Winemaker Notes
This dry farmed Cabernet Franc is a concentrated, inky plum colored redthat is subtle in its approach with its silky tannins and generously integrated French oaklactones. The intense aromas are concentrated with dark fruits such as rich plum, blackcherry and boysenberry aromas. The palate gives way to more of the same juicy dark fruitsadding blackberry and huckleberry flavors and soft,but firm tannins, cigar box, cedar andintegrated French oak notes with vanilla. The finish is generous, soft, supple and completewith plush tannins and silky oak tones which interplay with generous fruit notes andcontemplative spice and earth tones. This wine pairs well with grilled New York steak with sautéed mushrooms with shallots and fresh herbs like marjoram and oregano. If it is fish you are after, try it with soy infused Sea Bass with Oyster Mushrooms and fresh ginger in a soy broth. It’s also absolutely fantastic with grilled Unagi nigiri and a hit with Impossible Burgers while watching the big game!
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Aromas of blackcurrants and blackberries with walnut, licorice and toasted cedar. Full-bodied with chalky tannins and a juicy dark-fruited character. Juicy and racy at the end. Drink or hold.
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.
As home to California’s highest altitude vineyards, El Dorado is also one of its oldest wine growing regions. When gold miners settled here in the late 1800s, many also planted vineyards and made wine to quench its local demand.
By 1870, El Dorado County, as part of the greater Sierra Foothills growing area, was among the largest wine producers in the state, behind only Los Angeles and Sonoma counties. The local wine industry enjoyed great success until just after the turn of the century when fortune-seekers moved elsewhere and its population diminished. With Prohibition, winemaking and grape growing was totally abandoned. But some of these vines still exist today and are the treasure chest of the Sierra Foothills as we know them.
El Dorado has a diverse terrain with elevations ranging from 1,200 to 3,500 feet, creating countless mesoclimates for its vineyards. This diversity allows success with a wide range of grapes including whites like Gewurztraminer and Sauvignon Blanc, as well as for reds, Grenache, Syrah, Tempranillo, Barbera and especially, Zinfandel.
Soils tend to be fine-grained volcanic rock, shale and decomposed granite. Summer days are hot but nights are cool and the area typically gets ample precipitation in the form or rain or snow in the winter.