Light and lithe yet sufficiently substantial, Cabernet Franc is the only wine you need to take you from summer to fall.
I have always said that the wines of Burgundy, both red and white, are my desert (and dessert :)) island wines. However, Cabernet Franc in all its illustrious iterations run a tight second in the red category. It blends magnificently in the best Bordeaux, stands alone like a champ in the Loire Valley, tames some of the tannin-bombed Meritage blends from California, plays very well alone and with friends in Washington State and Oregon, as well. I have to play catch up on Virginia and New York State’s progress in this arena-although I was once called snobbish for blinding a Virgina Cab Franc and calling it Washington State. Frankly, I thought it was a compliment.
I love Cab Franc and I also have a wine crush on Lettie Teague. I think she’s smart because she likes many of the same wines I do. She writes about Lang & Reed and Domaine des Roches Neuves, also favorites. Although, for just a few dollars more she may have lauded Land & Reeds Premier Etage, a perennial favorite of mine during October Birthday Month, when I can find it.
Hungary presented me with some amazing Cab Franc contenders like Bolyki and Villanyi-pioneers in old time methods of fine wine production. I fell in love with an ‘08 Cab Franc Rose from Villanyi that still has another year left in it-believe it or not. All praise to small producers around the planet doing the gods work by creating these lovely wines!