Union Sacre Cabernet Franc 2021
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Fresh pepper, blueberry, plum, violet, and earthy.
Other Vintages
2020-
Wilfred
Wong
Union Sacre exists at the meeting of worlds. Made by two long time friends, Xavier and Philip, who arrived at the Central Coast from opposite ends of the Earth. Xavier is a WSET certified, oenology degree holding ex-boxer from France, Philip is a self-taught designer from Michigan who kind of misses living in a van.
Between the two of them, Xavier and Philip have 25+ years experience working in Central Coast wineries. Xavier has been cellar master or assistant winemaker for some of the Central Coasts most luminous wineries, including: Sans Liege, Arcadian and Herman Story. Philip cut his teeth at Proof Wine Collective before taking on the creative director role at Herman Story and Desparada. The wines of Union Sacre are focused on elegant, single vineyard, single varietal wines that are table friendly. Varietals include: Gewürztraminer, Riesling, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Sangiovese.
Union Sacre is an homage to beauty’s odd ability to build unexpected bridges. These are not wines of privilege and power, these are wines made from a lifetime of labor for the untelevised tables that unite the very heart of the world.
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.
Paso Robles has made a name for itself as a source of supple, powerful, fruit-driven Central Coast wines. But with eleven smaller sub-AVAs, there is actually quite a bit of diversity to be found in this inland portion of California’s Central Coast.
Just east over the Santa Lucia Mountains from the chilly Pacific Ocean, lie the coolest in the region: Adelaida, Templeton Gap and (Paso Robles) Willow Creek Districts, as well as York Mountain AVA and Santa Margarita Ranch. These all experience more ocean fog, wind and precipitation compared to the rest of the Paso sub-appellations. The San Miguel, (Paso Robles) Estrella, (Paso Robles) Geneso, (Paso Robles) Highlands, El Pomar and Creston Districts, along with San Juan Creek, are the hotter, more western appellations of the greater Paso Robles AVA.
This is mostly red wine country, with Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel standing out as the star performers. Other popular varieties include Merlot, Petite Sirah, Petit Verdot, Syrah, Grenache and Rhône blends, both red and white. There is a fairly uniform tendency here towards wines that are unapologetically bold and opulently fruit-driven, albeit with a surprising amount of acidity thanks to the region’s chilly nighttime temperatures.