"Est vieilli le meilleur" (aged is best). This is the name of the game with cabernet sauvignon. That's because the secret to cabernet sauvignon's prowess as a wine of choice is a meticulous aging process.

Cabernet sauvignon is a red wine varietal that hails from the wineries of the famed district of Medoc in Bordeaux, France. According to studies conducted in 1997, cabernet sauvignon is the result of interbreeding sauvignon blanc and cabernet franc.

A glass of young and fresh cabernet sauvignon is resplendent of black currants and is very tannic. As the precious liquid ages, it gets hints of cherries, blackberries, ceday, bell peppers, green olives, pimientos, green peppercorns, and ginger.

You may also recognize the parfums of cedar, eucalyptus, leather, a cigar box, oak, earth, and chocolate emanating from this blood-colored elixir. Further downing a shot of cabernet sauvignon causes you to identify more saveur of coconuts, vanilla, musk, smoke, sweet wood, toast, and mushrooms.

These flavors and fragrances get more pronounced as the cabernet sauvignon advances with age. Truly, est vieilli le meilleur.

A very versatile grape, cabernet sauvignon, adapts well to being planted in many different regions around the World. This grape makes the reference reds that other wines are compared to. Mixed with merlot, cabernet franc and petit verdot in the Bordeaux regions of Medoc and Graves this grape makes the archetypal red wine. A wine that exists at a peak of refinement and allusiveness which few other wines can match.

Its life span after a good vintage can extend twenty or thirty years and beyond.

In California The cabernet sauvignons possess an enormously tannic and alcoholic wine barely tamed by its oak barrels. Their grandeur is unique and affords real aging potential where the wine takes on a chocolate softness.

For sheer drinkability cabernet sauvignon from Chile is hard to beat. The plum and mulberry fruit undertones have a purity and exuberance rarely matched from cabernet sauvignons of other countries.

Quite often a good wine is a great wine when paired with the right food. Some food and wine pairings are quite obvious where as others are often illusive. Are you planning a dinner and want to see what wine would go best with it? Have you had a great meal that was perfectly paired with a wine? Please share it so we can all enjoy the wine pairing.

Welcome to the Virtual Wine Tasting Club. Every month in our online wine tasting series we will taste a different wine and post our tasting notes. In advance, if possible, please post the wine you will be trying that fits the tasting. The tasting will last one month so you can taste and post your notes in that time frame. Please ask questions about the wine we're tasting, post recommendations for future wine tastings and make this online wine tasting group a wonderful, interactive, informative wine discussion.

This group is for everyone. Check in here to meet one another, talk about your favorite wine, restaurants, outings, travels, and/or just get to know the others who belong to Must Love Wine. We already know we have one thing in common, we all love wine.