Cabernet Franc is Ready For Its Time in the Spotlight
12 bottles to try now ... plus, a Spanish market, alluring candles, best U.S. wine festivals, and a sweet holiday commercial.
I used to dislike drinking cabernet franc. The wines I tasted often gave off strong “green” notes like green bell pepper. They offered an unenjoyable bitterness, similar to my disdain for actual green bell peppers. Why ever use them when the red, orange, and yellow bell peppers are just so much better?
That was then. Now? I’m a cab franc convert. And I’m here to tell you it’s time to start paying more attention to this grape. Why? Because it can show a range of characteristics and, frankly, it’s damn delicious.
Cab franc is said to hail from southwestern France (some argue it comes from the Basque region), where it was first planted in the 17th century before being transported to the Loire Valley (where some argue it’s been for 1,000 years. Why is there so much arguing?!). In the Loire Valley sub-regions of Chinon and Bourgueil, cab franc is bottled as a single varietal. It is also found in prized Bordeaux wines blended with cabernet sauvignon like Chateau Mouton-Rothschild or merlot like Cheval Blanc. (Fun fact: cabernet sauvignon came about from an accidental breeding of cab franc and sauvignon blanc; now it’s the most-planted grape varietal in the world.)
When used in blends, cab franc adds depth and complexity, but also beautiful aromatics and lovely acidity, which comes from vines planted in limestone, clay, or gravel soils. You’ll get floral notes like violet; wild strawberry, raspberry, and blackberry; plum, cherry; and currant; and savory notes like tobacco; tarragon; anise; and pepper. Those green notes I mentioned above? Those come from naturally occurring pyrazines in the vines that also help ward off pests.
Cab franc helps to brighten up cabernet sauvignon and merlot. Where those wines often require aging, cab franc as a single-varietal wine can be enjoyed in its youth — but has ample aging potential. Personally I like a younger cab franc. They can be bright, lighter bodied, have good acidity, and not be too tannic. They also pair well with a variety of food, adding to its versatility.
As a single-varietal wine, Cab Franc is found in regions around the world, such as the Loire Valley and Italy’s Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Tuscany regions (super Tuscans anyone?). It is increasingly gaining popularity across U.S. wine regions like California’s Sierra Foothills, Washington’s Columbia Valley, Virginia, Michigan’s Leelanau and Old Mission peninsula and Fennville AVAs, and New York’s Finger Lakes. You’ll also find many wines from Chile, Argentina, Hungary, and South Africa. Basically, cab franc is taking over the world. It’s like the Beyoncé of wine. OK, maybe not quite yet.
Ready to check out some cab franc?
12 great cabernet franc wines to try
Broc Cellars 2022 KouKou cabernet franc (California)
From the moment I learned about this Berkeley, Calif.-based urban winery and tasted owner Chris Brockway’s wines, I was a fan. The same goes for this wine, made from organically grown grapes that go through whole-cluster carbonic fermentation before aging in stainless steel. It’s bright, zippy, fresh and juicy, with the perfect amount of pyrazines balanced with strawberry, tart cherry, and cassis. It’s great with a little chill on it.
2022 Lang & Reed California cabernet franc (California)
One of the few Napa wineries (if only?) that focuses almost exclusively on cab franc (they also produce pinot noir and chenin blanc), Lang & Reed has produced some of the best wines in this category since its start in 1993. Sourced from vineyards throughout northern and central California, this is their entry level cab franc. You’ll get violet, dried herbs, cherry, plum, some tannin, and plenty of acid to present a fresh, mouthwatering wine. I also recently recently recommended their 2021 North Coast cab franc.
Domaine Amirault’s Les Quarterons (Loire Valley, France)
This sixth generation, 100% organic- and biodynamic-certified winery sits on 92 acres in the Loire Valley focusing on cab franc and chenin blanc. They produce a variety of cab franc and this one is youthful and approachable. An easy drinker with red fruit, you could age this a few years, but it’s recommended to drink it now.
2022 Marland cabernet franc (Fennville AVA, Michigan)
Yes, I did just write about this as a Thanksgiving wine, but it’s that good I wanted to talk about it again. It’s a lighter expression of cab franc with great acid, spiciness, and a mix of red fruit like currant, raspberry, and pomegranate.
2019 Mira Estate Bordeaux Blend (Napa, Calif.)
With 85% cab franc and the rest merlot, this is the only blend on this list. It’s also likely the biggest wine of the bunch with silky tannins, blackberry, blueberry, chocolate, leather, and cedar. It’s balanced with some red fruit and acidity. They also have a 2018 single varietal cab franc and a white cab franc they playfully called Franc Blanc. If you can find the latter, snag a bottle.
