Wine Focus - Wine 301: Cabernet Franc

[David M. Bueker]

Jenise,

Which sub-AVA is that?

[Jenise]

God only knows.

Btw, on that subject, saw a scathing response from Trey Busch, outspoken winemaker/owner of Sleight of Hand winery here to wine writer/critic Sean Sullivan's announcement of the last new AVA from which, he pointed out, not a single notable wine comes. I believe it's mostly used for blending by Chateau Ste Michelle, so he wondered aloud, as I have here, "what's the point?"

[David M. Bueker]

• 2017 Domaine Bernard Baudry Chinon Les Grézeaux - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon (7/26/2021)
  I wrote a note about this wine nearly two years ago. Red fruit and tobacco took center stage. Tonight it’s tobacco and red fruit. Still, and as always, Grezeaux exemplifies Chinon for me.

Maybe I'm cheating by posting on this one where Cabernet Franc represents a minority although in pole position. Its varietal composition is 35% Cabernet franc – 35% merlot – 15% Abouriou – 15% cabernet sauvignon and it comes from the Côte du Marmandais, about 90 km upstream from Bordeaux along the river Garonne. I've known this cuvée and its stable mate Chante-Coucou to show honourably as ringers in a line up of GCC Saint-Émilion and I think that its high content of CabFranc lends added distinction and fragrance in the same way as it does in some of the best Saint-Émilion estates. The grape Abouriou is typical of the Marmandais and may be in part responsible for the marked tannins.


2015 Elian Da Ros Côtes du Marmandais Clos Baquey - France, Southwest France, Côtes du Marmandais (27/07/2021)
I am a fan of the wines of Elian da Ros and this is his top cuvée. However I don't think I've ever previously brought to table a bottle of it less than 10 years old and at present this seems like unfinished business compared with some of its predecessors. Its best feature was its bouquet on the nose; rich red fruit, fragrant and complex. By comparison the medium/full palate seemed less seamless and less eloquent. The same rich fruit was present with a savoury touch together with a certain earthiness and fresh acidity leading at this stage to a firmer and more tannic finish than I recall from previous vintages and a touch of dry caramel which may come from the élevage. I expect that this will come together further down the line and sing superbly as the nose does already. Good right now.
Posted from CellarTracker

[David M. Bueker]

Cheating is allowed.

Sounds like a really interesting wine.

[Jenise]

Cheating is allowed.

Sounds like a really interesting wine.

It does!

And btw, I would buy a case of Chante-Coucou just to be able to say that name over and over.

[Robin Garr]

This was a really nice and reasonably affordable organically grown Cab Franc from northeastern Italy. i'm glad I spotted it before the end of the month.

Tenuta Maccan 2018 Friuli Cabernet Franc ($17.99)

Maccan Friuli Cabernet Franc shows a pretty, dark-purple color in the glass, shading to an intense garnet at the edge. Distinct cherry fruit shows in the aroma, a blend of fresh tart cherries, dried cherries and Kirsch cherry liqueur. Delicious, fruity but dry cherry flavors carry over on the palate, sharply focused with mouth-watering alcohol and fuzzy astringent tannins, with delicious tart-cherry fruit and a back note of stony minerality in a long finish. It's made from organic and certified sustainably farmed grapes. The label lists 13% alcohol. U.S. importer: WineCraft, Cincinnati. (July 27, 2021)

FOOD MATCH: A Cincinnati retailer linked below suggests pairing this wine with game or cured meats like prosciutto – maybe best of all, Prosciutto di San Daniele from the Friuli region that's also home to this wine. We enjoyed it very much with a simpler Italian dish, a hearty spaghetti with meatballs made from Beyond Meat plant-based beefy crumbles.

WHEN TO DRINK: This 2018 vintage is drinking nicely now, but the combination of intense fruit with good acidic balance and market tannins suggests that it should keep, and may improve under good cellar conditions over at least the next three to five years.

VALUE:
My local price is in line with Wine-Searcher.com’s $18 average U.S. retail. It's a very good value at that price.

WEB LINK:
Tenuta Maccan offers an info sheet on this wine at this English-language link.

This short fact sheet is available from Cincinnati wine shop Hart & Cru.

FIND THIS WINE ONLINE:
Check prices and find vendors for Maccan Friuli Cabernet Franc on Wine-Searcher.com.

Follow this Wine-Searcher link to find listings for dozens of other wines from Fruili-Venezia Giulia.

Read about Cabernet Franc amd browse listings for a variety of Cab Franc wines at this Wine-Searcher link.

[Jenise]

Nice find, Robin, I'd have found that irresistable too. I've only ever seen one other Italian cab franc in the wild, from the soave people Inama. The grape is probably more common in northern Italy than we realize, just rarely exported. The Inama was very much like you described this one to be, especially with that sexy streak of minerality.

Nice find, Robin, I'd have found that irresistable too. I've only ever seen one other Italian cab franc in the wild, from the soave people Inama. The grape is probably more common in northern Italy than we realize, just rarely exported. The Inama was very much like you described this one to be, especially with that sexy streak of minerality.

This, from the beautiful Vignamaggio estate, is one of the best from Cabernet Franc which has ever passed my lips. Production is very small. We were rationed to one bottle each when we were staying at the estate. I don't know if there are other plots of CabFranc in Tuscany.

1998 Vignamaggio Cabernet Franc Toscana IGT - Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT (21/07/2019)
From my archives, I note that I consumed my previous bottle in 2008 and found it elegant and delicious. Yesterday's bottle was just as good if not better with little signs of additional age other than better integration of wood notes. It was medium bodied, linear in shape, fragrant in aroma on nose and palate, gently sweet in fruit with velvety texture, fine acidity and a lingering fragrant finish. Excellent.

Posted from CellarTracker

[Robin Garr]

Jenise, yes, it's not widely sought after, I guess, but Friuli, Veneto, Trentino, Lombardia, all those northern/northeastern regions make a fair amount of Cab Franc.

I don't know if this has changed under EU regs, but when I was traveling there a fair amount in the '00s, a lot of the region's wine labeled just-plain Cabernet was actually Franc, not Sauvignon.