Now this is one Cabernet that was not mentioned in the earlier blog. I had come across this enigmatic variety on browsing the exhibitors' info, but was not able to find it in VIVC. Googling it yielded little information, until an article wondered if the name was somehow a corruption of Cabernet Gemischt, an easy enough transcription error, with gemischt meaning mixed in German. Yet this was no mixture of Cabernet vines, or even a cross with either Cabernet Sauvignon or Franc with s mixture of pollen, the identity of the other parent not being certain. Wikipedia notes that some Chinese wine industry figures feel that it is actually Carmenere, first introduced by Zhangyu Winery into China's Shandong in 1892 mistakenly as mixed Cabernet, hence the name. In fact that turned out to be the correct hunch as Jancis Robinson has reported that DNA analysis by her wine grape book co-author has confirmed the grape to be Carmenere.
I chanced across the wine during the Wine Fair last weekend. There were 3 vintages on show, with a fortified VDN as well!
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