Winemaker Notes
Blend: 100% Cabernet Franc
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
The 2020 Cabernet Franc Family comes from vines in the Skoonheid vineyard just up from Raat's house, undergoing a 30% whole bunch ferment to enhance its purity. This has a more opulent nose, far more fruit-forward than the Dolomite with layers of dark cherry, boysenberry and dried violet petal notes. The palate is medium-bodied with fine grain tannins, an unerring sense of symmetry with great precision on the finish. Top class.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Opening with a voluminous nose of dark red fruits and layers of spicy pepper essences, the 2020 Family Cabernet Franc offers notes of sweet roasted red peppers and clove in the glass. Medium-bodied, it bursts with a dark cherry expression laced with notions of spiced plums before lively and complex herbal essences wade across the mid-palate with layers of complexity and juicy fruit essences. The wine is structured, balanced and complex, leaving me wanting a second and third sip. If you enjoy Cabernet Franc, you'll want to put this on your list. Only 8,700 bottles were produced after resting a year and a half in 25% new French oak barrels. Nicely done!
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Wine Spectator
Complex and perfumed nose of cloves, anise, fresh strawberries, mulberries and chopped chives. Medium-bodied, fine and beautifully framed, with firm and ultra-fine tannins. All about freshness and precision. Drink or hold.
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Wine Enthusiast
Aromatic and spicy notes of licorice, clove and black pepper emerge from the glass of this flavorful Cabernet Franc. Sturdy tannins and optimal acidity provide support to red fruit, spices and dried thyme.
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 an important wine renaissance in full swing, impressive red and white bargains abound in South Africa. The country has a particularly long and rich history with winemaking, especially considering its status as part of the “New World.” In the mid-17th century, the lusciously sweet dessert wines of Constantia were highly prized by the European aristocracy. Since then, the South African wine industry has experienced some setbacks due to the phylloxera infestation of the late 1800s and political difficulties throughout the following century.
Today, however, South Africa is increasingly responsible for high-demand, high-quality wines—a blessing to put the country back on the international wine map. Wine production is mainly situated around Cape Town, where the climate is generally warm to hot. But the Benguela Current from Antarctica provides brisk ocean breezes necessary for steady ripening of grapes. Similarly, cooler, high-elevation vineyard sites throughout South Africa offer similar, favorable growing conditions.
South Africa’s wine zones are divided into region, then smaller districts and finally wards, but the country’s wine styles are differentiated more by grape variety than by region. Pinotage, a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsault, is the country’s “signature” grape, responsible for red-fruit-driven, spicy, earthy reds. When Pinotage is blended with other red varieties, like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah or Pinot Noir (all commonly vinified alone as well), it is often labeled as a “Cape Blend.” Chenin Blanc (locally known as “Steen”) dominates white wine production, with Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc following close behind.