2022 Kukeri Cabernet Franc, St. Helena, Napa Valley
The grapes for our 2022 Kukeri St. Helena Cabernet Franc are sourced from a small family vineyard located on the western side of St. Helena. The site features gravelly loam soils and benefits from the protection of the Mayacamas Mountains, which provide relief from the intense afternoon sun, allowing the fruit to develop elegance and balance. A touch of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Petit Verdot adds additional layers of complexity and depth to this exceptional Cabernet Franc.
Tasting Notes
The 2022 Kukeri St. Helena Cabernet Franc opens with expressive aromas of wild berries, boysenberry, tobacco, and earthy spice, with hints of cedar and cocoa adding further complexity. On the palate, it is medium-bodied and well-structured, showcasing concentrated red fruit, balanced acidity, and a long, polished finish. This elegant Napa Valley Cabernet Franc pairs beautifully with grilled and fire-roasted meats.
Winemaking
The grapes were hand-harvested in early October, destemmed, and gently crushed into small fermentation bins. After a 3-day cold soak to enhance color and flavor extraction, the wine underwent 15 days of fermentation with punch-downs three times daily. Following 2 days of extended maceration, the wine was gently pressed and aged for 30 months on fine lees in 80% French oak and 20% American oak barrels, including 40% new French oak.
3x - 2022 Kukeri Cabernet Franc, St. Helena, Napa Valley
Case:
12x - 2022 Kukeri Cabernet Franc, St. Helena, Napa Valley
Price Comparison
Not for sale on winery website, $576/case MSRP
About The Winery
Winery: Kukeri Wines
Owners: Petar Kirilov
Location: Sebastopol, CA
Petar Kirilov, founder and winemaker of Kukeri Wines, grew up in Bulgaria and graduated from the prestigious University of Food Technologies with a master’s degree in winemaking. He has worked at Truchard Vineyards, Meadowcroft Wines, and Foyt Wines as a winemaker, and created Kukeri Wines to focus on the production of small-lot quality wines from single vineyards.
Kukeri Wines source grapes from some of the most unusual vineyards in Napa Valley and Sonoma County. “We treat that fruit as gently as possible, producing small lots of quality wines that display the complexity, power, finesse, and specific terroir of Cabernet Sauvignon grown in Mount Veeder, and Pinot Noir from Petaluma Gap, Los Carneros, and Russian River Valley.”
Kukeri refers to a pagan Bulgarian ritual that may date back as far as 8,000 years to the ancient Thracians – and to Dionysus, the god associated with wine, fertility, and rebirth. The festival is replete with mystical symbolism, steeped as it is in a tradition representing the cycle of life, death, and rebirth.
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IA, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OR, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, VA, WA, WI, WY
2022 Kukeri St. Helena Cabernet Franc
3 bottles for $94.99 $31.66/bottle + $2.67/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $299.99 $25/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
So this is not a winery I’m famiiar with. I looked on CellarTracker, and it appears this is the first year they have produced a Cab Franc.
Their track record on other wines is quite good, almost everything they’ve put their name on over the past decade has a 90+ score on CT. I would say that tells me they are a quality producer, but I don’t know about this particular wine as there are no reviews or scores for it anywhere, it’s basically a one-off.
I like Cab Franc a lot, but I’m full up right now and not sure I can take the plunge. Is there a lab rat report coming?
@daviator Without looking at deets, likely they’ve used this blending their CS in past vintages and may have had enough good juice to bottle as CF, with a dollop of some other approved grapes.
@daviator If you are in Los Angeles, I’ll split it with you…I love Cab Franc, but, like you, not familiar with this brand… and I just went wine shopping the other day… so…
@daviator They’ve previously produced a few Kukeri proprietary red blends. One of these, the Stag’s Leap District, was sort of a Cab Franc bordeaux blend (or really I guess a Cab Franc Cab Sauv blend):
A blend of 52% Cabernet Franc, 39% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Malbec, 3% Merlot, and 2% Petit Verdot. Aged for 18 months in 80% French oak barrels (30% new) and 20% American oak barrels.
This is not Stag’s Leap District, of course, but it sounds like they had more Cab Franc here, or perhaps the grape tolerated the season better, and so you have an 87% Cab Franc wine instead of 52% Cab Franc.
