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Since the last hundreds of years and at least until right now wines from outside Europe and sometimes also from within Europe are copies of French wines. Copy doesn't sound nice, but don't worry, often the winemakers outside Europe are making impressive wines, which express the local terroir and the mood of the winemaker more then beeing attempts to produce an exact copy.
Nonetheless the French cépages are widely used. The three most dominant wines in France - in respect of quality - are Bordeaux, Bourgogne and Rhône. Bordeaux is dominated by Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, but also Cabernet Franc plays an important role. The last three grapes Malbec, Petit Verdot and Carmére have nearly disapeared from Bordeaux. At the left bank of La Gironde a typical Cépage is 65 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 25 % Merlot and 10 % Cabernet Franc. At the right bank, a typical blend is 70 % Merlot 15 % Cabernet Franc and 15 % Cabernet Sauvignon. These blends or modifications as fx 34 % Merlot, 33 % Cabernet Sauvignon and 33 % Cabernet Franc are widely used all over the word and is the primary reason why Cabernet Franc is so widely planted as it is. The Bordeaux cépage has become much more used then the Bourgundy and Rhône blends since Bourgundy is a 100 % Pinot Noir, which has shown to be very difficult to cultivate outside Bourgogne, and the Rhône blend was crashed by the Australians who preferred the one varietal Syrah edition.
Syrah is known as Shiraz in Australia and after the name was spread in the english speaking countries, it has been known as Shiraz in many other countries. After having become very popular as varietal wine the idear of going back to the original Rhône cépage has spread all over the world best known for the enthusiastic vinemakers called Rhône Rangers.
Going back to the Bordeaux blend, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot have been regarded as more noble than Cabernet Franc, especially Cabernet Sauvignon is easy to compare with Cabernet Franc, leaving Cabernet Franc not only in the shadow of Sauvignon but in a complex world seeking simplicity, it had totally lost it's attention. On the other hand the demand for simplicity calls for the opposite namely individuality. People have become tired of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot (and Shiraz), and since around 2000 Cabernet Franc has become one of the new cult vines.
Bouquet and taste
Have you ever been picking blackcurrant berries? I did when I was a kid, we had a lot of blackcurrant plants in our garden. If you have been picking blackcurrants, you surely know the smell after moving around the plants, this distictive smell, which is found in both the bouquet and taste og Cabernet Franc. It is often said, that Cabernet Sauvignon tastes (and smells) of blackcurrants, and Cabernet Franc tastes (and smells) of backcurrant leaves. With other words it has a more "green" taste and smell also described as green pepper and eucaluptus. You will often find raspberry flavour in cool climates and herbs in warm climates.
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