RED WINES ‘OPENING UP’

Q. Why is it that our 100 percent Sangiovese benefits from aeration: tight at first, within 15 minutes its aromas are on full show? Our super-Tuscan, which is the very same Sangiovese blended with a little Cabernet, doesn’t need aeration at all. Michaela Rodeno, Napa’s Villa Ragazzi winery.

A. I think of Cabernet (Sauvignon), in a blend of any kind where it doesn't predominate in the great majority, as a sort of 'spine' or 'beam' on which the other wines/grapes hang or are affixed. It's what allows them, then, to show off or be sensed.

To me, Cabernet is a presence; you always know when it's in the room, even if it's one of many. In its way, it may make the others in the room more “present” too. You notice it along with all else, but you see them because of it, because you see the Cabernet first.

So, I am guessing (along this line) that an all-Sangiovese may take time to flower, whereas one “boosted,” as it were, by Cabernet struts its stuff right away.