@davidj94112 I bit the bullet last night and ordered the three pack. I have a crazy amount of wine at the moment so that’s really all I could handle. I probably should have held off as a 4/4/4 would work too, but what’s done is done. Sorry for jumping the gun!
I was delighted to receive a bottle for review from my great friend and master winemaker Petar Kirilov. A product of the oenology program at Bulgaria’s University of Sofia, he became my assistant winemaker in 1999. We share a balanced, Eurocentric aesthetic with restrained oak and alcohol, refined tannins and graceful longevity.
Although we made many Cab Francs for WineSmith, this is the first example I’ve seen under his Kukeri label. The style is no surprise.
Here are my initial notes just upon opening. The cork has almost no stain, indicating quite recent bottling. That means that just as I do, the wine has spent over three years in obviously neutral oak, resulting in a silky, oily tannic structure with no graininess.
The aroma is quite forthcoming, with no reduction or austerity. The varietal fruit is quite dark and complex with considerable profundity. I get elderberry, kalamata olive, cedar and marmite. The 14.5% ABV adds graceful power to the finish.
My colleague Dan Berger has been stumping for Cab Franc to replace Cab Sauv due to its superior ability to withstand climate change, and this wine makes a compelling case. The first five days of 2022 experienced 115°F, yet here we have a wine of integrity and elegance despite those circumstances.
I found it a delightful companion to my rare sliced tri-tip. For those of you on the East Coast who have never heard of this cut, it’s a good reason, besides universal health care, to move west.
I’ll get back to you in the morning with a breathing-related progress report, but I have no doubt this stuff will hold up for a week or more.
@winesmith I’m a big fan of your wines, Clark. You’ve produced some very tasty Cab Francs over the years. So your words carry a lot of weight with me. The best incarnations of Cab Franc equal or perhaps even surpass the best Cab Sauvs, in my book, and I’m sure you’re right that its tolerance for heat will make it a bigger player over time.
I am overflowing with wine at the moment, but I may have to take the plunge on this one. And as I’m also a fan of lovely pink tri-tip, I may try that as an initial pairing!
Thanks for the review. Any thoughts on how this will hold up over time/drinking window?
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations.)
2022 Kukeri St. Helena Cabernet Franc - $80 = 21.05%
@dianefreda right? I’m ready to dive into a case even though I was recently impacted by a restructuring. Then again, the only way to cure temptation is to succumb to it.
@dianefreda@losthighwayz I’d say this is nothing like a Loire Chinon. It’s not lean and mean and the acidity is low. More like a big structured Graves.
After breathing overnight, I am now getting much brighter red fruit and a lot of tellicherry black peppercorn. The mouth has also developed a delicious palate energy and a long, racy finish.
I think we’re already in the drinking window, but I’m confident that it will hold up well for at least a decade in a good cellar.
(1) I like Cab Franc, I also believe we’re going to see a lot more of it in the future, now is the time to bring over Cab Franc to other people and become the Napa Cab Franc guy before it’s overplayed.
(2) 2022 was a warm vintage. With the blend and grape, I think this will probably be sort of a right-bank style crossed with Napa cab profile. Big fruit, ripe flavor, oak for structure, but drinkable early (despite 30 months in oak). Less acid maybe. Not expecting a lot of pyrazine despite the reference to olives in the rat report above. I would guess it will hit its stride in 2028-2030, maybe 2032-2035 peak.
(3) Seems to be a friend of Clark Smith thing going on here, with him being the rat, and the winemaker connection from 1999. To me this says texture engineering and oxygen management, so it will be approachable. I would expect soft tannins, softer than the grape and oak timeline might lead you to think. (In some sense I like supporting what you might think of as the casemates cinematic universe)
(4) It’s a blended Cab Franc, so there should be less risk for me buying without tasting. I don’t like when there’s too much pyrazines or I feel like I am tasting stems or seeds. Hoping for some flavors of violet, maybe some notes of tobacco and sage, but not a bunch of green peppers. Rounded out fruit hopefully as I said above with the ripeness. I also don’t expect an oak bomb, just slightly oak forwards with integration as it ages. I feel like this is going to be an enjoyable and well structured Napa red with, as mentioned, sort of a Right-Bank crossed with Napa Cab profile.
