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Our Fave Cabernet Francs

Our Fave Cabernet Francs


It is no secret, that Cabernet Franc's motherland is the Loire Valley of France-- Particularly the area of Chinon.  It is here that the collectors and oenophiles look for these wines.  They are complex, dusty, deeply aromatic, cerebral, age-worthy, and can be just flat-out intriguing and delicious.  it is here that we find the most famous producers, like Olga Raffault and Bernard Baudry, two of the benchmark producers of this grape on the world's stage.

Here in the Finger Lakes, we grow a lot of Cabernet Franc.  While it seems to be the face of the region when it comes to red wine, I really have a hard time finding ones that I like.  It is either insipid, just made in the carbonic style, which is fine and easy drinking but a dime a dozen style now, or its vegetal and green and even hit with oak after that which just doesn't work.  it is inherently a vegetal grape, often showing pepper and spice, which can reveal itself as jalapeno or red pepper, and there is a needle to be threaded to balance those things.  Here, we have two producers who have almost made it their life's mission to nail Cabernet Franc in the finger Lakes, and they have done it!

First off, I have to highlight Usonia, who is, right now, the most exciting up and coming producer in our region.  They make the wine that has inspired me to write this offer. Husband and wife Alex and Jules bring a fresh perspective to this region.  First and foremost, they are wine geeks, and they know what the best wines from the best producers around the world taste like, and their thirst for knowledge keeps them always exploring and open-minded-- always striving to be better.  So often we see that producers get "house palate", never drinking anything but their own wines, or wines from their region, and it becomes insulating and narrowing.  Not Alex and Julia, having worked in all aspects of wine, from retail (Alex worked for us here at The Cellar d'or for years) to sommeliers in California and NYC, to making wine from Austria to Australia previously, and visited dozens and dozens of producers around the world.  They implement many of the things they have learned from their travels and exploration into their winemaking style.  Their Cabernet Franc is arguably one of the finest versions of this grape I have ever tasted.  it is like stepping into the cellars in Chinon, ripe and dare I even say, brooding. It is dusty and complex, floral and rose-petaly, with all the yummy spice and pepper notes well integrated into the dense and dark fruit.  A long, persistent finish is wrapped up in tightly woven tannins.  When i first popped this bottle, I freaked.  I have never had a bottle of FLX cab Franc like this, it brought me straight to the old world, reminding me of the wines from Chinon producer Philipe Alliet. It is not shocking though, knowing Alex and Julia's love for the Francs of the Loire, and the time they have spent visiting the region.  It just so happens that Alex and Julia sourced this fruit from the same winery that makes another one of our favorite wines below....

Second, we have Hermann Wiemer's "Magdalena Vineyard" Cabernet Franc.  It's like beating a dead horse when I say that the wines of Wiemer are world-class.  They are certainly the feather in the cap of our region, and stand tall as our best producer here.  They also have had about half a century to get them to where they are today, being one of our regions oldest producers.  Their work in the vineyard, now completely biodynamic, the research they have done on the micro-terroirs within their vineyards, the research they have done for decades in their nursery, the absolute impeccable work they do in their vineyards and cellar, has paid off in spades.  Nevermind that they sit along the west side of the largest lake, which is host to some of the finest terroir here. Their Magdalena Cab Franc is arguable a perfect wine, coming from their plot of older vines in this cru vineyard where they make their more sought after, reserve bottlings from.  The Magdalena is one of the finest examples year in and year out. Dark red raspberry fruit, perfect ripeness, soft, velvety tannins, and just the perfect play on oak, where it rests in neutral barrel for a while before bottling.  

Lastly, we've got to include the little entry-level Cabernet Franc from stalwart Bernard Baudry.  Baudry needs no introduction.  They sit in the pantheon of top Cabernet Franc producers in the world.  While they make a handful of top, single cru wines that are age-worthy, their little "Les Granges" from younger vines is treated the same way as their higher end wines and is one of the greatest wine values going in this world of inflation and unattainably priced "things".  Just look at what MW Jancis Robinson has to say about it.  It's soft and perfumed, lower in alcohol, and is just a gorgeous bottle.  A wonderful wine to drink now and open up your world to this grape, or to satiate your desire for the epitome of it.

These are three wionderful examples of this grape, to enjoy now, or cellar for the next few years if you please!

Shipping and store pickup is available as always.  

Mix up a 6 pack or a 12 pack for discounts.

All 3 wines are in stock now, with more arriving this week.

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