Over the last six years, I’ve tasted a lot of Cabernet Franc. I mean, a lot. Some bottles I have only had the opportunity to taste once; others I can return to time and time again. One thing is certain: I continue to be astounded by the diversity of expressions that exist. I was recently reflecting on how I could find context to recommend more bottles more often, beyond my in-depth producer profiles and tasting articles, because there is so much out there worth discovering. In the beginning, I had Instagram stories or posts to mention some of these wines, but through that medium there is no depth, no permanence, no real way to recall and (re)discover these wines for those who are interested, which isn’t terribly useful to anyone, myself included.
So, going forward, I will publish a drinking guide/wish list every other month (at least to start) — a collection of wines I would love to be drinking in that moment if I had access to the vast array of Cabernet Francs that exist in the world. Some of these wines may not be widely available because they’re produced in small quantities, or are back vintages, or have limited distribution, but if their story and purpose are true, I want them to get some visibility. Most of the wines I plan to profile will be available in some way, shape, or form (which is why I won’t mention a specific vintage in some cases), but there will surely be bottles that people won’t be able to find and try (heck, I may never be able to try them again either), and I trust that readers won’t hold that against me.
Hopefully you find these collections interesting; perhaps you end up discovering a new region or producer you can bookmark to seek out, or maybe learning to appreciate a wine you already know in a different way. As always, I will do my best to add value to the conversation and provide useful insights to help you get the utmost enjoyment out of the world of Cabernet Franc. Thank you for reading.
If Cabernet Franc had a season, it would be fall.
I don’t think there is another grape/wine out there that has the ability to taste like fall smells: wet or dried autumn leaves, sous bois, freshly churned earth, woodsy notes of cedar and pine, petrichor, mushroom, herbs like sage, savoury, thyme, and rosemary, and spices like Espelette pepper, clove, nutmeg, allspice, dried ginger, and cinnamon.
Tasting notes aside, structurally as a red wine, it can deliver exactly what we need as the weather gets cooler: something with a bit more body and depth, but not too rich, heavy, or tannic, with lively acidity and pure, vibrant fruit.
When thinking about the Cabernet Francs I want to drink this time of year, I want them to satisfy my hunger and pair with all the comforting foods I crave this time of year, but I also often want them to satiate my emotional needs, delivering something as approachable and unfussy as it is soulful and contemplative.
So, with all that in mind, these are the bottles I’d love to be enjoying in the weeks ahead.
LXV, Blanc de Franc, Eckert Family Vineyard, Paso Robles, California, USA (SRP $70USD): From Cabernet Franc fanatics and husband-and-wife team Kunal and Neeta Mittal, this is a white Cabernet Franc that sees a bit of bâtonnage and oak aging giving it a little added weight, texture, and spice-driven complexity. When I tasted it back in May, I thought to myself that it is exactly the sort of Cabernet Franc in a blanc de noir style that I would reach for as the weather gets cooler. It would be excellent alongside a classic herbed roast chicken or Moroccan-inspired braised chicken legs with green olives.
Yannick Amirault, Bourgueil Rosé “Rosé d’Équinoxe” (SRP $25USD): There are rosés that call for casual, poolside sipping, and then there are “serious” rosés that instantly command more of our attention — this is the latter. Always aged in barrel on fine lees, it is lush and layered with an arresting complexity that is so different from most Cabernet Franc rosés. Summer always feels so hurried to me, and when fall arrives, the pace changes. This is when I often reach for more contemplative wines, and this is what this wine delivers — it is a Cabernet Franc rosé worth lingering over. Paired with a crispy pork cutlet accompanied by a kohlrabi, celery root, Brussels sprout slaw, I’d be in heaven. If you love rosés like Clos Cibonne, this would be right up your alley.
