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Francly Speaking

While walking my dog the other day (and wondering how I would begin this month’s feature), I noticed that leaves had already started to fall and the trees were just beginning to show some color. It’s really Autumn, I thought, so why not write about how the varietal we’ve chosen to feature this month, Cabernet Franc, is the perfect wine for Fall.

Our menus typically change with the seasons, so why not our wines. Even though we may not think of wine as seasonal, many of us do seem to prefer cool whites in summer and warm reds in winter. But what about in between, when we’re not quite ready to leave the beach or the ball field or even to begin raking, and are just starting to dread the first snow storm or, even worse, Christmas shopping.

It’s about this time of year that I think of stews and braised meat dishes that will use up those last couple of tomatoes and other vegetables from the garden. And what better wine to go with such dishes than Cabernet Franc.

If you’ve never had a Cabernet Franc, you’re probably in the majority of wine drinkers. This varietal is just not very popular here in the States. In fact, finding a range of domestic labels for our tasting that were in our price range ($20 or under) required visiting several stores. But if you’re willing to make the effort to find a bottle or two, you’ll be more than adequately rewarded.

Cabernet Franc was with Sauvignon Blanc a parent of the ever popular Cabernet Sauvignon. In Europe, it travels under several aliases. In the Loire Valley, where it's used to make some of that area’s greatest reds, like Chinon, Bourgueil, Saumur-Champigny, and Anjou, it is sometimes known as "Breton." In Bordeaux, its other name is "Bouchet." And while it may play only a supporting role in the Medoc, along with Merlot and Petit Verdot, where Cabernet Sauvignon is the star, across the Gironde river, in Pomerol and St. Emilion, it shares the spotlight equally with Merlot. Indeed, some of the finest and longest lived St. Emilions, such as Cheval Blanc and Ausone, use 50% to 60% Cabernet Franc, with Merlot making up the rest of the blend. Whereas on the left bank, in the Medoc region, the grape is used to tone down Cabernet Sauvignon, on the right bank its purpose is to add muscle to the more delicate Merlot.

In Italy, especially in Friuli, the grape is known as "Bordo" or "Cabernet Frank." Many of the Italian wines that are labeled, perhaps for marketing reasons, simply as "Cabernet" are, in fact, Cabernet Francs.

Since the 1980s, the varietal has become more popular in California; but because of its scarcity in relation to other red grapes, it is rather expensive. And ever since a harsh winter in 1996 killed off a good deal of Merlot in the Pacific Northwest, growers there are taking a second look at Cabernet Franc because of its sturdy character.

Endurance to cold weather and dependability are major assets of the grape and in Bordeaux, many growers regard it as insurance when harvest conditions are less than ideal.

Compared to Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc usually has a lighter color and is less tannic. It’s typically light to medium bodied, and the nose may range from herbaceous to fruity. On the palate, Cabernet Francs generally are not very complex, but when well made can deliver lovely flavors of plums or cherries accompanied by spice or leather followed by a nice, albeit not long, finish. I would not hold these wines very long as I do not think they are intended for ageing.

Interestingly, we discovered during our tasting a major difference between the Cabernet Francs from France and Italy and those from California. Whereas the California wines outshone the imports during our initial tasting without any food, the French wines, a Saumur-Champigny, a Chinon, and a Bourgueil, fared far better when they were tasted with the meal. The boldness and forward qualities of the California wines almost competed with the food for attention; the French and Italian wines, on the other hand, complemented the meal with their subtlety and cleansed the palate, content to remain in the background. But this is more a question of style than of quality, of personal taste than of absolute values.

I cannot encourage you too much to buy a couple of bottles of Cabernet Franc, and judge for yourself, as you sit down, on a cool, mid-autumn evening, to a luscious bowl of braised lamb shanks or short ribs or lamb stew and know that heavy shoveling and gift wrapping is still more than a month away.

For this tasting, we first tasted each of the wines without food and then chose our favorites to accompany a supper of braised lamb shanks with white beans accompanied by crusty peasant bread. Our tasting notes follow the order in which we tasted the wines.

