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2007 WineSmith Cabernet Franc, Lake County 750ml 3-Pack
The father of Cabernet Sauvignon, this grape is among the most challenging to work with and seldom is bottled as a pure varietal. Its great vigor requires bright sunlight and a limiting soil to prevent excessive fruit shading, but its delicate aromas will also easily burn off. Diamond Ridge is located in a sunny high altitude site with rocky granitic soils which force Cabernet Franc to put its energy into pushing its roots down into the rock, resulting in a lively mineral energy in the wine’s finish. These conditions develop good color and firm but refined tannins which impart amazing age-worthiness.
Because of its proximity to Clear Lake, the site is also blessed with a “lake effect” -- a daily visit from the cooling breezes off this deep body of water, largest in the State. The consequence is that the plum and cinnamon aromas the grape develops are conserved. The combination of rich fruit aromatics, firm tannin structure and lively minerality make this among the most complete and collectible expressions of Cabernet Franc in the New World.
The 2007 was harvested on October 7, fermented traditionally with extended maceration, and aged in neutral cooperage for 91 months to resolve its incredible reductive strength. It was necessary to skip over this vintage until the 2008, which matured in 61 months, was sold through first. Age has added nuances of romano, truffle and musk bouquet to its spicy white cherry and rosemary aromas. The resulting palate possesses a sweet core of fruit which is framed by substantial tannins and a bright mineral finish.
Although suitable for current consumption with pork and cherries or grilled duck breast, this is still a collector’s wine which will gain silkiness and aromatic complexity from a few more years in the cellar.
Specs
- 100% Cabernet Franc Clone 1
- Diamond Ridge Vineyards, Clear Lake AVA
- Harvested 7 October
- 24.5 Brix
- Production: 118 cases
Fermentation techniques:
- Anchor NT112 yeast
- 5 g/L untoasted Alliers chips
- 35-day maceration
Elevage details:
- Four weeks microbüllage pre ML
- 91 months in neutral French oak
- Alcohol sweet spot at 14.2%
- pH 3.78 at bottling
Specs
- 100% Cabernet Franc Clone 1
- Diamond Ridge Vineyards, Clear Lake AVA
- Harvested 7 October
- 24.5 Brix
- Production: 118 cases
Fermentation techniques:
- Anchor NT112 yeast
- 5 g/L untoasted Alliers chips
- 35-day maceration
Elevage details:
- Four weeks microbüllage pre ML
- 91 months in neutral French oak
- Alcohol sweet spot at 14.2%
- pH 3.78 at bottling
Vendor Details
WineSmith Cellars
- Owner:
- Clark Smith
- Founded:
- 1993
- Location:
- Sebastopol, CA
Visit the WineSmith Wines website
Clark Smith is an MIT drop-out who wandered out to California in 1972 and sold wine retail in the Bay Area for several years, where he acquired a love of Bordeaux, Burgundy and all things French and observed first hand the California winery explosion in the 1970s. After a three year stint at Veedercrest Vineyards, he secured enology training at UC Davis and spent the 1980s as founding winemaker for The R.H. Phillips Vineyard in Yolo County. In 1990, he founded WineSmith Consulting and patented a group of new winemaking techniques involving reverse osmosis, spinning off Vinovation, which went on to become the world’s largest wine production consulting firm over its 17-year history.
Frustrated with California’s winemaking trends, Clark started WineSmith Cellars in 1993 as a teaching winery to make Eurocentric wines to explore traditions beyond the mainstream, expanding for his winemaking clients the range of possibility for California fruit. Choosing to create long-term partnerships with committed growers rather than growing his own grapes, Clark has become an renowned expert on Cabernet Franc, having vinified twenty vintages from a wide variety of sites.
Teaching at Napa Valley College gave him access to the Student Vineyard for Faux Chablis and his Pauillac-style $100 “Crucible” Cabernet Sauvignon. From Renaissance Vineyards in North Yuba County he has made a sulfite-free Roman Syrah and also produces a Pinot Noir from Fiddlestix Vineyard in the Santa Rita Hills in a delicate, age-worthy Côtes de Beaune style. These wines are vinified in an ancient beat-up warehouse in Sebastopol, California.
WineSmith wines are noted for their longevity, classic balance, structural integrity, minerality and understated soulfulness. They often are aged extensively prior to release. When drinking a WineSmith wine, always ask yourself “What is this wine trying to teach me?” Clark is a vocal advocate of living soil and graceful longevity, and generally avoids excessive oak, alcohol, or extended hang-time. He is not shy about employing new tools when they are needed, such as alcohol adjustment to bring fruit into balance or micro-oxygenation to build refined structure, but always fully discloses techniques which are controversial and is outspoken in explaining his rationale.
His book, Postmodern Winemaking, is the culmination of four decades of reflection on wine’s true nature.
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