Winemaker Notes
The nose entices with its perfume and a garrigue character of Cape fynbos, rosemary, lavender and thyme with spicy notes of nutmeg, cloves and star anise. Intense brooding blackberry fruit, graphite and a streak of minerality add to the complexity of the nose.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
A well-knit red, medium- to full-bodied and creamy, with a delicate overtone of cured tobacco and a ripe and appealing range of red and black currant fruit, black licorice string and an underscoring tang of iron-laced minerality. Chewy finish. Drink now through 2026. 336 cases imported.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Red-fruited on the nose, the 2017 Family Cabernet Franc has a juicy core of dark cherry and black raspberry with subtly spiced herbs. On the palate, the wine still shows tight but has good complexity and freshness, showing a subtle dusty rose sensation that is persistent. The finish is spicy, mineral-driven and ends with a soft herbal flavor. Medium-bodied, it's a tasty expression of Cabernet Franc.
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.
South Africa’s most famous wine-producing district, Stellenbosch, surrounds the historic town with the same name; fine winemaking here dates back to the late 1600s. Its valleys of granite, sandstone and alluvial loam soils between the towering blue-grey mountains of Stellenbosch, Simonsberg and Helderberg have the capacity to produce beautiful wines from many varieties. The climate is warm Mediterranean, tempered by the cool Atlantic air of nearby False Bay.
Perhaps most well-known for its Pinotage and Bordeaux blends, Stellenbosch also produces noteworthy wines from Syrah, Chenin blanc, Chardonnay and Sauvignon blanc. The district’s wards—Banghoek, Bottelary, Devon Valley, Jonkershoek Valley, Papegaaiberg, Polkadraai Hills and Simonsberg-Stellenbosch—all produce distinctive wines from vines with relatively low yields.