Cabernet Franc Grapes; not just for blending anymore!
I always knew the Cabernet Franc grape was a Bordeaux blending grape. I knew it added a little spice and pepper to the blends, but it was not until I was on a trip to the Loire region in France several years ago that I fell in love with the Cabernet Franc varietal as it own wine.
I have loved the Cabernet Franc varietal ever since.
Taking a trip down or was it up the Rhone River, I experienced the Cabernet Franc varietal in Chinon, Bourgueil, Anjou and Saumur-Champigny. Then, as I traveled, I kept finding more and more Cabernet Franc wines….in Washington State, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Canada and, of course, California. Suddenly it seemed that Cabernet Franc grape was everywhere I looked. Heck, I even found the Cab Franc in China! I have had Cabernet Franc wines in very light styles and I found a monster the other night at a blind Cabernet Franc wine tasting. Frankly, I couldn’t even tell it was Cab Franc. The parent grape of the Cabernet Franc grape, Cabernet Sauvignon grape, is pretty super in its own right. No self-respecting wine drinking fan would dispute that. But Cabernet Franc could brighten up some of those more one dimensional Cabernet Sauvignons with its deeper, more multileveled grape characteristics.
Cabernet Franc Characteristics
The Cabernet Franc grape is a cross between Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc. Some of those spice components in Sauvignon Blanc come through in the Cabernet Franc. Cabernet Franc is less tannic than Cabernet Sauvignon which gives it a nice softer mouthfeel that lingers. The fruit of Cabernet Franc is more forward, but it makes for an outstanding wine with many different foods. Every time I go to a new restaurant I look to see what they have available in a Cabernet Franc wine. I usually order a bottle or glass if they have one. Cabernet Franc is a great food wine and not at all bad by itself just for drinking either. If you have been thinking that the Cabernet Franc grape is just for blending, then I suggest you try it on its own and fall in love with a new varietal of wine.
