Winemaker Notes
This Cabernet Franc is a beautiful, ruby color showing dark burgundy plum notes, followed by subtle wood and spice with subtle herbs including dried sage on the nose. Dark, ripe fruit, dates and fresh leather on the palate with savory, polished tannins.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A soft-textured, juicy red with berry, chocolate and walnut aromas and flavors. Medium body. Nicely fruited finish. Delicious now.
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Wine Enthusiast
Enchanting aromas of dried leaf, cherry, mocha, coffee and herbs dance in the glass. The palate brings brawny tannins and fresh dark-cherry flavors. This one would benefit from some time in the cellar. Best after 2022.
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Wine Spectator
Sleekly layered, with precise cherry, lead pencil and dusty dill flavors that persist toward refined tannins. Drink now through 2028.
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.
A large and geographically diverse AVA capable of producing a wide variety of wine styles, the Columbia Valley AVA is home to 99% of Washington state’s total vineyard area. A small section of the AVA even extends into northern Oregon!
Because of its size, it is necessarily divided into several distinctive sub-AVAs, including Walla Walla Valley and Yakima Valley—which are both further split into smaller, noteworthy appellations. A region this size will of course have varied microclimates, but on the whole it experiences extreme winters and long, hot, dry summers. Frost is a common risk during winter and spring. The towering Cascade mountain range creates a rain shadow, keeping the valley relatively rain-free throughout the entire year, necessitating irrigation from the Columbia River. The lack of humidity combined with sandy soils allows for vines to be grown on their own rootstock, as phylloxera is not a serious concern.
Red wines make up the majority of production in the Columbia Valley. Cabernet Sauvignon is the dominant variety here, where it produces wines with a pleasant balance of dark fruit and herbs. Wines made from Merlot are typically supple, with sweet red fruit and sometimes a hint of chocolate or mint. Syrah tends to be savory and Old-World-leaning, with a wide range of possible fruit flavors and plenty of spice. The most planted white varieties are Chardonnay and Riesling. These range in style from citrus and green apple dominant in cooler sites, to riper, fleshier wines with stone fruit flavors coming from the warmer vineyards.