I’m expecting or hoping for plums and blackberries, violet, some cocoa, tobacco, sage, maybe pencil shaving notes.
@afwaller Yes, you’re right on all counts. Petar and I exchanged winemaking skills for several years, particularly tannin management. There’s no bell pepper though the other herbal notes are there in the background – olive, tobacco, cocoa, black pepper – in a subtle supporting role around the varietal blue and red fruits and cinnamon spice. No pencil shavings but certainly some cedar. Very little oakiness but good bouquet development. You’ll be happy with your case purchase.
Here’s my tasting notes, after the bottles had a week or so to rest in my cellar
2022 Kukeri Cabernet Franc (St Helena). Tasted in 2026
Cork shows very very light color, suggesting this was just bottled. Cork basically looks new.
Initial impression on opening:
Color is a slightly purplish red, not so dark but intense. Smells fresh, slightly leafy. Palate is red-fruited, mostly raspberries, and slightly sharp, with firm tannins and a bitterness on the finish. Very tight.
Decanted and about 2 hours later: On the nose now gives brambleberries and leaves. Glass shows significant legs when swirling. The palate has shifted (from the raspberry of before) to a ripe blackberry and some black cherry, with a richer flavor. A little bit of savory umami. Middle mouthfeel is chalky. Tannins build into a drying, wood-tinged finish, with a little bitterness and dark cocoa, both flavor and sort of powderiness.
I do not get the stems/seed green/vegetal tannins flavor I was worried about before purchase.
I will try to give these bottles another year or a couple years before drinking them. It still may want some time to integrate the tannins. They are good now but promise to be even better. This tastes very much like Cabernet franc and I liked it. Happy with my purchase of 1% of the entire product (a case).
@rjquillin I am extremely pleased with this wine to be honest. Casemates is usually a great deal, but some I am happier with than others, this is a really great wine. It’s not as fruity or juicy as I was expecting initially, so I would say not the merlot tasting bordeaux concept I was expecting. It really tastes like cab franc, but not too vegetal or harsh or green. I like the chalky mouthfeel. I got the red raspberries initially but as it opened up it changed to more blackberries and cherry, which I probably prefer to red berries personally. I get the baker’s cocoa powder on the finish quite vividly. I can also taste the wood. I feel this will improve for a few years but is certainly drinkable now if you give it time to open up (2 hours may not even have been enough).
I would buy this again, and am inclined to buy other kukeri wines if they show up.
@afwaller
Thanks,
I split a case with a co-worker and he’s quite happy as well. Also gave a bottle to another co-worker, but he’s slow(er than even me) to pull corks.
2022 Kukeri Cabernet Franc, St. Helena, Napa Valley
Tasting Notes
Winemaking
Specs
What’s Included
3-bottles:
Case:
Price Comparison
Not for sale on winery website, $576/case MSRP
About The Winery
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IA, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OR, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, VA, WA, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Monday, Apr 13 - Tuesday, Apr 14
2022 Kukeri St. Helena Cabernet Franc
3 bottles for $94.99 $31.66/bottle + $2.67/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $299.99 $25/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
So this is not a winery I’m famiiar with. I looked on CellarTracker, and it appears this is the first year they have produced a Cab Franc.
Their track record on other wines is quite good, almost everything they’ve put their name on over the past decade has a 90+ score on CT. I would say that tells me they are a quality producer, but I don’t know about this particular wine as there are no reviews or scores for it anywhere, it’s basically a one-off.
I like Cab Franc a lot, but I’m full up right now and not sure I can take the plunge. Is there a lab rat report coming?
@daviator Without looking at deets, likely they’ve used this blending their CS in past vintages and may have had enough good juice to bottle as CF, with a dollop of some other approved grapes.
Looking forward to the Rats
@daviator If you are in Los Angeles, I’ll split it with you…I love Cab Franc, but, like you, not familiar with this brand… and I just went wine shopping the other day… so…
@Winelikes I’m in San Francisco, or I’d consider taking you up on it.
