The father of Cabernet Sauvignon, this grape is among the most challenging to work with and seldom is bottled as a pure varietal. Its great vigor requires bright sunlight and a limiting soil to prevent excessive fruit shading, but its delicate aromas will also easily burn off.
Diamond Ridge is located in a sunny, high altitude site with rocky volcanic soils which force Cabernet Franc to put its energy into pushing its roots down into the rock, resulting in a lively mineral energy in the wine’s finish. These conditions develop good color and firm but refined tannins which impart amazing age-worthiness.
Because of its proximity to Clear Lake, the site is also blessed with a “lake effect” – a daily visit from the cooling breezes off this deep body of water, largest in the State. The consequence is that the plum and cinnamon aromas the grape develops are conserved. 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.
The 2016 was harvested on September 27, fermented traditionally with extended maceration, and aged in neutral French oak for 56 months to resolve its incredible reductive strength. 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.
A perfect accompaniment to steak béarnaise or wild mushroom dishes, the wine loves open fires and Bruce Springsteen’s Jungleland.
Elevage details: Three weeks microbüllage pre ML, 56 months in neutral French oak
Alcohol: 14.2%
pH: 3.72
Production: 235 cases
Varietals:
77% Cabernet Franc Clone 1
Estate vineyard, Clear Lake AVA
Harvested 28 September
24.1 Brix
23% Merlot Clone 181
Estate vineyard, Clear Lake AVA
Harvested 27 September
25.3 Brix
What’s Included
3-bottles:
3x 2016 WineSmith Cabernet Franc, Lake County
Case:
12x 2016 WineSmith Cabernet Franc, Lake County
Price Comparison
Not for sale online, $480/case MSRP
About The Winery
Winery: WineSmith Wines
Owners: Clark Smith
Location: Santa Rosa, California
I’ve been in the wine business since 1972 when I dropped out of MIT and got a job in an Oakland, California wine shop. I completed the BS and MS programs at UC Davis, built R.H. Phillips in the ’90s, and founded Vinovation in 1992, providing high tech services and consulting for over a thousand wineries, originally centered around the reverse osmosis VA and alcohol adjustment techniques I invented.
In 1984 I began teaching a short course at UC Davis called Fundamentals of Wine Chemistry, which continued for 24 years and was one of their most popular courses, attended by everyone from home winemakers to seasoned professionals. In the early ’90s, I began to see cracks in the theories I’d been taught at school and began to focus on French winemaking aesthetics and techniques. I felt I was making really good white wines and terrible reds, and this led me on a journey to rediscover what red wine itself actually is.
Our winemaking philosophy is aligned with the principles of Postmodern Winemaking. We are part of a worldwide courageous cadre of winemakers and growers throughout the world dedicated to exploring its mysteries. Wine is something ancient and venerated, recognized as sacred in Roman times and long before. But 20th century ideas have riven the soul from wine and rendered it into a bland commodity. Now we’re getting back to what the ancients knew: that living soil matters, that wine integrates its flavors through refined structure, that when it possesses soulfulness, wine is (as Ben Franklin observed) “proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.”
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Hi everybody! It’s a great pleasure to be back with my Casemates homies, especially when I am finally bringing you the latest vintage of your favorite wine I make: Diamond Ridge Vineyards Lake County Cabernet Franc. I had to skip offering the 2015 because it was all bought up in one day by a single buyer, so it’s been quite awhile since you’ve seen the WineSmith version from this vineyard.
I’m going to be repeating myself from what I’ve said about previous vintages because the 13 vintages I’ve made off this vineyard are incredibly consistent, so you can expect more of the same: Youthful bright white cherry and pomegranate aromas with some varietal cinnamon and rosemary from the surrounding droughty herbs, all nuanced by the complexities of 56 months in 20-year-old neutral French oak, firm but supple tannins and an energetic minerally finish that marks it volcanic soil origins.
I’m here to field questions, suggest pairings and whatever’s up. You can expect from me as always to be up front and honest. Just ask.
@winesmith Rat report coming up…
In the meantime, who bought all the 2015? It also looks like DRV is one of the few vineyards on the east side of the lake?
@klezman No, Clay Shannon and Six Sigma are standouts. I think more in terms of north of the lake and south. There’s more volcanic soil on the south side, so more masculine, minerally wines, whereas Ceago, Mike Noggin and Shannon Ridge’s other vineyards up there make a richer, fatter, more feminine wine. The blends of the two can be really nice, as Steele has demonstrated.
@danandlisa It’s very different in style because the Roman Reserve wines have no sulfur dioxide. They’re wilder and more like Barberesco - indescribable and ever changing. They also tend to be more reductive in their first decade. This is a more conventional ST. Emillon style, easy to like and understand. SO2 civilizes the wine and makes it easilr to understand, but I think the Roman wines are more fun, though much more enigmatic. I like them both equally for different occasions. The Roman wine will dominate the conversation and cause more disagreement at the table, whereas this wine behaves itself better. Everybody likes the conventional style, but the Roman is either love passionately or hate outright.
