Reserve Cabernet Franc

2017
Reserve Cabernet Franc

Seductive notes of brambly red fruits, black currants, plum skin, graphite and sweet but smoky baking spices. Swirling adds fresh plum puree, bloomed spices and dried herbs. The palate has squeezed black fruits, spice and a lifted floral note. Terrifically polished with fine accessible tannins and youthful drive. It has good length now but would benefit from a short decant or some bottle age.

Vintages

Varietal(s)

85% Cabernet Franc, 12% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Merlot

Vinification

Fermented in 56% stainless steel and 44% concrete tanks. Aged for 29 months in 73% new French oak barrels.

Alcohol

13.9%

Cases Produced

391

Vintage Notes

The Reserve Cabernet Franc was crafted from several vineyard sites in Washington State, with the Cabernet Franc coming specifically from Blue Mountain in Walla Walla Valley, Bacchus in Columbia Valley, and Angela’s in the Red Mountain AVA. Each vineyard is fully sustainable, using only organic farming methods, and the vines are limited to one or two clusters per shoot to maximize concentration in each berry cluster. The grapes were hand-harvested early in the morning between September 8 – November 1, 2017.

Expert Reviews & Scores

Jeb Dunnuckjebdunnuck.com

92 / 100

Scheduled to be bottled by the time you read this review, the 2017 Cabernet Franc Reserve is based on 85% Cabernet Franc, 12% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Merlot. Deep purple/ruby-colored, with classy Cabernet Franc notes of red and black fruits, lead pencil, exotic flowers, and forest floor. This spicy, complex, seamless 2017 has terrific balance, medium to full body, and a great finish.

Anthony Mueller, The Wine Advocate

90 / 100

There’s plenty to be happy about with the 2017 Cabernet Franc Reserve, as it opens with aromas of vanilla crème brulee, dusty cherry skin, black plum and dark chocolate on the nose. Medium to full-bodied, a rocky essence fills the mid-palate, showing a balanced structure with a subtle hint of dried herbs, spice plum reduction and subtle flavors of cardamom madeleines. Lingering with persistence and focus, the wine offers elegance, with still-tight tannins. Nicely done.

Stephen Tanzer, Vinous

90 / 100

Good dark red. Strong peppery pyrazines dominate blueberry, licorice, menthol and leather on the nose. Surprisingly supple and sweet on entry but shows less body and ripeness than the Reserve Merlot, though with plenty of black and blue fruits to support the pyrazines. This fine-grained, aromatic wine finishes with a firm dusting of tannins and lingering peppery herb and floral flavors. This distinctly restrained Cabernet Franc may deepen with time in bottle but will it maintain the sweetness of fruit to support its dusty tannins?

Trade Materials