The wine country that's outperforming Napa in cabernet sauvignon One cabernet sauvignon blind-tasting forced a re-evaluation for our wine expert There's a new quality leader for Cabernet Sauvignon I recently attended a webinar on Australian cabernet sauvignon that kicked off with a blind tasting of five cabernet sauvignon big-hitters from around the world: Ch. Pichon Baron 2015 (Pauillac, Bordeaux), Don Melchor 2017 (Chile), Ch. Montelena Winery ‘Estate Bottling’ 2016 (Napa), Isole è Olena Collezione Privata 2015 (Tuscany) and Vilafonte Series C 2018 (Stellenbosch). I’m not always a big fan of blind tasting, a peculiar art, but it does have its uses. Blind tasting can be very good for forging reputations and for helping tasters take a fresh perspective on a set of wines that might come with some historical baggage. It’s blind tastings against champagne that have helped English sparkling wines to rise triumphant.