Julian Hitner
More important than meets the blend:
It’s hard being taken for granted, whether you’re a letter carrier, a sanitation employee, or in this case a noble red grape. Like its two human counterparts, we just expect them to do their job and be done with it. It’s when they’re missing that we notice their absence. And such, in a nutshell, is the current lot of Cabernet Franc, a grape that is expected to do its job in the Bordeaux blend with little in the way of collectors’ acknowledgment. Take it away, however, and most premium claret would not be nearly as good, and then we’d get just as upset as when our birthday cards don’t arrive and/or two weeks’ worth of refuse remains uncollected.
Cabernet Franc Grapes
And make no mistake: the presence of Cabernet Franc is seldom nothing short of critical when crafting Bordeaux. Ripening earlier than Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc has historically been utilized as a type of ‘insurance grape’ against cooler growing seasons—nowadays much less of an issue as a result of climate change. On both the Left and Right Banks, its key contribution is fragrance, adding perfume to the blend in such a manner that cannot be accomplished by Cabernet Sauvignon and/or Merlot on their own.
Chateau Cheval Blanc
On the Right Bank, in particular, where Cabernet Sauvignon has great difficulty fully ripening, Cabernet Franc is considered invaluable in this respect, with even a few estates using up to or more than 50% of it on occasion. Notable examples include Ausone (possessing 55% in 2009), Cheval Blanc (containing 56% in 2010), Lafleur (boasting 57% in 2009), and Angelus (carrying 40% in 2009). Other high(er) users of Cabernet Franc are Figeac and Canon-la-Gaffelière, both of which used 35% in 2010, Beauregard (25% in 2010), Canon (25% in 2009), Le Gay and Pavie (both used 20% in 2010), and La Conseillante (19% in 2009).
Chateau d'Armailhac
On the Left Bank, Cabernet Franc nowadays ranks third in importance, with Merlot assuming a much greater role than ever before. Still, there are a few estates that continue to use slightly more Cabernet Franc than others, including: d’Armailhac and du Tertre (both used 15% in 2010), Kirwan (13% in 2009), Montrose and Léoville-Las Cases (both 9% in 2009), Malescot-St-Exupéry (8% in 2009), and Brane-Cantenac (8% in 2010). For each of these châteaux, by the way, there is a slightly greater percentage of Cabernet Franc in their vineyards.
So much for Bordeaux, but what about the rest of France, or the rest of the world for that matter? For most enthusiasts, Cabernet Franc reaches its greatest individualistic expression in certain parts of the Loire, in particular Chinon and Bourgueil, plus St-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil. Here, when full ripeness occurs, the grape seems to thrive, taking on wonderful silky overtones and aromas of fragrant black currants and raspberry traces. Such wines are typically lighter-bodied, the best medium, and will keep for up to ten years when conditions permit.
Henry of Pelham Cabernet Franc Icewine
In other places, Cabernet Franc often has trouble standing up on its own. While a few examples in California and Australia sometimes have the potential of making heads turn, the grape simply doesn’t seem to inspire on its own. Places were Cabernet Franc might hold greater potential? New Zealand will always be a contender, but with Kiwis’ becoming better and better at mastering Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, it’s increasingly likely that Cabernet Franc will become less significant over time. Surprisingly, the grape just may have a bright future in Canada, where early ripeners are precisely the ticket in so cold a climate. For now, however, it seems the most desirable Cabernet Franc in Ontario is made into late harvest and icewine; though there are a few excellent dry table wine versions available. The reason? My guess: the wine would probably not be all that drinkable in any other state. Not that the sweet versions taste bad. On the contrary, the best examples are often quite superb, though they shall always remain something of an novelesque oddity.
Thus, we arrive back at Cabernet Franc’s most purposeful raison d’être, its primary reason for being: to serve as an invaluable component in the Bordeaux blend. May it continue to serve in this noble capacity for centuries to come, never deviating, never disappointing, and always there when we need it.
Click here for a few gems from the 18 February 2012 Vintages Release along with several others
Filed under: Wine, Bordeaux, Cabernet Franc, Julian Hitner, The Successful Collector
Santa Barbara gained a huge surge in popularity thanks to the 2004 film Sideways, which follows two dysfunctional characters on a road trip through the County. One of the leads, Miles, is a pinot noir fanatic, and he’s come to the right place: pinot noir, along with chardonnay and syrah, are Santa Barbara’s greatest strengths – a quarter of Santa Barbara’s acreage is devoted to pinot. We stayed a night in the surreal town of Solvang, a Danish settlement straight out of a Hans Christian Andersen fairytale complete with windmills and a disproportionate percentage of blond hair, blue eye citizens. Our purpose was to visit Sideways’ ground zero, the Hitching Post Restaurant, a mile down the road.
Whereas most of the rest of the California Coast is somewhat protected from direct ocean influence by the Coastal Range, the Santa Maria and Ynez valleys experience the direct cooling effect of ocean breezes. Curiously enough, the growing season is unseasonably cool; the warmest month on average is October. Throughout the summer, the North Pacific High – a high-pressure system as regular as a Swiss train out of the northwest that pushes strong winds, and in turn causes an upwelling of frigid deep ocean water right off of the coast – acts like the ultimate summer air conditioner. The high breaks down around October, reducing the cooling influence of the Pacific.
The Santa Maria Valley AVA, the northernmost in Santa Barbara, takes in all of these extremes and is thus a candidate for further sub-division in the future. The renown of vineyards like the 800 acre Bien Nacido, origin of fruit for several of the county’s top wines, and the success of larger operations like Cambria (part of Kendall-Jackson) have already established the Santa Maria Valley as a serious source of wine.
The genesis of this exercise actually came last week when I was in a Napa Valley vineyard called To-Kalon, largely owned by Robert Mondavi Winery. I was with a group of Canadian wine writers and sommeliers. We had just come from a Napa cabernet tasting comparing young and older vintages of six prominent properties – Staglin Family, Clos du Val, Silver Oak, Silverado, Cliff Lede and the famous Mondavi Reserve (the 2007 is released Saturday at a mere $140). Our Mondavi field trip guide and “educator” slipped into reverent tones when he called To-Kalon a “first growth vineyard”, conferring the status of the vaunted 1st growths of the Medoc (Chateau Margaux, Mouton-Rothschild etc). I am not doubting this is a great site – the yet to be released 2008 To-Kalon Cabernet is outstanding – but the Bordeaux wannabe game is one which Mondavi and Napa have been playing for more than a generation, and the rest of the cabernet-merlot wine world almost as long.
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