All Wines
2016 Cabernet Franc
A few swirls of our 2016 Cabernet Franc allows all of the sweet cherry, dried cherry, dried herb, tobacco, and white pepper aromas to waft from the glass. An utterly perfect textural experience that somehow marries fabulous density with ethereal lightness; this simultaneous combination of weight and lift is a signature of our cabernet franc in the best vintages. Its full richness and dark fruit are balanced with enough acidity that it paired beautifully with the steaks I grilled tonight; it’s been a while since I have enjoyed a young wine as much as this 2016 Cabernet Franc. This is another fantastic showing of our Cabernet Franc, which year in and year out, may be my favorite wine we produce. We recently opened a 1998, 1999, 2000 vertical of our Cabernet Franc that were all sensational with perfect tannin resolution, the signature light-footedness across the palate, and lovely complex flavors; everything you could want from aging wine for 20 years.
Ripening along a similar time frame to our merlots, our two blocks of cabernet franc were night-harvested on October 12th and 22nd. While our cabernet francs retain great acidity as they ripen in the vineyard, we typically blend in a bit of either merlot, if the wine is needing lushness, or cabernet sauvignon, if the wine would benefit from structure. This year the winning combination was 13% cabernet sauvignon from our Rock Arch block, and 9% from our newly replanted Callie’s vineyard block (planted with budwood taken from Rock Arch in 2013).
| Appellation: | 62% Napa/ 38% Sonoma |
|---|---|
| Vintage: | 2016 |
| Harvest: | November 2016 |
| Fermentation: | Stainless Steel |
| Cooperage: | French Oak |
| Blend: | 78% Cabernet Franc 22% Cabernet Sauvignon |
| Alcohol: | 14.5% |
| Bottling: | April 2018 |
| Production: | 1453 cases |
| Release Date: | August 2018 |
| Release Price: | $70.00 |
Reviews