@daviator I am also in SF and down for a 6/6 split if you’d like? Also fine for a 4/4/4 split if there is anyone else local who is up for a threesome
@daviator They’ve previously produced a few Kukeri proprietary red blends. One of these, the Stag’s Leap District, was sort of a Cab Franc bordeaux blend (or really I guess a Cab Franc Cab Sauv blend):
This is not Stag’s Leap District, of course, but it sounds like they had more Cab Franc here, or perhaps the grape tolerated the season better, and so you have an 87% Cab Franc wine instead of 52% Cab Franc.
I’m thinking about this one.
@davidj94112 I bit the bullet last night and ordered the three pack. I have a crazy amount of wine at the moment so that’s really all I could handle. I probably should have held off as a 4/4/4 would work too, but what’s done is done. Sorry for jumping the gun!
I was delighted to receive a bottle for review from my great friend and master winemaker Petar Kirilov. A product of the oenology program at Bulgaria’s University of Sofia, he became my assistant winemaker in 1999. We share a balanced, Eurocentric aesthetic with restrained oak and alcohol, refined tannins and graceful longevity.
Although we made many Cab Francs for WineSmith, this is the first example I’ve seen under his Kukeri label. The style is no surprise.
Here are my initial notes just upon opening. The cork has almost no stain, indicating quite recent bottling. That means that just as I do, the wine has spent over three years in obviously neutral oak, resulting in a silky, oily tannic structure with no graininess.
The aroma is quite forthcoming, with no reduction or austerity. The varietal fruit is quite dark and complex with considerable profundity. I get elderberry, kalamata olive, cedar and marmite. The 14.5% ABV adds graceful power to the finish.
My colleague Dan Berger has been stumping for Cab Franc to replace Cab Sauv due to its superior ability to withstand climate change, and this wine makes a compelling case. The first five days of 2022 experienced 115°F, yet here we have a wine of integrity and elegance despite those circumstances.
I found it a delightful companion to my rare sliced tri-tip. For those of you on the East Coast who have never heard of this cut, it’s a good reason, besides universal health care, to move west.
I’ll get back to you in the morning with a breathing-related progress report, but I have no doubt this stuff will hold up for a week or more.
@winesmith but the specs say 40 percent new oak. I doubt that it’s not going to be detected
@losthighwayz @winesmith
It must have become well integrated during the 30 month cooperage.
@winesmith Apparently so. I really didn’t get much oak influence apart from the resolution of the tannins.
@winesmith How’d you cook that tri-tip?
@rjquillin I cheated. Bought it that way at Petaluma Market. Yum!
@winesmith
Piker, but that market is a fine establishment.
Image moved to LLR post
@winesmith I’m a big fan of your wines, Clark. You’ve produced some very tasty Cab Francs over the years. So your words carry a lot of weight with me. The best incarnations of Cab Franc equal or perhaps even surpass the best Cab Sauvs, in my book, and I’m sure you’re right that its tolerance for heat will make it a bigger player over time.
I am overflowing with wine at the moment, but I may have to take the plunge on this one. And as I’m also a fan of lovely pink tri-tip, I may try that as an initial pairing!
Thanks for the review. Any thoughts on how this will hold up over time/drinking window?
Image moved to LLR post
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations.)
2022 Kukeri St. Helena Cabernet Franc - $80 = 21.05%
The cabernet was out of this world! Auto buy
@dianefreda right? I’m ready to dive into a case even though I was recently impacted by a restructuring. Then again, the only way to cure temptation is to succumb to it.
@dianefreda how so? I’m a big franc fan so curious about the style
@dianefreda @losthighwayz I’d say this is nothing like a Loire Chinon. It’s not lean and mean and the acidity is low. More like a big structured Graves.
After breathing overnight, I am now getting much brighter red fruit and a lot of tellicherry black peppercorn. The mouth has also developed a delicious palate energy and a long, racy finish.
I think we’re already in the drinking window, but I’m confident that it will hold up well for at least a decade in a good cellar.
Here’s my thoughts:
(1) I like Cab Franc, I also believe we’re going to see a lot more of it in the future, now is the time to bring over Cab Franc to other people and become the Napa Cab Franc guy before it’s overplayed.
(2) 2022 was a warm vintage. With the blend and grape, I think this will probably be sort of a right-bank style crossed with Napa cab profile. Big fruit, ripe flavor, oak for structure, but drinkable early (despite 30 months in oak). Less acid maybe. Not expecting a lot of pyrazine despite the reference to olives in the rat report above. I would guess it will hit its stride in 2028-2030, maybe 2032-2035 peak.
