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Wine Details
Price:
$25.00 per bottle
Description:
Cabernet Franc is an important component of our red wines, softening and rounding out the more angular Cabernet Sauvignon and providing intriguing aromas of cherry liqueur and chocolate. Its performance on our estate vineyard has been so superb that we decided to withhold a small amount to bottle on its own.
We fermented our Cabernet Franc in many small lots, which allowed us to treat each one as a unique expression of the vineyard. By using a variety of fermentation practices, yeast strains and barrel coopers, we created individual components that we carefully pieced together for the final blend. We used a minimum of fining and filtration and we aged the wine in 100 percent French oak barrels for 20 months.
Aromas of dried plums, leather, cherry and cranberry come with the first swirl. On the palate, the soft tannins and mouthfilling texture have a lingering sweet finish.
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Varietal Definition
Cabernet Franc:
Cabernet Franc is an accessible, spicy, herbal, dark blue grape variety that is often compared to Cabernet Sauvignon. Cabernet Franc tends to be softer and has less tannin than Cabernet Sauvignon, although the two can be difficult to distinguish. Sometimes the French refer to Cabernets, which could mean either of the two grapes. Its typical aromas include an herbaceous and pronounced peppery nose, even in ripe fruit, and something eerily like tobacco. The Cabernet Franc ripens at an earlier stage, which gives it reason to exist in the Bordeaux area. In the Loire, where we find it a lot, it gives a clear red fresh and fruity wine.
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Cabernet Sauvignon:
Cabernet Sauvignon is the most widely planted and significant among the five dominant varieties in France’s Bordeaux region, as well as the most successful red wine produced in California. Though it was thought to be an ancient variety, recent genetic studies at U.C. Davis have determined that Cabernet Sauvignon is actually the hybrid offspring of Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Franc. Cabernet Sauvignon berries are small with black, thick and very tough skin. This toughness makes the grapes fairly resistant to disease and spoilage and able to withstand some autumn rains with little or no damage. It is a mid to late season ripener. These growth characteristics, along with its flavor appeal have made Cabernet Sauvignon one of the most popular red wine varieties worldwide.
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