488053 Sat Feb 09 18:12:49 -0800 2008 31 34 Wine 0 3381430 I just came home from a wine tasting at my local wine store. The Wine Country in Signal Hill, SoCal. It was a Cabernet Franc event, with a total of 11 wines. The first 7 were French, from the Loire. The last 4 were from California. I had the most amazing experience, finally understanding what folks are talking about when they say *terroir*. The French wines tasted of the earth, and a couple had a distinctive barnyard aroma, which could be intriguing or off-putting. Then, the Cal. wines came up, and OMG, now I know exactly what people are talking about when they say "fruit-forward." So, now I have a definitive understanding of the difference, and can honestly say that I like both, for very different reasons. What I liked: 2003 Chateau de Fesles, Vielles Vignes, Anjou - it had a rich nose, and was very soft. Delicious with sharp cheese 2005 Charles Joguet, Cuvee Terroir, Chinon - definite barnyard. Once I got past that, it was very nice. Good with food. 2003 Clos Rougeard, Saumur-Champigny - Smelled of sandalwood, tasted of cedar. I loved it. Bought this one. 2005 Stepping Stone, by Cornerstone, Napa - fruit forward, simple compared to the complexity of the French wines. My family will like it with dinner. Bought this one. 2003 Wm. Harrison, Thompkin Cellars , Napa - fruit, again, but deep and lovely. I bought this one also. So, I bought 1 of the French wines and 2 Cals. My favorite of the three is the Clos Rougeard. Sat Feb 09 18:12:49 -0800 2008 68466 vickib 1 3383008 Sounds like a rewarding tasting! I've always found Cab Franc to be very appealing, especially for it's aromatics. Another region you might find of interest: Bierzo, Spain. The wines here are made from Mencia, which was once thought to be the same as Cab Franc but DNA testing proved otherwise. One that I particularly like is Castro Ventosa Valtuille Bierzo. Sun Feb 10 11:49:53 -0800 2008 3381430 70760 pierrot 2 3384250 Thanks for the Bierzo tip. I'm already googling. Sun Feb 10 19:42:07 -0800 2008 3383008 68466 vickib 3 3384300 Mencia reminds me more of a thin, non Californian Zinfandel than Cab Franc. It is interesting, and a great buy right now. Sun Feb 10 19:59:25 -0800 2008 3384250 18222 maria lorraine 1 3384247 I adore Cab Franc. Especially Pride Mountain's. I also like Spring Mountain's Cabernet Francisco -- it's Cab Franc but the vineyard is named after their recently deceased vineyard manager, Francisco. VERY tasty. Sun Feb 10 19:41:31 -0800 2008 3381430 18222 maria lorraine 1 3384263 Cab Franc is one of my favs ... If you happen to be lucky enough to wander by an Owwen Roe Cab Franc .. buy it! I've had many Joquet Chinons .. sometimes they can be of the barnyard others are not so much . Sun Feb 10 19:49:00 -0800 2008 3381430 32946 oliveoyl 1 3388675 Lange and Reed cab franc from Napa is outstanding. The cab franc from Page is also wonderful. Tue Feb 12 05:04:00 -0800 2008 3381430 10925 rtmonty 1 3389776 cab franc is my favorite red wine, hands down. i'm an east coast girl and when i went to the virginia wine festival this year i was introduced to it via a ton of different local vineyards. apparently the soil and climate of the mid-atlantic makes for a good spot to produce the wine. yum, i recommend checking out a va cf if you are a fan. Tue Feb 12 10:25:22 -0800 2008 3381430 148496 polly parker 2 3389925 Cab Franc is more often used as a blending wine (one of the 5 grapes used in Bordeaux) than as a stand alone variatal. However, Cab Franc as a stand alone variatal in France is most likely to come from the Touraine and Anjou-Saumur regions of the Loire Valley. Obviously, Callifornia is the largest producer of Cab Franc in the US, but there