost anywhere and produce decent and quite stylistically different wines ranging from minerally Chablis, Champagne, buttery fruit wines, tropical fruit wines or oaky vanilla wines. During the late 1990's Chardonnay was the drink of choice for many. However people became bored with the oaky wines found in so many bars and the term, 'ABC' (Anything but Chardonnay) came about. The ubiquitous yet noble Chardonnay grape has virtually become a brand name. From its homeland in Burgundy, its fame and fortune have taken it all over the world. It�s grown on different soils in varying climates to be used either as a single varietal or in blends, for still and sparkling wines, and with or without oak ageing to create a wide range of wines with diverse personalities. As a result, it�s impossible to describe a typical Chardonnay. For a start, the grape can make anything from an everyday glugger to a high-quality wine deserved of ageing. Its popularity in the vineyard stems from the fact that it�s easy to grow, consistently yielding generously with relatively high sugars (and, therefore, alcohol). In the winery its advantages are obvious � it�s difficult to make a poor wine from it, unless it�s been picked too late, because then its acid levels fall quickly, which make it flabby. Chardonnay isn�t strongly aromatic: some detect anything from apples (or barely ripe apples in Chablis) and melon in Maconnais Chardonnay to tropical fruit flavours in New World examples. Common descriptives, however, tend to refer to texture and weight rather than flavour � buttery for broader styles, such as Meursault from the Cote de Beaune; steely for Montrachets and nutty for Corton-Charlemagne. There�s an attractive leanness to fine Cote d�Or white burgundy, that sets it apart from Chardonnays from the rest of the world, but this can be emulated further south in the Cote Chalonnaise and Maconnais in good vintages with clever winemaking.

Semillon

Semillon is a golden grape variety, which can, in the right places, produce great wine. It is grown over much of the world, but is most heavily planted in France, particularly in the appellations in the south west. It excels in white Bordeaux, as part of a blend. Think great, long-lived, dry Graves and the delicious dessert wine Sauternes � and, of course, the sweet bliss Chateau d�Yquem uses Semillon grapes. On the other side of the world, Semillon also proves what a star it is in Australia�s Hunter Valley when it�s allowed to mature in good vintages. This vigorous grower produces thin-skinned grapes which are inclined, if the weather conditions are right, to develop botrytis, the noble rot which is necessary for the unctuous sweet wines. If Semillon is allowed to fully ripen and is sparsely cropped and grown somewhere not too hot then this grape produces highly alcoholic and extracted wine with relatively low aroma and acidity. Semillon has a lemony character when young but this grape lends itself to oak and ageing to become a deep golden-coloured wine with a rich lanolin flavour, often referred to as �waxy�. However, on the negative side, the wines tend to fatness and have little aroma in youth. This is the reason Sauvignon Blanc is Semillon�s traditional blending partner because its qualities of high acidity and strong aroma fill the gaps. More recently, however, Semillon has been blended with other varieties � Chardonnay became an obvious choice in the early nineties when everybody wanted a glass of the stuff. Outside France, it�s biggest plantings are in Chile, but vines are also found in such countries as Argentina, New Zealand, the USA and South Africa. In fact, in 1822, 93 per cent of South Africa�s vineyards were Semillon, imported from Bordeaux. It was so common then that it was just called Wyndruif or �wine grape�. Subsequently, it became Green Grape because of its foliage, but its importance has declined since and now it represents only a tiny area of vineyard. Semillon also goes by a few other names, including, in France, Semillon Blanc, Malaga and Colombier.

Sauvignon Blanc

Grassy and herbaceous, with the characteristics of gooseberries, nettles and cat�s pee � this can only be referring to one grape variety: Sauvignon Blanc. The grape has its origins in Bordeaux but is now widely cultivated over France and around much of the world. Think of Pouilly-Fume and Sancerre from the Loire � both these wines are made from Sauvignon Blanc and are, probably, the grape in its purest form: crisp, dry, aromatic and unoaked. In Bordeaux, it�s blended, particularly with Semillon, for the dry whites there, but it�s also an ingredient for the region�s luscious dessert wines, such as those of Sauternes and Barsac. On the other side of the world, however, New Zealand has also virtually made this white variety its own, giving the wine a screwcap along the way. Yet this fashionable grape does have its faults. For one, unblended, it doesn�t age. Wines made from Sauvignon Blanc are generally meant to be drunk young, but then that can also be a bonus � as soon as you�ve bought a bottle, you can just chill this zesty little number and enjoy it! On the growing front, it�s susceptible to botrytis, oidium and black rot and will also rot if grown on fertile soils, preferring gravelly or sandy loams, or chalk in parts of the Loire. It also tends to be very vigorous and if it�s allowed to become over-productive on heavy soils, then the characteristics of the wines will be much diluted. Sauvignon Blanc goes by a few other names, the most common probably being Fume Blanc, as it�s known in California.