Mother: Merzling x (Saperavi severnyi X Muskat Ottonel)
Father: Dornfelder

A red Piwi/disease-resistant variety.

Year of breeding: 
Country of origin: Germany
Breeder/License holder: Staatliches Weinbauinstitut Freiburg
Number of clones: 0

Year of entry into the German Federal Office's Varieties Register: 
Area planted in Germany in :        hectares
Area planted in England: 

From trials in Switzerland (1999 to 2005): The inter-specific grape cultivars Cabernet Cortis, Cabernet Carol, Cabernet Carbon, Prior and Monarch, bred by the Research Institute for Viticulture in Freiburg im Breisgau (Germany), have been tested since 1999 on the experimental vineyard of Agroscope RAC Changins at Pully (Lake Geneva region, Switzerland). The five cultivars have shown a high resistance against downy mildew. On the other hand, their sensitivity to powdery mildew is as high or higher than that of the reference Vitis vinifera Pinot noir, particularly for the cultivar Cabernet Cortis. Depending on the disease pressure, the use of fungicides can be necessary to produce healthy grapes. Cabernet Carol is highly sensitive to powdery mildew, botrytis bunch rot and bunch stem necrosis, and therefore could not be used to make wine. Cabernet Cortis, ripening relatively early, and Cabernet Carbon, ripening late, produce colourful and tannic wines with vegetal characters. Prior and Monarch, ripening slightly later than Pinot noir, also produce polyphenol-rich wines with an interesting fruity character. Overall, Prior shows the best overall qualities.