Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Connoisseurs' Guide
Fully mature, if not on the fade, the Frank Family 2010 still steers to the ripeness and liberal oak that marked its debut some seven years back, and it has become fairly supple, almost silky in feel as its once-moderate tannins have softened and now allow full access to its mixed-berry fruit. It is far from feeble and is, in fact, still fairly rich, but we would not hide it away in a distant corner of the cellar for much longer and recommend that it be tagged for drinking in the next two or three years lest age starts to catch up.
Since the founding of the winery in 1992, Frank Family Vineyards has poured their passion for land, grape growing and winemaking into each and every bottle of Frank Family Vineyards wine. Today they own over 450 acres of the finest vineyard land checkerboarded throughout the Napa Valley. This allows them to control quality and cultivate sustainably on their own estate and enables winemaker, Todd Graff, to blend perfectly balanced wines. With a commitment to crafting the finest representation of Napa Valley wines, Frank Family Vineyards hopes to create a legacy for generations to come.
Undoubtedly proving its merit over and over, Napa Valley is a now a leading force in the world of prestigious red wine regions. Though Cabernet Sauvignon dominates Napa Valley, other red varieties certainly thrive here. Important but often overlooked include Merlot and other Bordeaux varieties well-regarded on their own as well as for their blending capacities. Very old vine Zinfandel represents an important historical stronghold for the region and Pinot noir is produced in the cooler southern parts, close to the San Pablo Bay.
Perfectly situated running north to south, the valley acts as a corridor, pulling cool, moist air up from the San Pablo Bay in the evenings during the hot days of the growing season, which leads to even and slow grape ripening. Furthermore the valley claims over 100 soil variations including layers of volcanic, gravel, sand and silt—a combination excellent for world-class red wine production.