Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
Carving out a niche few vintners could ever imagine, Lang & Reed was determined to find Cabernet Franc's hidden North Coast terroir. Not just content to utilize one place on earth, the winery's founders John & Tracey Skupny searched multiple regions—Lake County, Sonoma County, and Napa Valley—to find the perfect balance of source material to produce the best example of the grape variety and that they did. The 2013 Lang & Reed Cabernet Franc is a significant achievement. Shows ripe red fruit, accents of sweet earth and fulfilling palate textures. Pair with braised or grilled meats and enjoy. Drinking well now. (Tasted: August 24, 2016, San Francisco, CA)
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Wine Spectator
Strikingly complex, dense and aromatic, with a rich core of vivid, graphite-laced dark berry, loamy earth, underbrush and melted chocolate flavors. Gains depth and nuance on the finish.
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.
Reaching up California's coastline and into its valleys north of San Francisco, the North Coast AVA includes six counties: Marin, Solano, Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino and Lake. While Napa and Sonoma enjoy most of the glory, the rest produce no shortage of quality wines in an intriguing and diverse range of styles.
Climbing up the state's rugged coastline, the chilly Marin County, just above the City and most of Sonoma County, as well as Mendocino County on the far north end of the North Coast successfully grow cool-climate varieties like Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and in some spots, Riesling. Inland Lake County, on the other hand, is considerably warmer, and Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and Sauvignon Blanc produce some impressive wines with affordable price tags.