WONDERFUL CABERNET FRANC
BY THE CQ
I am sure most, possibly all, of us have heard of the wonderful
grape that is Cabernet Franc. But do you drink it?
How often do you buy well known wines, made from well known
grapes? How often do you buy a bottle of cabernet sauvignon, or
merlot, or shiraz, or malbec or a rioja made from the tempranillo
grape (but to name a few)? Quite often I would guess. But how
often do you buy a bottle of 100% pure, unadulterated, cabernet
franc? I suspect not that often, and almost certainly not often
enough!
CABERNET FRANC – THE GRAPE
So what is cabernet franc, where do we find it in the wine world
and what does it taste like? A few pointers:
It is the fragrant, well structured, parent of the perhaps better
known cabernet sauvignon grape. Compared with its illustrious
offspring, however, we get a wine that it is a little lighter, slightly
paler, crisper, softer and more aromatic. Whilst closely related the
two grapes can, and do, produce very different and distinctive
wines.
Not only subtly fragrant and aromatic, but the cabernet franc
grape produces wines that can sometimes be almost perfumed.
You get pepper, sometimes almost perfumed pepper, along with
supple blackcurrant, red berry fruit and cassis in abundance. As
they age, some can take on an almost vegetal or herbal quality, but
still retain their wonderful abundance of fruit.
Cabernet franc is often seen as a blending grape (i.e. where it is
blended with other grapes to make the final cuvee). As a single
varietal wine, though, I guess it’s real heartland is the Loire Valley
in France where it shines (think of the aromatic wines from
Chinon, Bourgueil and Samur- Champigny). In terms of blending
with other grapes, cabernet franc is one of the most important
varieties in the Bordeaux region (as those claret aficionados
amongst you will know). Along with merlot it plays an important
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part in, and is the backbone, of many Saint-Émilion wines (the
great wine of Château Cheval Blanc being, here, an obvious
example). To a lesser, but still to a very important extent, cabernet
franc also plays a part in the final blend of many Bordeaux left
bank wines (e.g. the great wines from Pauillac, St Julien, Margaux
and Saint Estephe).
So, yes, cabernet franc is a superstar in France. Yet this wonderful
grape is now being grown around the world where it is used
to produce stunning, sumptuous, fragrant, aromatic and silky
smooth single varietal wines. It is ever increasingly being used to
make fine single varietal wines in countries such as Argentina,
Italy, Chilli, USA, Canada and South Africa (again but to name
a few).
SINGLE VARIETALS
Without wishing to consciously ignore its famed blending qualities
I want to concentrate, in this article, on the great single varietal
cabernet franc wines that we can find around the world today.
I have been drinking some of these great wines for a number of
years now. So, in a way – can I entice you to depart from what may
be, for you, the norm and go and find, and then experience, some
of these wonderful wines? After all - the wine world is all about
exploring! So here goes!
The following four wines are examples of superb single varietal
wines made from cabernet franc. They have all been tasted during
the last few weeks, some with friends, where they have impressed
or shone in their own way. They vary in price, but offer up good
examples of what the cabernet franc grape can offer.
Compared with many of their more illustrious competitors in the
market place you can get real value for money, from the bottom
to the top of the range. They will all benefit from a few hours
breathing before drinking, and the latter two probably a double
decant wouldn’t go amiss either.