CMS Blind Tasting Practice — 10 Red Wine Scenarios

Cabernet Sauvignon, Left Bank Bordeaux

The combination that settles this is cassis and cedar over graphite, with high fine-grained tannin, moderate alcohol at 13.5%, and a persistent green pyrazine note — methoxypyrazines survive in Cabernet when the growing season is cool, and they are the single most reliable pointer away from warm-climate Cabernet. Napa Cabernet would push alcohol to 14.5% or above, replace the green edge with riper black plum and cocoa, and carry softer, plusher tannin. Pomerol Merlot would be rounder and more supple, with plum and truffle rather than cassis and graphite, and noticeably lower tannin. Rioja Tempranillo would show dried strawberry and fig with American-oak vanilla, coconut and dill, and would not produce this tannin structure.

Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley

This is Cabernet — cassis, blackcurrant and a firm high-tannin frame — but grown warm: alcohol at 14.5% or above, medium rather than medium-plus acidity, plush ripe tannin, and the complete absence of pyrazine. Left Bank Bordeaux would rarely exceed 14%, carry higher acidity, show cedar and pencil shaving over gravel, and in most vintages retain some green herbal edge. Uco Valley Malbec would announce itself with a vivid magenta rim, pronounced violet and cocoa over plush blue-fruited plum, and rounder, more velvety tannin than this firm Cabernet frame. Northern Rhône Syrah would bring peppercorn, olive and cured meat at around 13% alcohol, with a savoury rather than sweet-fruited profile.

Syrah, Northern Rhône

Peppercorn, green olive, smoked bacon, violet and iron over blackberry, at only 13% alcohol with firm chalky tannin, is the Northern Rhône Syrah signature. The pepper note comes from rotundone, a compound that accumulates in cooler sites and cooler vintages and degrades in heat — so pronounced pepper argues for a cool-climate Syrah specifically. Barossa Shiraz is the same grape grown hot: expect the pepper to recede rather than merely soften — rotundone concentrations fall sharply in hot sites — with jammy blackberry, chocolate, licorice and 14.5–15.5% alcohol taking its place. Coonawarra Cabernet would give cassis, cedar and mint over higher, finer tannin, without olive or cured meat. Barolo would be pale garnet with tar and roses, far higher acid and drying, mouth-coating tannin.

Shiraz, Barossa Valley

Stewed blue and black fruit, chocolate, licorice and eucalyptus at 15% alcohol, with medium-minus acidity and high but thoroughly ripe, enveloping tannin, is warm-climate Australian Shiraz. The coconut, vanilla and dill point to American oak, still widely used in the Barossa. Note that pepper does not disappear entirely in warm-grown Syrah — it recedes in intensity, because rotundone degrades with heat. Northern Rhône Syrah would keep the pepper forward and add olive, bacon and iron at around 13%. Lodi Zinfandel is the closest call, since it shares the jammy fruit, American oak and high alcohol — but Zinfandel ripens unevenly on the bunch, so it characteristically shows raisined, pruney notes alongside brambly *red* fruit in the same glass, over softer, lower tannin. This wine’s blue-fruit dominance, violet lift, eucalyptus and high tannin all point to Barossa Shiraz. Châteauneuf-du-Pape Grenache would be paler, with red kirsch and dried herb garrigue, lower tannin and an earthier finish.

Nebbiolo, Barolo

The tell is the mismatch: a pale, almost translucent, orange-rimmed wine carrying high acid *and* high drying tannin, with tar and dried rose over dried cherry. Only Nebbiolo does that at 14% alcohol with this degree of truffle and leather. Côte de Nuits Pinot Noir shares the pale colour and high acid but has low-to-medium silky tannin, not this drying grip, and shows forest floor and red cherry rather than tar. Chianti Classico Sangiovese would bring sour cherry with tomato leaf and dried oregano, medium-plus rather than high tannin, and a deeper ruby colour. Naoussa Xinomavro is the genuinely difficult call here — it is also pale, high-acid and high-tannin — but it leans to sun-dried tomato, green olive and dried herb rather than tar, truffle and rose.

Sangiovese, Chianti Classico

Sour red cherry with tomato leaf and dried oregano, high acidity, grainy medium-plus tannin and a bitter cherry-pip finish is the Sangiovese fingerprint. The savoury herbal edge and leather come with a few years in bottle. Barolo would be paler with an orange rim, and would carry higher, far more drying tannin with tar and dried rose. Right Bank Merlot would be plusher and rounder, with plum, truffle and chocolate over softer tannin and lower acid. Willamette Pinot Noir would show red cherry and forest floor with silky low-to-medium tannin, and would never give this rustic grain or the tomato-leaf note.

Pinot Noir, Côte de Nuits

Pale colour, high acid, silky low-to-medium tannin with no drying grip, red cherry and wild strawberry over forest floor, sous-bois and beetroot is mature Burgundian Pinot Noir. Tannin texture is the decisive call here rather than colour, since several pale reds share the appearance. Langhe Nebbiolo matches the pallor and acidity but shows a distinctly orange-tinged rim, tar over the fruit, and mouth-coating, markedly drying tannin that this wine simply does not have. Beaujolais Cru Gamay would show kirsch and violet with crushed granite, generally brighter and more primary, without this depth of forest floor. Burgenland Blaufränkisch would be a deeper ruby with sour cherry, peppery spice and firmer, more angular tannin.

Malbec, Uco Valley

The vivid magenta rim, pronounced violet aromatics and cocoa over plush blue-black fruit, with round velvety tannin at 14.5%, is high-altitude Argentine Malbec. Uco Valley’s elevation preserves both the floral lift and a freshness you would not get from Malbec grown on the valley floor. Napa Cabernet would lead with cassis and cedar over higher, firmer tannin, and would not give this magenta rim or violet-dominant aromatic profile. Barossa Shiraz would bring licorice, chocolate and eucalyptus with softer acid and a jammier, more stewed fruit profile. Right Bank Merlot would be less saturated in colour, with plum and truffle rather than violet and cocoa, and lower alcohol.

Tempranillo, Rioja Gran Reserva

Coconut and dill alongside sweet vanilla is the signature of extended ageing in American oak, whose wood is markedly higher in the cis-isomer of oak lactone than French oak. Put that over dried strawberry and fig with fully resolved tannin and bricking colour, and it is traditionally made Rioja at Gran Reserva level. Brunello would give sour cherry and tomato leaf with higher acid and firmer tannin, aged in large Slavonian casks that contribute very little flavour. Priorat Grenache would be much deeper in colour, with concentrated black fruit, mineral licorella grip and 15% alcohol. Russian River Pinot Noir would show bright red cherry and cola with silky tannin, and no coconut or dill.

Gamay, Beaujolais Cru

Kirsch and violet over crushed granite and iron, with high acid, real structure and a mineral finish, is Cru Beaujolais. The faint banana-and-bubblegum lift is isoamyl acetate from semi-carbonic maceration and confirms Gamay — but note that it sits well behind the fruit here. A pronounced amylic character would point to Beaujolais Nouveau or generic Beaujolais instead; Cru wines typically see longer, less strictly carbonic macerations, and some producers use none at all. Côte de Beaune Pinot Noir would show red cherry with earth and mushroom, finer tannin and no confected lift. Zweigelt would give sour cherry and violet with softer acidity and a rounder, less mineral frame. Chinon Cabernet Franc would bring raspberry with pronounced graphite and green bell-pepper pyrazine, and firmer, leafier tannin.