I was watching a Gary V video on Cab Franc and he absolutely loved the French ones that were super green and funky on the nose, and green in the mouth!

What do you guys look for in a "good" Cab Franc?

I've been stashing a few French and American Cab Francs for "research purposes"

Add some Niagara (Ontario) Cab Franc if you can. I love the stuff.

bsevern wrote:I was watching a Gary V video on Cab Franc and he absolutely loved the French ones that were super green and funky on the nose, and green in the mouth!

What do you guys look for in a "good" Cab Franc?

I've been stashing a few French and American Cab Francs for "research purposes"

Gary can keep the green and funky Frech Cab Francs too himself. Not in my wheelhouse at the moment, and probably is last on my list of red varietals since I encounter misses more than hits. Although, things change, so I'll probably be eating these words in a year or two.

In Virginia this is the varietal I most consistently buy when visiting wineries (Viogner on the white side).
Green/funk/vegatable is not what I think of.
Generally a nice fruit in front and middle with some pepperiness on the finish.

I'm a big fan of Loire cab franc, and those made in that style. Fresh, red fruit with a touch of green. With a slight chill, an affordable bourgueil is a ton of fun.
There is a ton grown here in NY, and there are some real winners (for franc, I really enjoy Shinn, Paumanok, Roanoke, Macari).

KR baby!
His '05 was (is) sublime...I don't think it is purchasable anymore, but if you get a chance...

I bought a case from him about a year ago, and drank it dry. Wish I hadn't, but money was tight and I was weak.

I don't really like it when it has the green funky barnyard thing going on, but I've had lots of cab franc that has been delicious.

A number of years ago I bought a case of Schweiger Cab Franc that was very nice.

The Iron Horse T-bar-T Cab Franc sold here on Woot was really tasty, as well, but iirc it was blended with over 20% "other" Bordeaux varietals.

Here's an awesome blog by gcdyersb all about CF.

I like my cousin Bill Harrison's Cabernet Franc, we had a 1992 recently that had aged nicely. I generally like them best between 10 and 15.

For the most part, however, Cabernet Franc is better as a blending wine in Bordeaux style blends. By itself, it can be very good, but tends to be one-dimensional, to lack the complexity of Cabernet Sauvignon.

My tip is that trellissing and canopy maintenance is probably a lot more likely to encourage Cab Franc vines to bear fruit than digging them up, in or under.

Only in ice wine style

Hey RPM, I was just out in Napa. The wife and I rented bikes in Calistoga and road down a combination of 29 and Silverado trail. My goal was to ride up hills and make it to Harrison and back.

WOW was it worth the trip. Nothing like tasting through the good stuff at Harrison then cranking up Old Howell Mountain Road and Howell Mountain road. The memories of the fantastic cab franc helped my crank up the hill for sure. I knew from reading your posts I needed to stop there, great wines, and the cab franc was the most interesting to me out of all of them. Best US version of the varietal I have had so far in my young tasting career.

Also thanks for urging us to do passport, what a great event. I got to talk with Ed Sbragia while tasting through his high end stuff at the winery as the day wrapped up, also a great experience. Cost me a bunch of money, but glad to part with it for good wine.

dstearl wrote:Hey RPM, I was just out in Napa. The wife and I rented bikes in Calistoga and road down a combination of 29 and Silverado trail. My goal was to ride up hills and make it to Harrison and back.

WOW was it worth the trip. Nothing like tasting through the good stuff at Harrison then cranking up Old Howell Mountain Road and Howell Mountain road. The memories of the fantastic cab franc helped my crank up the hill for sure. I knew from reading your posts I needed to stop there, great wines, and the cab franc was the most interesting to me out of all of them. Best US version of the varietal I have had so far in my young tasting career.

Also thanks for urging us to do passport, what a great event. I got to talk with Ed Sbragia while tasting through his high end stuff at the winery as the day wrapped up, also a great experience. Cost me a bunch of money, but glad to part with it for good wine.

Sounds like a great trip! I've always thought Bill's Cabernet Franc is certainly one of the best in California. I think the first vintage he bottled as a varietal (and not as a blending wine) was the 1992. I think I have one bottle left, now.