Malbec vs Cabernet Sauvignon: Side by Side (Taste, Food)
By the Sommy Team — AI-assisted, human-edited.
Updated Oct 23, 2026
Contents (8)
- Malbec vs Cabernet Sauvignon, in One Paragraph
- Which Has More Tannin and Acidity?
- How Do Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon Taste?
- Which Is Better With Steak and Other Food?
- Why Does Argentine Malbec Taste Different From French Malbec?
- Which One Ages Longer?
- Are Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon Related?
- Which Should You Try First?
TL;DR
Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon are both dry, full-bodied reds at about 13.5 to 15% alcohol. Cabernet carries more tannin and acidity, so it feels firmer, tastes of blackcurrant and cedar, and ages longer. Malbec is rounder, with plum and cocoa. Pick Cabernet for fatty steak, Malbec for lean cuts and burgers.
Malbec vs Cabernet Sauvignon comes down to grip. Both are full-bodied reds (heavy in the mouth, like whole milk next to skimmed), yet Cabernet dries the gums and makes the mouth water more. Malbec feels rounder and tastes of riper plum, and Cabernet lasts longer in the cellar.
Malbec vs Cabernet Sauvignon, in One Paragraph
Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon are both dry, full-bodied reds of about 13.5 to 15% alcohol, so the difference is grip, not weight. Cabernet has more tannin (the drying grip on your gums, from grape skins and seeds) and more acidity (the tartness that makes your mouth water). It tastes of blackcurrant, black cherry and cedar, goes with fatty steak and peppery sauces, and keeps for 10 years or more. Malbec has medium tannin and medium-low acidity, tastes of ripe plum and blackberry with cocoa from the barrel, and goes with burgers, lean steak and blue cheese.
| Malbec | Cabernet Sauvignon | How to tell them apart | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Body | Full | Full | A tie: both feel heavy in the mouth |
| Alcohol | 13.5 to 15% | 13.5 to 15% | A tie: read the label, not the grape |
| Tannin | Medium | Medium-high | Cabernet leaves your gums drier |
| Acidity | Medium-low | Medium-high | Cabernet keeps your mouth watering longer |
| Fruit | Red plum, blackberry | Blackcurrant, black cherry | Plum points to Malbec, blackcurrant to Cabernet |
| Other aromas | Cocoa, vanilla, sweet tobacco | Cedar, baking spice, graphite (pencil lead) | Cedar and pencil shavings point to Cabernet |
| Pour it with | Burgers, lean steak, blue cheese | Fatty steak, peppery sauces, grilled meat | Lean plate: Malbec. Fatty plate: Cabernet |
| Grows best in | Mendoza (Uco Valley, Luján de Cuyo); Cahors, France | Bordeaux gravel (Médoc, Graves); Napa; Coonawarra; Maipo | Cahors on a French label means Malbec |
| Cellar for | 5 to 10 years | 10 years or more | Buy Cabernet for a long wait |
Which Has More Tannin and Acidity?
Cabernet Sauvignon has more of both, and the reason starts in the grape. Its berries are very small with thick skins, and tannin comes from skins and seeds. A small berry holds a lot of skin for very little juice, so the wine pressed from it carries more grip.
Malbec has thick skins too, which is why its wine is so dark. It ripens mid-season, yet it needs more sun and heat than Cabernet or Merlot to get there. Grapes lose acid as they ripen, and they lose it fastest in hot weather, so Malbec grown in warm, low vineyards struggles to keep its tartness.
Cabernet ripens later still: it is one of the last major grapes to bud and ripen, one to two weeks after Merlot and Cabernet Franc.
Quick check
One question on what you just read
Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon are both full-bodied. What makes Cabernet feel firmer?
Tap an answer to see how you did.
How Do Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon Taste?
Cabernet Sauvignon tastes firmer and more savoury; Malbec tastes rounder and fruitier. Both are dry (no sugar you can taste). Malbec's softer tannin and lower acidity leave its ripe fruit out in front, so many drinkers read it as the sweeter wine.
The Malbec grape smells of red plum and blackberry ripened close to jam, because it grows where the sun is strong. Its cocoa and vanilla mostly come from oak (barrels that add vanilla, toast or spice). The longer the wine spends in barrel, the more chocolate it shows, and top bottles can get 18 to 20 months.
Cabernet Sauvignon smells of blackcurrant and black cherry, with cedar and a whiff of pencil shavings. Picked before it is fully ripe, it smells of green bell pepper too, from compounds that are strongest in under-ripe grapes. A late ripener caught by a cool autumn shows that green edge most.
Which Is Better With Steak and Other Food?
Both suit steak, so let the cut decide. Tannin binds to fat and protein, so a marbled cut softens Cabernet's grip while its acidity cuts through the richness. A lean cut has little fat to cushion tannin, which is why Malbec's softer grip and riper fruit sit better beside it.
- Ribeye, T-bone or a peppercorn sauce: Cabernet Sauvignon.
- Flank, skirt or fillet: Malbec.
- A burger, or a board with blue cheese: Malbec.
- Chilli-rubbed meat: Malbec, the lower-tannin glass.
If the table has both a fatty and a lean cut, open both bottles and pour by plate. Chilli heat makes firm tannin taste harsher, so the spiced plate goes to Malbec, and blue cheese brings out Malbec's fruit.