(3) Seems to be a friend of Clark Smith thing going on here, with him being the rat, and the winemaker connection from 1999. To me this says texture engineering and oxygen management, so it will be approachable. I would expect soft tannins, softer than the grape and oak timeline might lead you to think. (In some sense I like supporting what you might think of as the casemates cinematic universe)
(4) It’s a blended Cab Franc, so there should be less risk for me buying without tasting. I don’t like when there’s too much pyrazines or I feel like I am tasting stems or seeds. Hoping for some flavors of violet, maybe some notes of tobacco and sage, but not a bunch of green peppers. Rounded out fruit hopefully as I said above with the ripeness. I also don’t expect an oak bomb, just slightly oak forwards with integration as it ages. I feel like this is going to be an enjoyable and well structured Napa red with, as mentioned, sort of a Right-Bank crossed with Napa Cab profile.
I’m expecting or hoping for plums and blackberries, violet, some cocoa, tobacco, sage, maybe pencil shaving notes.
I purchased a case.
@afwaller Yes, you’re right on all counts. Petar and I exchanged winemaking skills for several years, particularly tannin management. There’s no bell pepper though the other herbal notes are there in the background – olive, tobacco, cocoa, black pepper – in a subtle supporting role around the varietal blue and red fruits and cinnamon spice. No pencil shavings but certainly some cedar. Very little oakiness but good bouquet development. You’ll be happy with your case purchase.
Here’s my tasting notes, after the bottles had a week or so to rest in my cellar
2022 Kukeri Cabernet Franc (St Helena). Tasted in 2026
Cork shows very very light color, suggesting this was just bottled. Cork basically looks new.
Initial impression on opening:
Color is a slightly purplish red, not so dark but intense. Smells fresh, slightly leafy. Palate is red-fruited, mostly raspberries, and slightly sharp, with firm tannins and a bitterness on the finish. Very tight.
Decanted and about 2 hours later: On the nose now gives brambleberries and leaves. Glass shows significant legs when swirling. The palate has shifted (from the raspberry of before) to a ripe blackberry and some black cherry, with a richer flavor. A little bit of savory umami. Middle mouthfeel is chalky. Tannins build into a drying, wood-tinged finish, with a little bitterness and dark cocoa, both flavor and sort of powderiness.
I do not get the stems/seed green/vegetal tannins flavor I was worried about before purchase.
I will try to give these bottles another year or a couple years before drinking them. It still may want some time to integrate the tannins. They are good now but promise to be even better. This tastes very much like Cabernet franc and I liked it. Happy with my purchase of 1% of the entire product (a case).
@afwaller These after arrival notes are always welcome. Tnx
@rjquillin I am extremely pleased with this wine to be honest. Casemates is usually a great deal, but some I am happier with than others, this is a really great wine. It’s not as fruity or juicy as I was expecting initially, so I would say not the merlot tasting bordeaux concept I was expecting. It really tastes like cab franc, but not too vegetal or harsh or green. I like the chalky mouthfeel. I got the red raspberries initially but as it opened up it changed to more blackberries and cherry, which I probably prefer to red berries personally. I get the baker’s cocoa powder on the finish quite vividly. I can also taste the wood. I feel this will improve for a few years but is certainly drinkable now if you give it time to open up (2 hours may not even have been enough).
I would buy this again, and am inclined to buy other kukeri wines if they show up.
@afwaller
Thanks,
I split a case with a co-worker and he’s quite happy as well. Also gave a bottle to another co-worker, but he’s slow(er than even me) to pull corks.
I purchased a case. Does anyone in Tampa want to split the case?
@free2day33611 Or if someone wants three that is ok too.
I’ve enjoyed other offering over time. No I am way over stocked, but, but a WineSmith RAT (say hi to Ruthie) in for a triad. cowardly-needless-stone
I’ll be the dissenter - too bad there’s no bell pepper!
@klezman oh good grief!
Also a @winesmith fan and fan of CabFr so pulling the trigger now…
@bunnymasseuse
/giphy fussy-truthful-barium