Light garnet in color, almost translucent, this wine from the Loire has good legs. The nose is characterized by aromas of pencil shavings and cherries along with some floral notes. Light to medium bodied, it delivers simple and straightforward flavors of wild cherry with hints of spice and ash on the finish. Saumur-Champigny is reportedly the hot wine in Paris bistros and we could see why when we sampled it with our food. It doesn’t shout, "Wine, wine," but rather lets the food show through at its best. Imported by Petit Pois Corp, Merion, PA.

Very light to pale garnet in color with good legs, this wine has a big herbaceous nose with mushroom notes. It’s light bodied and well structured with mild tannins balancing sour cherry and spice flavors. There’s some chalk as well. It finishes nicely with some spice notes. This is another uncomplicated wine that seemed to season the food yet begged for another sip. The beans of our casserole accentuated the wine’s earthiness. Imported by Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, Berkley, CA.

Pretty ruby in color with long long legs, this wine has an alluring cherry nose with some burnt sugar and earth. A "Lolita wine" quipped one female taster. On the palate, it delivers fruity cherry flavors with mild tannins. It’s well structured with good acidity and the flavors linger on the tongue. The finish is curt with pepper and clay. This wine showed well with food and was definitely one of the stars of this tasting. Imported by Vins Fins Import Marketing Company, Great Neck, NY.

Translucent and bright ruby in color with good legs, this wine has a nose of plums and earth. Its spice, plum, and cherry flavors are muted at best. In fact, even the flavors appear diluted. The finish is short. This wine was a disappointment.

Deep ruby in color with gorgeous legs, this wine has an appealing asparagus nose followed by loads of black pepper. On the palate, it appears beautifully structured with fruit and tannins in good balance. It’s medium bodied and delivers cherry, spice, and pepper flavors that seem to linger on the palate. The tannins are very mild. It finishes well with subtle hints of green bell pepper. This wine was outstanding with the food and seemed to cleanse the palate. Imported by Wm. Grant & Sons, New York, NY.

Garnet in color with some tints of rust, this wine has good legs. The nose is sweet strawberry and burnt sugar. Medium bodied and well structured, this wine is silky and almost unctuous on the palate. The entry is sweet with burnt sugar and plum flavors followed by spice on the finish. The flavors linger. Although this wine was good with the food, it seemed to compete with it for precedence. A great value and definitely another star of this tasting.

Ruby in color with very long legs, this wine has a nose of earth and quarries together with some herbaceous and strawberry notes. Medium bodied, it delivers dry fruit flavors of pomegranate and prune. The flavors are clean and crisp. It has a good finish with some spice. This wine went quite well with the food and, given the price, is a very good value.

Ruby in color with very long legs, this wine has an attractive nose of pencil shavings, blueberries, and some pepper. It’s light bodied and delivers berry flavors with spice notes. This is an elegant well structured wine with some nice spice on the finish. It was rather bright, however, when tasted with the food and it seemed to dominate the dish. Although this is a good wine, there was some question as to its being worth the price.

Beautiful, gem-like ruby in color with long legs, this wine has a big sweet nose with aromas of cassis, earth, and mushroom. The entry is silky smooth and dry. There’s a beautiful balance between tannin and fruit and it delivers cherry flavors together with some spice and chalk. The flavors linger. It’s medium verging on full bodied. This is a warm wine and finishes with hints of candied orange rind. Quite good with the food. Another star of the tasting.

Deep ruby in color, this wine has huge long legs. The nose leaps from the glass with bold Bing and black cherry aromas complemented by underpinnings of cinnamon. Medium bodied and well structured, it delivers clean flavors of black cherry and crushed black pepper that evolve slowly on the palate. The wine finishes well with spice and leather notes. Yet another star of this tasting.

The tasting group at the Professional Friends of Wine website also chose to review Cabernet Francs this month, and we worked with them to have a number of selections in common, specifically the Pepperwood Grove, the Gundlach-Bundschu, and the Ravenswood. I encourage you to check out their great website.

TableWine is a personal website and does not sell any wine. However, many of the wines we review are purchased from our local wine merchant, Wine & Spirit World. Their web site may help you locate a good number of our selections. Also, if your local wine store does not carry a wine that you've read about here, don't hesitate to ask them to order a bottle or two for you. For imported wines, you may need to supply them with the name of the importer or distributor.

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