Grape Variety: Cabernet Franc

Colour:

Red

“The tangy, expressive, stalky Cabernet Franc, capable of seeming both playful and fruity in some moods, darker and even a touch forbidding in others, though without really ever preparing to challenge the peaks or plumb the abysses (of sensation, of expectation) which grander and more ambitious wines inhabit as their landscape.”

John Lanchester – The Debt To Pleasure

Cabernet Franc has recently gained acclamation from those who recognise its signature qualities of sapidity and elegance.It seems to flourish in the cool maritime climates and whereas its confrere, Cabernet Sauvignon is noted for pronounced aromas of blackcurrant, CF leans instead towards the red fruits such as redcurrants and cranberries. Some comment favourably (or otherwise) the distinct fragrance of green pepper, and certainly many examples are peppery and mildly astringent in their youth filling out with age. The best Cab Francs with their high acidity, elegance and minerality have super ageing potential.

The Loire is the spiritual home of Cab Franc and its variety of appellations, terroirs and micro-climates illustrate the potential if the variety. Alain Lorieux’s exemplary Chinon is a taffeta-textured red with a perfume of sweet hay, violets and irises, silky smoky fruit, wild strawberries and cerise, springy acidity. The pleasure is all yours.This graceful savoury wine suits dishes as diverse as veal kidneys, leg of pheasant and grilled salmon.

The Caslot Bourgueil is a delightful fresh, yet intense, wine with a floral bouquet and flavours of raspberry and blackberry. He makes several cuvées of varying degrees of intensity and complexity from different soils. Some wines are to be quaffed with a smile and some smoked meats, the more profound versions should be decanted to allow the fruit and mineral perfumes to mingle. As well as harvesting Cab Franc, Caslot has also been harvesting a tidy crop of coup-de-coeurs.  Peu-Muleau, from twenty-five year old vines planted on sandy soil, is a lively aromatic number with small ripe fruits and notes of framboise and griottine cherries. It’s savoury and easy on the gums. Put it in your rabbit stew and drink with proper gusto.  Les Galichets, from average thirty-year old vines on silica-clay soils, is a firmer, more sculpted style of Cabernet Franc. The nose displays aromas of raspberry and redcurrant, with notes of freshly dyed leather and pencil shavings. The palate is full of fresh, juicy red fruit flavours with a sweet and sour black cherry quality and a chocolatey, savoury richness - pronounced, but elegant tannins are married to refreshing, mouth-watering acidity. It won’t say no to a Cote-de-Boeuf. Moving on up the Chevalerie is from forty-five year old vines. A deep purple (almost opaque) core leads to a narrow rim - this is a big, concentrated wine. The nose offers a huge whiff of raspberry, blackcurrant and dark cherry aromas, with a touch of cedar/pencil shavings as well as spice and blond tobacco and sous-bois. The palate is dense and rich, with bags of sweet, ripe fruit flavours. There are some healthy tannins here, so saddle that haunch of wild boar and make like a parody of Henry VIII (tearing the meat off the bone, gulping your vinous grog and lobbing the carcase over your shoulder – it’s the new courtly behaviour). Busardières is from the oldest vines planted on limestone-clay soils. Velvety and rich, with savoury and dark chocolate flavours complementing black cherry and blackcurrant fruit. Yet more flavours reveal themselves with time in the glass, including notes of cinnamon, cloves and sichuan peppercorns. Monumental depth of flavour, great length, yet wonderful finesse. It will continue to age magnificently

The wines of Saumur and Saumur-Champigny are normally pleasantly juicy and worthy of an ice bucket in the summer. Some growers, such as Foucault and Germain, have taken these appellations to a new level. The latter’s Cuvée Marginale is a selection of the best grapes (tiny yields of 25hl/ha) put into barriques neuves, a felicitous amalgam of Bordeaux and Loire styles, The vines for the Marginale are situated on the superb clayey-limestone soil of Fosse de Chaintres. This cuvée is only made in the best years when the grapes achieve a minimum of 13 degrees alcohol. Yields for the Marginale are a miniscule 25hl/ha; the grapes are macerated for 30-35 days, then the wine is placed in new oak to undergo malolactic fermentation. . The colour is dark-ruby, with purple highlights. The bouquet is marked by cassis and blackberries. The palate is dense, with fat fruit, a beautiful structure and fine, ripe tannins. Suave, velvety, plump wines.

Cabernet Franc is an important component of blends in Gascony and the Pyrenees where it ameliorates and gives fruity fragrance to the more powerful, foursquare Tannat grape in the wines of Madiran and Irouleguy. It also naturally appears in the country wines south of Bordeaux such as Cotes de Duras, Buzet and Marmande in blends with its usual familiars Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. It is, of course,

Of course, it is also an important constituent in many Bordeaux wines (particularly in Saint-Emilion) and with 55-60% of the blend gives Chateau Cheval-Blanc its particular personality.

Cabernet Franc flourishes in the hills of Friuli.  Our example is from Ronco del Betulle. The aromatic fruit is bolted together by some serious acidity, but the wine has more personality and texture than a lot of “string-beany” Cabernet Francs. The following tasting note by Jamie Goode describes it à point: “Brilliant cool climate red with great balance. Deep red/black colour. Lovely nose is vivid, mineralic and leafy edged, with blackcurrant and raspberry fruit. Savoury, leafy fruit on the palate. Pure and concentrated with an attractive chalky minerality”.

This grape is extremely versatile with food. The classic match is rabbit cooked in red wine; another signature dish is pork with prunes. It would also go with a variety of poultry-based dishes and river fish such as salmon and trout. The more monumental Bourgueils and Samur-Champs could happily handle a char-grilled steak and the lacier Chinons and fruity Anjou reds would be perfect with cassoulet.