We celebrated the 2nd anniversary of the blog last weekend with the ultimate Cabernet Franc tasting. It featured 10 different Cabernet Franc wines from 10 different regions from 5 different countries and an international group of friends/wine lovers/sommeliers from 4 continents to help us drink and evaluate them all.
Why Cabernet Franc?
Cabernet Franc is the parent grape to more famous international varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Plus, it’s a parent to Carmenere, which is important to my current home, Chile. Therefore, I picked Cabernet Franc because it’s a wine for wine geeks that is not well-known or considered great around the world. Rather, it typically plays a role in blends. Thus, it’s a nice metaphor for the blog, which plays a tiny role in helping wine geeks know more about Chilean wines and other lesser-known types of wines.
However, there are some wonderful varietal Cabernet Franc cuvees out there even though it is rarely a producer’s flagship wine outside of the Loire Valley. For me, the best Cabernet Franc is fresh, full of ripe raspberry fruit, minerally and floral in addition to having dried-herbal pyrazine notes. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. When it’s under ripe, it can be too green and vegetal. If it’s too ripe, oaked and modern, then I have a hard time distinguishing it from Cabernet Sauvignon or Carmenere, which can also exhibit the pyrazine qualities they inherited from Cabernet Franc.
In fact, Cabernet Franc has been one of the few varieties in Chile that I have only found to be so-so because most just taste like the Carmenere here, which tends to be in an international Bordeaux blend style. I can only think of one or two Chilean producers who use Cabernet Franc as their feature grape for their flagship wine. Otherwise, it’s normally only used in blends and small production varietal cuvees. For example, there’s never a Cabernet Franc section in the wine shop. It gets categorized as “other.” The monovarietal versions in Chile tend to be decent but rarely great.
The Lineup
Nonetheless, I always believe in giving all types of wines another chance. I picked 4 Chilean Cabernet Francs from 4 different valleys. There’s Garage Wine Co., who makes a lot of my favorite Chilean wines. Then there’s Maquis, who makes one of the few icono level Cabernet Francs from Chile called “Franco,” and they work with famous consultant, Eric Boissenot from Bordeaux. However, we tasted their entry level Cabernet Franc from Colchagua. We also tried a slightly older Cab Franc from Gillmore in the Maule Valley and a Cabernet Franc from Casablanca from Attilio y Mochi.
From France, I picked one of the flagship wines from one of my favorite producers in the Loire, Bernard Baudry, but it should be noted that Cabernet Franc plays an important role in Bordeaux too, but it’s almost always blended with Merlot and/or Cabernet Sauvignon. For example, Chateau Cheval Blanc is one of the most famous Bordeaux wines with a large percentage of Cabernet Franc, but there’s also a lot of Merlot.
I found 3 American wines from Napa, Santa Ynez and Virginia. Cabernet Franc is actually an important grape in Virginia. They consider it one of their top producing grapes there. In California, it’s about as common as it is here in Chile.
Lastly, I opened an Argentinian Cabernet Franc and one from Tuscany. Mendoza, particularly the Uco Valley, is one of my favorite places to get Cabernet Franc, because they can achieve ripeness with more sun than in Chile but also the higher elevation helps keep it fresh. Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon get more press in Argentina, but I’d like to see more Cabernet Franc. Similarly, Tuscany is known for their Bordeaux variety-dominated Super-Tuscans, but it’s seldom dominated by Cabernet Franc. Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon are more common there.
Tasting Notes
The wines are listed in the order we tasted them, which is roughly lighter to fuller and less oaked to more oaked. The wines also generally got more expensive as we tasted them although all the Chilean wines were $30 or less. Plus, I bought the Argentinian wine in Argentina for $40, but it can be more than twice that amount outside of Argentina. The Napa and Tuscan wines from the tasting usually sell for at least $80-100 too since they’re from top producers in more famous regions.
2019 Lieu Dit Santa Ynez Valley Cabernet Franc
Native yeasts, neutral oak. Light transparent color. Juicy dark raspberry fruit, medium+ acid but definite roasted pepper notes, dried herbal notes too but well integrated. Closer to Loire Valley’s lighter style, which was the intention of the owners, but with a bit of California ripeness. This is something I’d like to drink every day with dinner. Juicy, light and easy. 92
2017 Barboursville Vineyard Cabernet Franc Reserve Virginia
Planted in 1976; Past vintages have had some Petit Verdot blended in it too. 12 months in used oak. Darker than the Lieu Dit. Savory, minerally, herbal nose. Palate slightly fuller than the Lieu Dit but rounder in feel, but also more tannins. Feels more Bordeaux in style, but at Cru Bourgeois level. 90
2018 Attilio & Mochi Cabernet Franc Casablanca
Destemmed. Cold-soaked 5-days. About a year in new and used oak. Smokier, spicier nose and palate. Get the oak more than the previous two wines. Good acidity. Medium-bodied. Nice mouthfeel. Some menthol. Tobacco. Overall, this is a savory wine more than fruity. Better with food for most drinkers. 90 This became fruit dominated with floral notes on the 3rd day, so I somewhat retract my earlier statement that it’s more savory than fruity. Perhaps it just needed time to show all it had.
