Cabernet Sauvignon

I’ve too often heard comments that “Cabernet Sauvignon can’t ripen in Virginia”.

Cabernet Sauvignon is the majority grape in most of Linden’s red wines. Our high elevation (1,200 to 1,400 feet) makes us one of the coolest areas in Virginia. Cabernet Sauvignon is a late ripening variety. Most of Virginia has enough heat to ripen it. Heat is not the obstacle. Soils are. Cabernet is very soil sensitive. Plant it in the wrong soil and it will not ripen. Plant it in the right soil and it produces magical wines.

Cabernet is a very vigorous vine. It should not be planted in soils where it has continuous and abundant access to water and nutrients as it will grow shoots and leaves well into the fall. If this long vegetative cycle occurs, Cabernet puts much of its energy into new green growth rather than ripening grapes. This results in thin, green, uninspiring wines.

Cabernet’s growth cycle can be shortened by planting it on droughty, low water holding capacity soils. By mid-summer, if the roots aren’t able to find enough water, it stops producing new shoots and starts to ripen grapes. In Bordeaux, the left bank (Medoc) has gravel soils that don’t retain water well. The best wines are all Cabernet Sauvignon based. Bordeaux’s right bank (Pomerol and St. Emilion) have high water holding clay soils. Merlot thrives, but they have trouble ripening Cabernet Sauvignon. Both regions experience the same amount of heat and rainfall.

Cabernet Sauvignon was first planted in 1985 at Linden’s Hardscrabble Vineyard. It was planted on a slope with fairly deep, water retentive soils. The wines never met expectations. (That site is now producing some of our best Chardonnays.) Twenty some years ago visits to Bordeaux lead to an understanding of which of Hardscrabble’s soils were most appropriate for Cabernet. These blocks are now producing wonderful Cabernet Sauvignon.

• Subscribe to Linden Updates for the latest vineyard and cellar information.

Linden Vineyards / Learn More / Latest at Linden | Journal: December 12, 2022