I was definitely happy to have @rjquillin suggest that I rat this vintage of one of my house favourite wines! The bottle arrived last Friday, only slightly warm to the touch from UPS’s late in the day delivery to my place. We stood it up all weekend, not that I expected any sediment from a wine bottled as recently as this.
Best laid plans and all that, between work and kids we were unable to get a duck breast pairing sorted out (which I am especially disappointed about since Clark mentions it in the video) and ended up starting the bottle yesterday to have with a shio koji marinated salmon dinner.
On to the wine! On first opening (at a 23°C-ish room temp) I was quite surprised to get almost no aromas from the wine in bottle or in glass. No matter…air solves all! So I kept swirling and trying to gently oxygenate the wine. The aromatics started to slowly appear, mostly in the non-distinct realm of tobacco, red fruit, and a touch of something herbal. Expecting the palate to be as closed down as the aromas, the first few sips showed more texture than flavour. And that texture was everything I’ve come to expect from Winesmith: supple, smooth, and with some tannin along with the trademark mouthwatering finish.
Given how closed this was and my general aversion to forced aerators for evaluating wine, I knew it was time to grab a second bottle and wait for this one to gobble up some air and show its stuff. (The second bottle was nothing of note and not worth comparing. I decided against comparing this to one of its elder siblings.)
I had my next sips of this about halfway through the shio koji salmon. Unfortunately it was still rather closed down and I’d already decided nothing else needed to be said about it in that state.
About 3-4 hours after opening, well after dinner was done, I poured another glass. Took a sniff: finally! There’s something here! And what was there was a whole lot of what I could only describe as white cherry along with kirsch. It really had that fresh fruit aspect alongside the candied fruit liqueur note. There was also a very distinctive balsamic vinegar note (with zero hint of acetic acid, of course). I got a sensation almost of baking spices, and of course some herbs as is common with this wine. I couldn’t really identify any specific herbs last night though.
The palate had become more lively as well, repeating most of what I smelled. Perhaps more of a red fruit sensation than previously. I neglected to get a good note about the finish - my bad. But at this point in the wine’s evolution it was singing!
As it was getting late and thinking the wine needed even more time to open, I recorked the remaining 60% of the bottle and left it for today.
Again, my plans to have this with a suitable pairing got disrupted by a rather annoying project I’m finishing under a tight deadline, so no second dinner pairing notes. (I also really thought this project was going to be wrapped up last week!)
Compared to later in the evening last night, the wine had retreated a bit. I got more of the balsamic note and some herbs at first, and the occasional whiff of kirsch. Less fresh fruit. Nice mineral finish, though, with some added herbs compared to last night.
When the offer popped up I saw the video on the front page was one of Clark’s recommended tunes so I paused working to sip and listen. What a difference a tune makes! Everything was enhanced by it. The definition of the fruit was clearer (cherry came back, as did raspberry and maybe pomegranate). I could start to even pick apart some specific herbs - could have sworn I smelled some basil. The finish lengthened too. And with Clark’s note saying cinnamon is common, I was able to distinguish it when looking for it. That finally gave me a sense of what this wine is, and I’m a bit mystified that it only came out with the music. That’s not been my experience in the past. I wonder if it has something to do with the recent bottling of the wine, in which case a few weeks/months of cellaring would solve it entirely. Because it wasn’t obviously more open on day 2, I do wonder if it’s more bottling shock than having been closed down. On the other hand, I know Clark makes wines with incredible reductive strength and so maybe I just needed to wait until day 5. But the wine is all gone now and there won’t be a day 5 for this bottle.
As for Clark’s standard question - what is this wine trying to teach me? I can’t say I know this time around. Maybe it’s that 4.5 years in barrel doesn’t lead to an oxidized mess of a wine? That a wine like this can be a chameleon, coming and going over hours across multiple days, showing different aspects of itself each sip? I’ll go with that last one.
As for my recommendation: this is a wine that will, in a bit of time, please those who enjoy Clark’s CF and more thoughtful and brooding wines. I don’t think this is a wine that you’ll take to a party where people will take a sip and go “yum!”, but I also don’t think that’s what this wine is meant to be. IMO, at the Casemates price it’s a very very good QPR.
@klezman A perfect description. In a world of wines trying to knock your socks off with the first impression, you will still be fully clothed. But my aim is that you’re sad when it’s gone. We always talk about how these Cabernet Francs are tight when they’re young. You have a very long drinking window here, so I recommend stocking up. The '94 is still going strong.
Halfway through your notes, I wanted to shout “Try the Springsteen!” And you did! It’s an amazing effect. CF is always eccentric, so you need to put your brain in the right frame of mind. In particular, music moves your attention from the left-brained analytical approach to the right-brained holistic / poetic realm of passion and mood, which is where Cab Franc lives.