are quite a few Cab Francs from Washington State, (I particularly like those from Owen Roe and Owen Sullivan) as well as from New York. I do know that some Canadian wineries (Thirty Bench comes to mind) bottle a Cab Franc, however many of them use them for dessert wines. I don't like Cab Franc as much as I used to, but I still enjoy it occasionally, especially the Owen Roe Cabernet Franc Rosa Mystica Block and the Owen Sullivan Cabernet Franc Champoux. Pride is the largest (and to my mind best) producer in California, but the 1996 Beringer Vineyards Cabernet Franc Third Century is pertty good too. Tue Feb 12 10:56:48 -0800 2008 3389776 11814 dinwiddie 3 3402776 I'm a big fan of the Owen Roe as well. Also, when Robert Keenan (CA) is available, try a bottle or two (around $40 retail). It is really excellent and ages extremely well (opened an '89 in 2003 and it was sensational). Fri Feb 15 18:05:28 -0800 2008 3389925 50082 TonyO 2 3422384 I second the general rec for Virginia Cab Francs. This grape seems to do very well in VA. Very approachable wines. On the white side the varietal to look for from Virginia is Viognier. Thu Feb 21 17:00:36 -0800 2008 3389776 12829 Bob W 1 3389943 That Clos Rougeard is such a lovely bottle of wine! I adore Loire Cabernet Franc. Tue Feb 12 11:02:07 -0800 2008 3381430 96905 bubbles4me 2 3391188 Went to Sonoma/Napa in December....discovered Cab Franc at a couple of the vineyards. It is now a favorite in my books. Our purchases were from Neale & Trespass. Tue Feb 12 15:55:49 -0800 2008 3389943 105701 cleopatra999 1 3394637 Thanks to everyone for the recommendations. I'll seek those out. Wed Feb 13 14:15:27 -0800 2008 3381430 68466 vickib 2 3394669 i also like new world cab franc...here are my favorites: pride crocker & starr chappellet pritchard hills wolf family beringer third century Wed Feb 13 14:24:05 -0800 2008 3394637 79299 rickym13 3 3404609 All of this Cab Franc talk and not one mention of Long Island! Sat Feb 16 13:53:34 -0800 2008 3394669 119594 jp62 3 3424790 just placed my allocation order for Pam Starr's cab franc. Fri Feb 22 12:04:35 -0800 2008 3394669 31795 ibstatguy 4 3426593 that's some pretty juice. Sat Feb 23 00:05:57 -0800 2008 3424790 18222 maria lorraine 5 3427432 I've liked everything I've tried that Pam is involved with but her CF is a favorite of mine Sat Feb 23 11:09:38 -0800 2008 3426593 31795 ibstatguy 1 3402640 Was it a Wm. Harrison from Napa (Rutherford) or a Thompkin Cellars from Costa Mesa (Santa Barbara fruit). I know they both produce an excellent Cabernet Franc but they're definitely not the same winery. Thompkin Cellars, by the way, is run by some friends of ours just a mile or two from where we live. They're hardcore foodies and make some surprisingly affordable juice from vineyard sources in Santa Barbara. Ask me later about a restaurant concept they're working on for Costa Mesa. R. Jason Coulston p.s. - Tresspass at the base of Spring Mountain in Napa does some amazing work with a very small parcel of Cabernet Franc. The 2004 is outstanding. Fri Feb 15 17:13:44 -0800 2008 3381430 166350 Jason_Coulston 2 3402736 The Wm. Harrison I picked up is from Napa. And I'd love to hear about what's in the works for Costa Mesa, as I live 30 min. to the north, in Long Beach. Fri Feb 15 17:48:48 -0800 2008 3402640 68466 vickib 3 3402889 Plans are still being unveiled, but a new and contemporary loft/commercial development is going in at Harbor and Hamilton on the Westside of Costa Mesa. The Dobkins/Thompsons (Thompkin Cellars) are working plans for a French-style Bistro to anchor that development. It should be great, but don't look for anything before the end of 2008. Hopefully yours truly will have something to do