The Cabernet Sauvignon Olympics – Finding the World’s Best

It’s an off-year for the Olympic Games, but not to worry – we know another way to pit the nations of the world against one another in friendly competition: Cabernet Sauvignon.

The World’s Most-Planted Grape (Almost)

To make a new Olympic sport (in this case Cabernet Sauvignon Quaffing, which we’re working on trademarking), it helps to have popularity across the globe, and Cabernet Sauvignon has that in spades. It turns out that Cab Sauv is the second-most-planted grape variety on planet Earth, only losing out to Kyoho, a popular table grape variety in East Asia. A whopping 341,000 ha of Cabernet were extant in 2017, according to the International Organization of Vine and Wine’s report, with wide coverage across both hemispheres whether you’re looking east/west or north/south.

The (Very Objective and Definitely Not at All Biased) Rules

Any new Olympic sport needs a rule set, and our battle of the Cabernet Sauvignons is no exception. As a point of order, we will consider anything with at least 51% Cabernet Sauvignon in the majority of vintages as a valid entrant, allowing for a wide range of Bordeaux-style blends. Each country may field up to three wines, depending on how many true contenders exist within that country. Notably absent from the considerations below is value. As the Olympics are about crowning the best of the best, price has not factored into our rankings. The contestants will be judged on three fronts:

Complexity: A great Cabernet Sauvignon must be complex from the beginning, with additional complexity emerging as it ages

Longevity: A great Cabernet Sauvignon must be capable of long-term cellar aging. An entrant that can regularly manage two decades of improvement (particularly one that can do so without sacrificing initial approachability) will be scored higher than an entrant that often falls off after a single decade

Balance: Power is commonplace among Cabernet Sauvignon wines. Poise is rare.

The entrants will be judged by a panel of one, yours truly, the author. Any readers perturbed about the wines picked as winners may lodge their complaints at:

5050 Haviture Way
Eugene, Oregon, 97402, USA

The Contestants

France

In the same spirit as “You can’t drink all day without starting in the morning,” we’re going to get provocative from the proverbial starting gun. One only of the expected First Growths you will find below, in our opinion the one that is most often spectacular, more than merely great. The next is a Third Growth, but one with more complexity and longevity in many vintages than the other Firsts, and all the Seconds. The last is a wine that is spectacularly long-lived and immaculately poised from the moment it is bottled, and continues to be criminally underrated among collectors (despite the praise heaped upon it by wine royalty like Michael Broadbent).

The United States

Though it was born in Bordeaux, there is nowhere on earth so associated with the name of Cabernet Sauvignon as California’s Napa Valley. Potential choices abound, from classic to cult-y. However, we will court controversy again by awarding the pole position to a legend from south of the Bay whose track record knows no equal in California, followed by two Napa powerhouses that, despite being perhaps a bit predictable, have consistently impressed in retrospective tastings.

Italy

The Super Tuscan revolution can still be felt in cellars worldwide, and both key Cabernet Sauvignon-heavy contenders are featured below. Though Giuseppe Quintarelli’s legendary Alzero Cabernet is tempting to include, its typical 40% Cabernet Sauvignon puts it below the threshold, and it is thus disqualified.

Australia

Though better known in export markets for its Syrah, Australia’s top producers have created some world-class Cabernet Sauvignons. The two that merit inclusion on the world stage should not come as surprises. Though the elusive Bin 620 might be higher-prized among collectors, it is the Bin 169 that provides the most consistency among the estate’s Cabernets.

Argentina

Though value is easy to find in Argentina, only a single wine rises to the level of this challenge. Though it occasionally dips below 50% Cabernet, it did so only twice in the last decade, once in the 2019 vintage and again in 2021. It is, by any measure, the Grand Vin of Argentina, and offers all three of our judgement parameters in abundance.

Catena Zapata, Nicolas Catena Zapata, Uco Valley

Chile

While the superlative Clos Apalta comes to mind, it is easy to forget that Chile’s Grand Vin is far more Carmenère than Cabernet Sauvignon, excluding it from this event. Though it comes from an industrial-scale producer, the contender from Chile offers length, consistency, and complexity that makes it a fair contender.

Concha y Toro, Don Melchor, Puente Alto

Two Households, Both Alike in Dignity

As suggested by Norway’s combined medal record in the Winter Olympics (405 medals, for those keeping track, the highest count of any country), there is such a thing as home court advantage. To the surprise of no one, two countries in particular are set to dominate the Cabernet Sauvignon Olympics. However, with a field of twelve strong wines, upsets are always possible. If you asked us to predict the results of such a competition, we think the list below is a likely outcome, but if any of you would like to run this as a blind tasting, please send us an invite (we’d be happy to help source the bottles)!

The World’s Most-Planted Grape (Almost)

The (Very Objective and Definitely Not at All Biased) Rules

The Contestants

Two Households, Both Alike in Dignity

The Cabernet Sauvignon Olympics Standings