Adventures in Wine > Cabernet Franc
Cabernet Franc
According to Oz Clarke, Cabernet Franc is the original Cabernet grape, not its more famous namesake Cabernet Sauvignon. On its own it features in the Loire Valley, where it can produce some lovely leafy reds from Chinon and Bourgeuil. In Bordeaux though it tends to feature alongside Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Increasingly though, Cabernet Franc is also appearing in California, New Zealand, Chile, Canada and Australia.
Chateau Cap de Merle
Winery: Chateau Cap de Merle
Region: Bordeaux
Sub-region: Lussac St.-Emilion
Cap de Merle
Chateau Cap de Merle is a delicious St-Emilion that represents excellent value. Owners and winemakers Alain and Jean-Marie Bel use no wood in vinifying Cap de Merle, so the pure, rich, spicy Merlot fruit come through directly upon tasting. The winery’s excellent plateau vineyards on clay and sandstone soils assures optimal ripeness of fruit and supple tannins. The Merlot and Cabernet are vinified separately, and are assembled in the spring. Cap de Merle is a lush, round, balanced wine with notes of dark fruit, plums, and chocolate. The wine is meant to be enjoyed young (3-4 years after the vintage) but it can also be cellared for up to 10 years. Cap de Merle is a most versatile and enjoyable St-Emilion. Since it comes from the Lussac area, just outside St-Emilion itself, Cap de Merle represents exceptional value in Merlot-based Bordeaux. Chateau Cap de Merle is a fine match for London Broil with sautéed mushrooms, roast veal and pork and Cajun cuisine.
Categories: Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot
Chateau Grimard
Winery: Chateau Grimard
Region: Bordeaux
Sub-region: Pomerol
Bordeaux
Chateau Grimard is a small, three generation-old family estate located in the commune of Lugon, just outside the Fronsac region on the right-bank of Bordeaux. The vineyard lies on a south-east slope, which is ideal for attaining full ripeness. The vines have an average age of 25 years. Chateau Grimard is a classic Bordeaux, offering a deep red-purple color, a lush bouquet, and ripe plummy-cassis fruit with good structure. It is a wine with more definition and character than most other petite chateaux, which is in part due to the excellent location of the property, where the Merlot grape thrives in the area’s clay soils. Chateau Grimard is vinified and matured in stainless steel tanks to ensure that it gives immediate pleasure at the table. It is a versatile, food-friendly wine that can be enjoyed with fowl and red meat dishes.
Categories: Cabernet Franc, Merlot
Yorkville Cellars
Winery: Yorkville Cellars
Region: California
Sub-region: Mendocino
CERTIFIED ORGANICALLY GROWN WINES
Richard the Lion-Heart
Hi-Rollr Red
Petit Verdot
Merlot
Malbec
Cabernet Sauvignon
Sauvignon Blanc
Eleanor of Aquitaine
Sémillon
Rosé de Franc
Yorkville Cellars is located in Mendocino County, just 100 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge. The vineyards are on average 1000 feet above sea level, surrounded by other vineyards, sheep ranches and apple and peach orchards. At the bottom of the vineyard is a redwood forest which yields to the spectacular Mendocino coastline. The winery is quite small and produces fewer than 1000 cases of each varietal. No pesticides, herbicides or chemical fertilizers are used in the production of Yorkville Cellars wines; the winery has been certified organic since 1986.
Categories: Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon