There are many ampelographic curiosities in Italy, none less so than Caberlot, an alleged crossing between Cabernet Franc and Merlot, but of which so far only the Merlot parentage has been confirmed. It was discovered wholly by accident in a neglected vineyard in the Colli Euganei near Padova in the 1960s by agronomist Remigio Bordini, who was so intrigued by the variety, which he believed to possess real quality, that he took cuttings and planted a couple of test rows to see how it would do.
The variety would have remained completely obscure and unknown if it hadn't been for...