I've just finished a lamb steak drizzled with my homemade rosemary balsamic reduction sauce and opened a 2002 Cab Franc from D'Angelo that I picked up recently while driving down past Amherstburg, which is some twenty-odd kilometres south of Windsor, Ontario. On the same visit, I also made sure to stock up on Sal D'Angelo's most excellent Old Vines Foch (Ontario's best in my opinion) from a 1984 vineyard, and the regular Foch made from a younger (1998) vineyard.
The 2002 Cab Franc is 13% alc./vol. and has a very pleasant weathered-sumac/garnet hue all the way to the rim; it's clear garnet at the centre. Light yet complex nose of red berries and a gentle, measured bit of green pepper; overall it's a spicy, appetizing nose that's delicate and well apportioned. Crisp and dry on the entry with lots of resolved, velvety tannins right on the tip of the tongue; dry and cleansing, refreshing and balanced with exceptional palate-feel. A perfect food wine. Elegant, medium-bodied and clean, it's drinking very nicely now. I enjoyed this and wish I had bought more.
Happy New Year to all.