Why Does Argentine Malbec Taste Different From French Malbec?
Argentine Malbec is usually softer and riper, while Malbec from Cahors in south-west France is darker and more tannic. Altitude explains most of it. Mendoza's high-altitude districts sit between 800 and 1,500 metres in the Andes foothills, where sunny days ripen the thick skins fully and cool nights hold on to acidity.
Malbec struggles to keep its acidity in lower, warmer vineyards. If a label names the Uco Valley or Luján de Cuyo, expect a fresher wine than a lowland Malbec, with the plush, ripe tannin that Mendoza is known for.
Malbec is not always the soft one. Cahors is an appellation (a protected place name) whose reds are made mostly from Malbec, called Côt locally, with Merlot and Tannat the only other grapes allowed. Its official rules describe the young wines as deeply coloured, with red and black berries, spice and tannins that can be "particularly present". If Cabernet's grip appeals but you want Malbec's plum, buy a Cahors from south-west France.
Which One Ages Longer?
Cabernet Sauvignon, as a rule. Wine Folly gives good Cabernet 10 years or more in the cellar and good Malbec 5 to 10. Tannin and acidity slow the changes a wine goes through in the bottle, and Cabernet has more of both.
If a bottle has to wait ten years for a birthday, buy Cabernet. If it will be opened this year, age matters less than the food on the plate.
Are Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon Related?
No: Malbec is not a type of Cabernet, though both are Bordeaux grapes. DNA typing in 1996, by a University of California, Davis team led by Carole Meredith, showed that Cabernet Sauvignon is the offspring of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc. Malbec is neither of those grapes.
Their shared home shows on labels. Malbec is one of the six classic grapes of red Bordeaux, so one Bordeaux blend can hold both. Cabernet does best on Bordeaux's gravelly soils, in the Médoc and Graves, and adds structure, acidity, tannin and ageing potential to the blend.
Sommy, a wine-education app with bite-sized courses, includes a course on France, and the grape varieties hub holds more grape pairs.
Which Should You Try First?
Start with Malbec if tannin bothers you, and with Cabernet Sauvignon if you like a red that grips. If strong black tea leaves the mouth dry and rough, Malbec is the gentler first glass. A ribeye lover who already likes a firm, drying red can go straight to Cabernet.
Cabernet now grows in Argentina too, including the Uco Valley, so two Mendoza bottles make a fair test: same place, different grape. Serve both at 15 to 20°C in matched glasses, as in how to compare two wines. Sommy's AI-guided tasting mode at sommy.wine starts from a photo of each label, walks through look, smell and taste, and saves both sets of notes to the tasting journal. Pour the two tonight, alternate sips and note which one dries your gums first.
Sources
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Malbec sweeter than Cabernet Sauvignon?
No. Both are dry wines, with no sugar you can taste. Malbec can seem sweeter because it has lower acidity and softer tannin, so its ripe plum and blackberry fruit stands out, and oak barrels add vanilla and cocoa. Cabernet Sauvignon's higher acidity and firmer tannin make it taste drier and more savoury, even at the same sugar level.
Which is fuller bodied, Malbec or Cabernet Sauvignon?
Neither, as a rule. Wine Folly rates both grapes full-bodied, and both usually land between 13.5 and 15% alcohol. Malbec often seems bigger because it is inky dark, low in acidity and ripe in fruit. Cabernet Sauvignon often seems firmer because it has more tannin and acidity. The difference you feel is grip rather than weight.
Does Malbec have more tannin than Cabernet Sauvignon?
Usually less. Cabernet Sauvignon has medium-high tannin from its very small, thick-skinned berries, which give a lot of skin for little juice. Malbec sits at medium tannin. The exception is Malbec from Cahors in south-west France, which is darker and more tannic than the softer, riper Malbec from high vineyards in Mendoza, Argentina.
Is Malbec or Cabernet Sauvignon better with steak?
Both work, so choose by the cut. A fatty ribeye or a peppercorn sauce suits Cabernet Sauvignon, because fat and protein soften its firm tannin and its acidity cuts the richness. A lean flank, skirt or fillet steak suits Malbec, whose softer tannin needs less fat to feel gentle. Malbec is also the pick for burgers and blue cheese.
Does Malbec have more alcohol than Cabernet Sauvignon?
Not by grape. Wine Folly gives both a typical range of 13.5 to 15% alcohol. The number on a given bottle depends on how ripe the grapes were and where they grew, so read the label rather than guessing from the grape. Both are served at the same temperature, about 15 to 20°C.
Is Malbec a type of Cabernet?
No. Malbec is a separate grape, called Côt in its French home of Cahors. Cabernet Sauvignon's parents are Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc, shown by DNA typing at the University of California, Davis in 1996. The two grapes do share a region: both are among the six classic red Bordeaux grapes, so one Bordeaux blend can contain both.
Which is better for a beginner, Malbec or Cabernet Sauvignon?
Malbec is the easier first glass for most beginners, because its softer tannin and lower acidity feel gentler and its ripe plum fruit is easy to pick out. Cabernet Sauvignon suits drinkers who like a red that grips, the way strong black tea grips. The fastest way to learn both is to taste them side by side in matched glasses.
Sommy Team
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The Sommy Team is building the world's most approachable wine education app, helping beginners develop real tasting skills through structured courses and AI-guided practice.