Finca del Mar, 2023 Cabernet Franc, W.O. Ashton, Robertson, South Africa (SRP R230): This is certainly an outlier bottle that will be impossible to find, but when I was reflecting on this “wish list” of bottles I would love to drink right now, this wine surfaced in my subconscious. Finca del Mar is the personal project of Keermont winemaker Alex Starey, who I met and tasted with last year following the Cabernet Franc masterclass I gave to the Cape Winemakers Guild. Alex’s love of Cabernet Franc really comes through in this personal expression of the variety coming from fruit from vines planted in the 1990s in the foothills of the Langeberg Mountains in the Ashton sub-region of Robertson. It’s ripe, juicy, and genuine, with that digeste quality I seek out in easy-drinking Cabernet Franc. Something about it reminded me of late summer sunsets by the lake at my family’s cottage. You can feel the season changing, but there is a part of you that is not quite ready to let go of summer.
Béatrice et Pascal Lambert, Chinon “Les Terrasses” (SRP $22USD): I genuinely believe one of the best wines to drink during the fall is a youthful, benchmark expression of Chinon from the alluvial soils. There are plenty of examples I could reach for, but the Les Terrasses from the Lambert family in Cravant-les-Côteaux is a more modern take on the archetypal example of this style. It is a wine that I’ve grown quite fond of in recent years, delivering what I expect from this style, but with enough complexity and character to satisfy someone who wants a little more. Wines like these are not only really affordable, but their unoaked, earth-forward style, with fresh fruit, and supple tannins, means they pair well with just about anything your heart desires — particularly all the hearty comfort foods we tend to crave after a summer of salads and grilling.
Warm-vintage, well-aged Bernard Baudry Chinon “Les Grézeaux” (SRP $28USD): If you are not tucking away some of your Les Grézeaux from Bernard Baudry, this is your PSA to start doing just that. Sourced from some of the estate’s oldest vines, this parcel is on alluvial soils but with an underlying clayey subsoil, and from my tastings of this wine over many vintages, this site just seems to excel in warmer years. Give it a bit of time to age and this wine morphs into something even more sublime. Luxurious but not heavy, like a silk-cashmere blend stole, it wraps you in all the good energies of fall — damp autumn leaves, wool sweater meets cedar chest, and mulling spices. If I had an endless supply of 2009 or 2005, I would be drinking this all autumn long.
Domaine des Roches Neuves Saumur-Champigny “Franc de Pied” (SRP $39USD): Of all of the cuvées parcellaires of Domaine des Roches Neuves, this is the cuvée that I want to reach for this time of year. The domaine's La Marginale and Les Mémoires tend to be sturdy and substantial, while Clos de l'Echelier and Terres Chaudes are well-defined and focused. The Franc de Pied, by contrast, warms the soul with, what I call, “refined rusticity.” From ungrafted vines on deep sandy soils, this wine captivates the senses with fall smells: crisp, cool air, balsam fir forests, fallen leaves, country road wildflowers, musky white pepper. It is soul-stirring and inspires self-reflection. It doesn’t have the polish that we often associate with Saumur-Champigny, which is why I think it represents autumn so well — a season that is defined by nature’s graceful unravelling.
Domaine de la Chevalerie Bourgueil “Bretêche” or “Busardières” (SRP $27USD): One thing that I love about Domaine de la Chevalerie is that they are deeply committed to bottle aging their wines for a period of time prior to release. Depending on the market, you can find current releases from vintages 2014 to 2018, and it's that extra bottle age that lets Cabernet Franc's tertiary, earthy complexity really come forward. Of their cuvées parcellaires, I would be reaching for either Bretêche or Busardières this time of year. Both lieux-dits are on the slopes, where the tuffeau influence brings structure and focus. Bretêche is more red-fruited, spicy, herbal, and approachable, while Busardières brings sultry depth and power. Both have a place on my fall table: perhaps a slow-roasted pork shoulder alongside the former, and duck confit with braised lentils or mushroom risotto paired with the latter.
