Winemaker Notes
Red, deep intense, ruby reflections. Complex, highlighting the fruit, especially fresh black fruit: black cherries, blackberries, spicy with contribution of graphite (mineral). All this in combination with vanilla, mocha, delivered by the barrel aging. Very smooth texture, sweet tannins, elegant aftertaste.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A really elegant and silky cabernet franc for Mendoza with fine tannins and attractive redcurrant and herbal notes. The finish is long and rather complex.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
La Celia has been producing Cabernet Franc for well over a decade now, but the 2016 Pioneer Cabernet Franc is the first vintage I've encountered of this entry-level wine. It offers varietal typicity and is a fresh, approachable wine that is harmonious and elegant. Produced with fruit from La Consulta and Altamira, it's very balanced and tasty, with good freshness and fine tannins. 26,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in September 2017.
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Wine Enthusiast
Saucy plum aromas are lightly herbal and suggest paprika or Spanish pimenton. A plump, grabby palate is tannic but not rough. Gamy dark-fruit flavors display grip across a structured, fresh finish, and overall this racy CF is a big success given the rainy El Niño conditions of 2016.
Best Buy
Cabernet Franc, a proud parent of Cabernet Sauvignon, is the subtler and more delicate of the Cabernets. Today Cabernet Franc produces outstanding single varietal wines across the wine-producing world. Somm Secret—One of California's best-kept secrets is the Happy Canyon appellation of Santa Barbara. Here Cabernet Franc shines as a single varietal wine or in blends, expressing sumptuous fruit, savory aromas and polished tannins.
With a winning combination of cool weather, high elevation and well-draining alluvial soils, it is no surprise that Mendoza’s Uco Valley is one of the most exciting up-and-coming wine regions in Argentina. Healthy, easy-to-manage vines produce low yields of high-quality fruit, which in turn create flavorful, full-bodied wines with generous acidity.
This is the source of some of the best Malbec in Mendoza, which can range from value-priced to ultra-premium. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Chardonnay also perform well here.