Cabernet Franc

Wild Oak Vineyard

Sonoma Valley

90 Points | The Wine Advocate | March 2017
Gold Medal | Grand Harvest Awards | November 2016
Best of Class | Grand Harvest Awards | November 2016

Tasting Notes

Cabernet Franc is an elegant, flavorful grape that is often a key component in classic Bordeaux-style blends. This expressive wine has aromas of crushed berries, violet, and a note of graphite merging with juicy red cherry, vanilla bean, and blueberry compote flavors that precede a long and velvety finish.

Vintage Notes

Warm sunny days throughout the spring and summer months set the stage for a spectacular harvest in September 2014. The lack of rain meant that harvest began a little earlier than normal and was short in length, finishing up by the end of October. The temperate days leading up to harvest produced good yields of high-quality fruit with concentrated flavors, complex aromatics, and excellent structure.

Vineyard Notes

The Sonoma Valley, a historic wine-growing region, is ideally suited for growing high-quality wine grapes including Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Cabernet Sauvignon. We source all three varieties from our Certified Sustainable Wild Oak Estate Vineyard, located at the foot of the Mayacamas Mountains in the heart of the valley. The area’s warm summer days are tempered by cool, breezy evenings allowing the grapes to develop complex flavors while retaining acidity. The vineyard property is also the site of the Winery and Tasting Room.

Winemaker Notes

The grapes are gently de-stemmed before cold-soaking to extract optimal color and aroma. The fruit is fermented in separate lots, allowing each to be individually and distinctly crafted before being aged in French oak barrels. Before bottling, we blend in Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon to add depth and complexity.