Cabernet Franc

During a recent visit to the Napa Valley, I had a chance to meet with Tom Garrett.  Tom is part of the Detert Family of wines who own a portion of the historic To Kalon vineyard.  The Detert's and the MacDonalds are cousins whose lineage goes back to a common owner of a parcel of the vineyard from the early 1950's.  The Detert's portion grows mostly Cabernet Franc although there is some Cabernet Sauvignon.  This particular bottling is their top Cabernet Franc and it is as good as any made anywhere.  Although still very young, this is a wine that has great concentration and will age graceful

This is from the younger wines at Chateau Pavie (under 10 years old).  It is a blend of 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon.  Deep ruby in color.  The nose has cherries with a bit of cigar box.  On the palate, this is drinking well now.  Nice cherry fruit with a bit of cocoa and slight tobacco.  Not a lot of concentration or complexity but it is tasty.  Good acidity.  It seems as though this will be as good as this gets and thought it should do another five to ten years, the safer bet is to drink it now.  It will go well with stews and medium weight foods.  

Bordeaux wines from 1982 are often still drinking great.  While one might think a wine such as this might be over the hill, that is not true.  At least for this bottle.  It still has some youthful freshness.  It is 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  No real bricking or browning.  On the nose there is cassis, dust, slight cigar box and hints of cherry.  On the palate, this has lively energy.  Cassis and cherries with some underlying dried herbal notes.  Not a big wine.  Some depth and slight layering.  Nice finish. 

I have been lucky enough to have this on a few occasions.  Never has it been open or showing anything like it's lofty status with the critics would indicate so I approached with trepidation.  No need.  This bottle was amazing.  Everything it was supposed to be including still a bit on the young side.  It is 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot.  Inky purple in color, ruby at the rim.  Bright but mostly opaque.  On the nose, lovely cassis, cigar box, ash and slight pencil lead.  The lead becomes more pronounced with air and there is some chocolate and spi

This wine showed quite well considering the vintage and pedigree and age of the wine.  Ruby in color, purple at its core, clear and bright.  The nose has dried cherries, slight dust, a bit of mint.  With air, some fresh cherries.  On the palate, fresh and dried cherries above a baseline of tea leaves.  Medium bodied.  A bit of drying tannins underneath.  Nice finish.  This is very food friendly and easy to drink.  Probably a bit past prime but still enjoyable.  Drink up now.  

Stunning showing for this wine.  Its about 50/50 Cabernet Franc and Merlot.  Still youthful and might indeed improve a bit more.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  The nose is complex and enticing with black raspberries, dust, cherries and a slight cocoa note.  With air, a bit of char comes out.  On the palate, this has a "jelly-like" texture which is great.  Lots of black cherry fruit over and char and slight tobacco base.  Tightly layered, the layers unwind nicely in the glass.  It might improve more over the next five years, but should easily be at this level for ten to fifteen years mo

The first bottle that we opened was corked.  A second bottle proved quite fresh indeed.  This was a surprise as it showed quite well.  Still, in the older style.  The label was actually in very good shape as well.  Purple in color with just a slight bit of bricking at the rime.  Clear and bright.  The nose has cherry fruit, with a slight bit of funk.  With air it becomes a bit more cigar box.  On the palate, this is clean and fresh.  Certainly mature but nice cherry fruit, just a wisp of tannins with underlying barnyard.  The finish is a bit drying.  Older wines can be a gamble, mostly due

This is certainly not today's Pavie.  A very different style of Bordeaux.  Whether that is good or bad is subjective.  Ruby/brown in color though clear if a bit muted.  The nose is all about the earthy funk.  There is some slight mine and slighter cherry fruit.  Tart acidity.  On the palate, this starts out with thin cherries.  As it blows off bottle stink, it adds some weight but tastes old and past prime.  Certainly no sin for a 37 year old wine.  There is a lot of funk on this wine.  One of the people sharing this wine called it "dirty" which might (or might not) be a bit strong.  Still,

So this is apparently produced for the Flora Springs wine club.  They make 330 cases of it.  It has a really fun label and I guess the idea is to serve it for Halloween parties.  Seems like a pretty specific target audience, but I salute them for having fun with it.  They actually have a whole series of Halloween wines.  The wine itself is outstanding and I am not sure if it gets some short shrift due to the fun label.  Deep ruby in color.  The nose has black cherries and spice.  On the palate, black cherry fruit.  Slight tannins.  Some depth.  Drinking well now.  I suppose the obvious food

This wine was opened and decanted for at least three hours before drinking.  Not enough.  This should still be held.  It is a magnificent wine but very young still.  It is a  blend of 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Cabernet Franc, and 9% Merlot.