2022 Early Mountain Shenandoah Valley cabernet franc (Virginia)
Cab franc performs well in Virginia and Early Mountain produces a few versions of it annually. Based on the number showing as “sold out” on their website, people clearly like their wines. One you can still get is this Shenandoah Valley bottling. It has a lighter body (think: pinot noir) with both fruit (blackberry, raspberry) and savory notes (mushroom, dried herbs, black pepper) and a good balance of tannins and acid.
2020 Picayune Cellars cabernet franc (Napa Valley, Calif.)
OK, first you have to join Picayune’s wine club, but it’s free to do so and you only pay for what you buy. And you get a discount. So why not? You’ll get wine like this: fragrant and floral, allspice and baking spice, raspberry and red plum, rustic and balanced.
2021 Durigutti Proyecto Las Compuertas cabernet franc (Mendoza, Argentina)
Hailing from one of the 50 best wineries in the world, this medium-bodied wine offers firm tannins balanced with refreshing acid. The wine went through malolactic fermentation and aged for eight months in concrete eggs, leading to some plum, black currant, a bit of chalk and granite.
2022 Modales La Esperanza cabernet franc (Fennville AVA, Michigan)
Another great example of how this cold climate grape performs in the northern U.S. Winemaker Andrew Backlin, who grew up outside of Napa and worked at Duckhorn Vineyards, grows a range of fruit and this one is just darn lovely. Aged in neutral oak, it’s inky in color with just a hint of green pepper. It shines with violet, blueberry and blackberry, is a bit dusty and chewy and I love it.
2022 Lieu Dit cabernet franc (Santa Ynez Valley, Calif.)
Set in Santa Barbara County, Lieu Dit focuses solely on grapes that hail from the Loire Valley. They’re focused in their approach to winemaking and it shows in the bottles and the accolades they get every year. With this, you’ll get raspberry, blackberry, red plum, licorice, eucalyptus, and violet.
Halcyon Wines (Santa Barbara, Calif.)
OK, this is a fun one. Every wine Halcyon (husband and wife team of Tyler and Kim Elwell) is a cabernet franc. This is a passion project between the two — he has worked at Tablas Creek and Jackson Family Wines, she is a partner in the James Collective PR agency. They have a love for Loire Valley cab franc and it shows it this lineup of nouveau California cab franc. So instead of recommending one, go check out all of them.
2020 Renacer Punto Final Reserva Orgánico cabernet franc (Mendoza, Argentina)
This organic wine from the Luján de Cuyo area in Mendoza gets handpicked from vines at least 15 years old that sit at over 3,000 feet above sea level. It goes through malolactic fermentation in stainless steel before aging for six months in oak. The result a well-balanced wine with acid and good tannic structure, a ruby red color, notes of sweet spices, black pepper, raspberry, plum, and chocolate.
SG LIST – Things I’m high fiving this week
Oh James... candles — and a Sex Education collab!
Candles are lovely. And sexy. And cozy. And feel like home. So it’s so cool that our dear friend Jamie Briggs’ candle line Oh James… continues to flourish. He started it out of his London flat and has grown the line to now include perfumes, body washes, beard oils, ceramics, and more. If it isn’t enough Helena Bonham Carter is a fan, Oh James… just launched a partnership with Netflix show Sex Education. With its clean design and slight wink toward the respectably naughty, Oh James… is a perfect gift for the holidays or for yourself all year.
Mercado Little Spain
I love Spanish food and wine — and José Andrés’ Longer Tables newsletter. He mentioned a product and it took me to his online food hall: Mercado Little Spain. Wow! So many products from olives and oils, jamon and conservas, cheese and meats, potato chips, and more.
The Best Wine Festivals in America
My friend and wonderful wine writer Janice Williams just wrote this article in Wine Enthusiast. She reached out to wine pros (myself included) to talk about various U.S. wine festivals that happen throughout the year like Charleston Wine + Food, Healdsburg Wine and Food Experience, and Food + Wine Classic Aspen. Janice asked me to talk up Kohler Food & Wine (you know, where Martha made me eat blue cheese) and I happily obliged. She recently launched the
Chevy Trucks holiday commercial
This must-see holiday commercial involves a family, an old truck, a trip down memory lane, a sweet adult grandchild, even sweeter grandparents and well, grab a tissue.
I've been dubious about cab franc, except as a minor component of a Bordeaux, for a long time. It was that green taste you mentioned. You've got me intrigued. Will seek some of these out. Thank you!