2018 Maquis Gran Reserva Cabernet Franc Colchagua
Has a bit of Carmenere and Petit Verdot too. Alluvial, clay soil; 12 months in French oak. Starts off with typical Chilean green pepper, but develops more into a dried herbal form. Some oak, spice, but on the fresher side on the palate. Dark and red berry fruit. Believe this was the cheapest wine of the night at around $10-12, but it’s solid. 90
2014 Gillmore Hacedor de Mundos Cabernet Franc Maule
50 year old vines; clay and rocky soil. 18 months in barrel. Good acid. Lots of oak notes, but integrated along with Cabernet Franc peppery, herbal notes. Juicy palate. Still present tannic structure. Verging on dried fruit and mushroom flavors from the age. 5,000 bottles made. You can age this some more to get more full-on tertiary notes because there’s enough tannins and acidity to keep it longer. 91
2015 Domaine Bernard Baudry Les Croix Boissée Chinon
Clay over limestone; 2 years in oak. Unfiltered. So far the most “terroir” and minerality, especially on the nose. Dark berry fruit. The palate is elegant and fresh but also with plenty of tannic structure. One of my favorites of the night although it could be a bit funky for some. It should age well. They make around 750 cases. I’ve had a different vintage of this wine at 10 years old when I visited their domaine in Chinon, and there was still acidic and tannic structure to age longer while beginning to show tertiary notes. 93
2016 Garage Wine Co. Pirque Maipo Lot 80 Cabernet Franc
Native yeasts, open top fermenters, 2 years in third use barrels. Oakier than I thought it would be given there’s no new oak. Chocolate and vanilla. Dark berry fruit. Fairly standard Maipo Bordeaux variety wine. Creamy feel but still plenty of tannins. Around 250 cases made. I prefer their Maule Cabernet Franc to this one because this one feels more typical of what you find in Maipo, which is good and more modern but less unique. Harder to tell this is Cab Franc. 91 On the third day, this wine got better. Better integrated, softer and the nose developed into floral notes. I’d give it at least an extra point.
2016 Clos du Val Estate Cabernet Franc Stags Leap Napa Hirondelle Vineyard
99% Cabernet Franc, 1% Cabernet Sauvignon. Only available through the winery. Bigger more alcoholic wine. The heat calms down with time though. Dark ripe berry fruit, good acidity. More acid than most Napa. Some oak, but gets more integrated over time. Reminds me of other wines from this producer, who make a relatively more classic Old World style wine compared to their Napa peers. Can’t say I’d be able to say it’s a Cabernet Franc except for a bit of pepperiness, but it’s an excellent Bordeaux style wine with a bit more Napa flair. A step up in intensity and depth to most of the others and could get better as things integrate more. 92+
2015 Bodega Aleanna ‘Gran Enemigo’ Gualtallary Single Vineyard Cabernet Franc Tupungato Uco Valley
El Enemigo is project between Adrianna Catena (sister of Laura and daughter of Nicolas) and Catena Zapata winemaker Alejandro Vigil. 85% Cabernet Franc 15% Malbec; Some of it is fermented in oak, but all of it is aged in used oak. Darkest color so far. Sweet spicy nose. Some minerality. Silky smooth on the palate. Decent acidity. A decadent wine, but less alcohol than the Napa. 3,000 bottles made. Definitely the most elegant of all the wines while also having some of the most depth and complexity. 94+
2011 Le Macchiole Paleo
100% Cabernet Franc. Fermentation in stainless steel and concrete tanks; 20 months in oak barrels; 75% new oak. 25% second use. Most integrated oak of all the oaked wines despite having the most new oak, but it’s also the oldest wine. Fresh and spicy nose, chocolate but also verging on tertiary notes. Good acid. Seamless palate. Dark berry fruit. Still plenty of tannins for long-term aging but the tannins have softened making it approachable now. I had the 2013 Paleo in 2017, so it was much younger than this Paleo now, but I prefer the 2013 because there were more Cabernet Franc characteristics. Nonetheless, it’s still a wine of high pedigree that should please modern wine drinkers with its well-integrated oak, powerful fruit and velvety texture. At the same time, there’s structure and acidity for long term aging and more complexity. 94+
Conclusion
We concluded our unofficial Cabernet Franc Day with some appropriately decorated red velvet cake.
Whenever I do these comparative tastings, it’s never really about finding which wines are the best. Some of that is subjective and can depend on so many factors of how that wine presents itself any given day. Rather, I am looking at differences and similarities in style and terroir.
From this experiment, I can say monovarietal Cabernet Franc is made mostly by other Bordeaux blend producers who tend to make it in a Bordeaux blend style although that can range from more New World to Old World Bordeaux style. The Lieu Dit and Baudry stood out for being more “Loire” in style as opposed to the rest which felt more Bordeaux in style, with more oak influence. In addition, the Loire Valley style Cabernet Francs seem more “typically” Cabernet Franc to me with Cabernet Franc characteristics easier to detect while with the Bordeaux styles it’s less clear in general. This is partly because Cabernet Franc is related to the main other Bordeaux varieties.
In the end, I do like Cabernet Franc, especially with food. This is because the savory herbal and relatively softer profile can make it easier to pair with a variety of dishes, including non-meat dishes with cooked vegetables. This is especially true for Loire Valley style Cabernet Franc. Meanwhile, Cabernet Franc from Bordeaux blend producers can be a nice change of pace to Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot for Bordeaux blend lovers. Finally, if you want a Cabernet Franc that can compete with the elite Bordeaux blends of the world, you must try the Gran Enemigo from Mendoza and Paleo from Tuscany.
What are your personal favorites?