Tűzkő Birtok, Cabernet Franc, Pannon, Hungary (SRP $16USD): From one of Hungary’s oldest wineries and bought by the Antinori family in 2000, Tűzkő Birtok is located in the eastern part of the Pannon region of southern Hungary, tucked up in the Tolna Hills. This wine has a European “feel” to it, though it is clearly not French or Italian. Riper with a bit more tannin, though not as ripe as most examples from Villány in the south, this wine still delivers an authentic Cabernet Franc character and understated profile — and I love it for that. This was available briefly in Ontario a few years ago, and if it made its way back onto the shelves, I would buy it by the case. This time of year, it is the sort of Cabernet Franc I would reach for when preparing a simple seared steak with sauce Diane and roasted potatoes. It delivers date-night, high-end refinement, but with a Tuesday-night price tag.
Gabriele Rausse, Cabernet Franc Reserve, Baer Ridge Vineyards, Virginia, USA (SRP $35USD): Around this time nearly six years ago when my life was uprooted by the pandemic, I made the over 2,400km journey by car from my then-home of Miami, Florida back home to Southern Ontario. Along the way, I made a pit stop in Virginia to visit a sommelier-friend and check out some wineries. The first Virginia Cabernet Franc I ever tried was from Gabriele Rausse, and it remains one of my favourites. I recall sitting in the crisp October air, surrounded by trees and fallen leaves, tasting a flight of wines from the winery. It was the Reserve Cabernet Franc from Baer Ridge Vineyards that resonated with me and was among the bottles I brought home — a bottle that I later featured in the early days of Cab Franc Chronicles. This wine has a bit of an old-school, classic “Old World” feel to it, and when the season changes, it makes me nostalgic to want enjoy a bottle again.
Viña La Rosa, “La Rosa” Cabernet Franc, Peumo, Cachapoal, Chile (SRP $25USD): As the weather gets cooler, I start to reach for Cabernet Francs from warmer climates like Chile, Argentina, or South Africa. Their ripeness and plush, easy-going fruit are like putting on your favourite chunky knit sweater on the first truly chilly fall day. Viña La Rosa is one of Chile’s rare Cabernet Franc specialists, farming around 53 hectares of the grape across their vineyards in Peumo. Their “La Rosa” Cabernet Franc strikes a perfect balance between the modern, ripe Chilean red that the country has become known for and something that feels decidedly fresher, restrained and more characterful. Succulent acidity, robust earth, corduroy-like tannins — this wine calls for a generous pour, a cozy blanket to snuggle under, and a good book or movie to unwind with.
Raats Family Wines, “Dolomite” Cabernet Franc, Stellenbosch, South Africa (SRP $23USD): Loire-inspired but kissed by the warm sun of the Western Cape, this is a benchmark “shoulder-season” Cabernet Franc for me. The Raats family are legendary in South Africa for Cabernet Franc, and their Dolomite expression was crafted as a nod to the Loire Valley in that it is more grape- and fruit-forward as opposed to élevage-forward. With more ripeness than your standard Chinon, Bourgueil or Saumur-Champigny, but lively acidity thanks to the constant False Bay breezes that cool things down, it has round, enveloping fruit, Mediterranean herbal notes, juicy acidity, and plush tannins. Immensely satisfying and uber drinkable with that little extra oomph you might want on a cooler day or paired with a richly flavoured, comforting, home-cooked meal.
Vineland Estates, Bo-Teek Vineyard Clone 214 Cabernet Franc, Twenty Mile Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, Canada (SRP $35CAD): After spending my summer in the Loire Valley, I am craving Niagara Peninsula Cabernet Franc. These are the red wines I cut my teeth on when I started working in the industry and they were the reason why I fell in love with this grape nearly twenty years ago. Ontario’s Cabernet Franc champion is Vineland’s winemaker Brian Schmidt, who is also a dear friend and mentor, and whenever I come home after being away, I always “reset” with Vineland Cabernet Franc. His Bo-Teek Vineyard Clone 214 expression holds a special place in my heart. It’s fragrant, floral, soulful, comforting. If Cabernet Franc could take the form of the most reassuring, tension-lifting hug of your life, this wine delivers that for me 24/7/365.
What a lineup! Been wanting to try Amirault's rosé for the longest time, this has pushed me to go buy the bottle finally.