with the restaurant. Everything is still in works. R. Jason Coulston Fri Feb 15 19:00:32 -0800 2008 3402736 166350 Jason_Coulston 1 3422285 As a Napa Valley wine industry professional, it has been exciting to see Cab Franc really begin to shine here locally. Phillip Titus, the winemaker for Chappellet, also makes wine for his family label Titus Vineyards, including a Cab Franc that is very well regarded by other local Cab Franc producers. Full disclosure: I used to work for Titus Vineyards. Phillip has also done consulting winemaking for William Harrison, which has also been mentioned here, and is another of my faves. And I have so much respect for Don Gallagher and his wife, who own Trespass. Strangely enough, I have an appointment to taste the Trespass wines with Don this weekend. I also like the Cab Franc from Ehlers Estate and Lang & Reed. Harder to find but well worth it are Gridley Family Cellars Cab Franc and Detert Family Vineyards. Full disclosure: Tom Garrett, winemaker and partner for Detert & I work together at another winery. Thu Feb 21 16:22:17 -0800 2008 3381430 16831 Ruby Louise 2 3424199 I'm jealous you're tasting with Don this weekend. I'm guessing you'll be working through the 2005's? The 2004 Cabernet Franc was one of their best yet. Have fun and tell Don I said hello! R. Jason Coulston Fri Feb 22 09:56:39 -0800 2008 3422285 166350 Jason_Coulston 3 3426568 It was a five Cab Francs today... In order of preference: Pride Mountain, Crocker & Starr,Titus, Lang & Reed, and oddly menthol and disappointing Tresspass. The top three I'd had overall are Spring Mountain Vineyard's Cabernet Francisco, Pride Mountain's, and Crocker & Starr. Beautiful. Fri Feb 22 23:40:11 -0800 2008 3424199 18222 maria lorraine 2 3424788 I've had a couple of btls of the Titus in the last month enjoyed both quite a bit. Fri Feb 22 12:03:57 -0800 2008 3422285 31795 ibstatguy 1 3428273 Very interesting post! I did a similiar tasting (here: http://jasonswineblog.com/?p=174) though in my house over a week a while back. I tried a Cab Franc from France, US and Italy. My first from Italy and not inclined to try another soon. The Santa Ynez bottling I picked up at TJ's was outstanding and that was before you even considered the $8 price tag. Sat Feb 23 16:54:28 -0800 2008 3381430 168850 jjrzut 1 3428651 For me what makes Loire Vallee Cabernet Franc appealing isn't immediately apparent. I find it most often to be lean and green with sort of cranberry flavor. If it were a singer instead of being Sarah Vaughn it would be Billie Holiday. Sat Feb 23 20:17:03 -0800 2008 3381430 26180 Chinon00 1 3452068 Mmm - - Cab Francs, especially some of the dense ones from Washington State. Sun Mar 02 11:15:21 -0800 2008 3381430 91889 Walla2WineWoman 2 3453603 How would you compare the Washington State CFs with those from other areas? Sun Mar 02 20:48:32 -0800 2008 3452068 18222 maria lorraine 2 3454921 I sometimes enjoy the dense ones from Washington, especially if they blend in a little of something else. I just had on from Harbinger Winery which was quite nice. But I have to say I prefer ones that are just a little lighter. Loire Cab Franc (Bourgeuil, Samur, Chinon) are some of my favorite wines. I love producers who make similar wines. Chinook's is close. I also just bought one this weekend from Hollywood Hills/East Side Winery that I couldn't pick out from a Chinon if I was blind. Mon Mar 03 10:18:45 -0800 2008 3452068 86802 vanillagorilla 1 3453790 I recently enjoyed a Bernard Baudry Chinon Les Granges (2006) cab franc that i found quite delightful. The restaurant price was reasonable, and the retail price made me plan on buying a case or two. Sun Mar 02 23:00:34 -0800 2008 3381430 85878 stolenchange