WineSmith Cabernet Franc

Tasting notes & discussion 66

Typically $40/bottle from WineSmith Cellars
Vintage 2017 from Clear Lake (Lake County)
Available for AZ; CA; CO; CT; DC; FL; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MT; NC; NE; NJ; NM; NV; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; RI; SC; SD; TX; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY
Sold by participating winery or licensee, fulfilled by Wine Country Connect

About WineSmith Cellars: “Frustrated with California’s winemaking trends, Clark started WineSmith Cellars in 1993 as a teaching winery to make Eurocentric wines to explore traditions beyond the mainstream, expanding for his winemaking clients the range of possibility for California fruit. Choosing to create long-term partnerships with committed growers rather than growing his own grapes, Clark has become an renowned expert on Cabernet Franc, having vinified twenty vintages from a wide variety of sites.“

The Lake Effect

TASTING NOTES: “The combination of rich fruit aromatics, firm tannin structure and lively minerality make this among the most complete and collectible expressions of Cabernet Franc in the New World… For roundness and fat, we co-fermented with 23% Merlot. Age has added a tobacco bouquet to its spicy cherry and rosemary aromas which resemble a well-aged Graves. The resulting palate possesses a sweet core of fruit which is framed by soft tannins and a bright mineral finish.” (AbV 13.5%, pH 3.72)

VARIETALS: 77% Cabernet Franc Clone 1, 23% Merlot Clone 181

BARRELS: 56 months in neutral French oak.

PAIRS WITH: Steak béarnaise or wild mushroom dishes, “the wine loves open fires and Bruce Springsteen’s Jungleland.”

THAT REMINDS ME OF: The Lake Effect, that thing some wineries mention. Deep lakes impart some interesting qualities on the surrounding terroir. The chief among these is their ability to moderate temperatures for surrounding regions. When the weather is largely colder, the lake still retains heat from the sun. This can prolong the growing period further into the Fall, and prevent potential flash freezes or frost in Spring. When the weather gets warmer, however, the lake tends to maintain a cooler temperature than the air in general, meaning any breezes across its surface carries some of that cooling out over the vineyards.

So there you have it. Lakes are good.

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