Cabernet

Many red wines, not just cabernets, recently have become so intensely colored and flavored that they defy identification.

Many cabernets lack substantial relationship to the grape variety. barmalini/Shutterstock

The cynic in me has been saying for years that the more you pay for a cabernet sauvignon, the less it smells and tastes like cabernet.

This may be a gross generalization that’s hard if not impossible to prove, but a discussion I had years ago with four men who ought to know helped certify the concept.