Dwight Furrow and I have just finished the manuscript of A Practical Guide to Pairing Wine & Music, which will be on Amazon at $9.99 within the month.
In a good cellar, this will keep for decades. As noted above, it’s somewhat closed now, and needs several years for the nose to blooom entirely. Then it will continue to acquire tertiary nuances like Romano cheese and truffle for a good long while and will still have that fresh white cherry note front-and-center for a couple decades. I make this prediction from thirteen years experience with this remarkably consistent vineyard and 30 years making Cab Francs from all over the State.
@winesmith Talking about a ‘good cellar’- I keep my wine in an insulated area I constructed in the corner of my basement- it’s stable, but not ‘temperature controlled’. Any thoughts on what would be too high of a temperature for good storage? It gradually gets up to around 65° F in the summer, and down to low or mid 50 in winter. Is that reasonable, or too warm?
I’ve got my case!
hostile-candid-calendar
@drgonzo99@winesmith interested to hear about the basement temps. The wine fridge is downstairs but with so many “extra” sale items there are many scattered about. Pretty good about controlling with the A/C vents down there but it’s not a separate thermostat. Strive to keep that room around 62 degrees year ‘round
That the diurnal (day and night) fluctuation is at a minimum and
that the wine never gets hot enough to expand past the cork. Once this breach occurs, any diurnal temperature will expand and contract the wine, so you have a pump going pulling air in past the cork.
The seasonal temperature swings you mention should be okay, but 65 and 50 tap the end of the comfort zone. Of course, retailers keep their wines at 68-70, but that’s about the limit for short term storage. In the high 79s, oxidation sets in pretty readily.
Another tip: thermal mass. The more wine you have in your cellar, the more it will minimize those diurnal temperature swings.
@forlich It’s hard to believe that album is 45 years old. Here’s some other recommendations to add to your playlist for this wine:
Roxanne The Police The Police (remastered)
Fire and Rain James Taylor Greatest Hits, Vol. 1
Weekend In L.A. (Live) George Benson
Down By the Water The Decemberists
Winds of Change Ben Tavera King
Earth Died Screaming Tom Waits Bone Machine
The Fire Down Below Bob Seger/Silver Bullet Band
@winesmith Yea, HS times for me so special.
I love your wines. I’m sitting on some 2 Jakes that felt like they needed a good rest when I opened one upon arrival. That’s the beauty of many of your wines it delivers for years to come.
@klezman Yeah,I know. I hope folks will start peppering me with embarassing questions and attempts to hack my secret sauce.
Now, barrel age is an interesting question. While I have spoken of the incredible consistency of these 13 vintages from DRV, the big variable is the time they take to come around in barrel, which varies all over the map. 56 months is a very short time in this program. The longest was the first vintage in 2007, which took 96 months. I had to release the 2008 a year before the 2007. I learned that although extended hangtime is against my religion, in the case of DRV CF, it has so much reductive strength that I have learned to hang it just a little extra time to tame its energy and civilize it.
So 56 - 96 months is the range, and I never know what to expect. I do think I’ve done a good job of releaseing them all at about the same state of readiness.
Perhaps others who have experience with them can comment on how they compare the various vintages.
@wnance In a word, yes. The wine is still quite fresh, but has many years staying power. It is certainly coming into its own and will hold steady for the foreseeable future. I asume you are speaking of the Lake County, the first vintage off DRV. I also made a Sonoma County version that year, which is at its peak right now.
I hear you. But some us think in terms of legacy. The definition of civilized is to plant a tree whose shade you know you will not enjoy.
My hero Randall Grahm is doing this, undertaking late in life a project to develop a unique terroir at Popeluochum based on selections of thousands of seedlings planted from grapes of known varieties from the property, a quixotic project if ever there was one.
First you must understand that grapes do not breed true. The seeds in a Grenache or Pinot Noir or Cabernet tank are their bastard children and are not entitled to existing varietal designation. Technically, everything will be unapproved for winemaking, but the rights of varietal gay marriage bridge will be crossed by some Supreme Court well into the future.
My point is that Randall does not envision enjoying the fruits of his passionate and dedicated efforts. This is his windmill to joust.
I am confident that someone, perhaps family, perhaps some stranger, will pick up the torch. If not, shame on us as a species.
Wine appreciation in America was originally based on lineage. Before steam ships, table wines did not survive the lengthy sea voyages from Europe. Wine weenies like Jefferson and Franklin learned about these treasures by going there and tasting them.
The best wines one could obtain unspoiled from Europe were fortified, and vintage Madeiras were laid away by the barrel. These sturdy fortified wines from volcanic soils benefited for long sea voyages and were employed as valuable ballast on seafaring ships - the more travel stamps on the barrel, the more valuable. Then as now, these wines need heat and a century of age to be at their best, the antithesis of today’s grocery store drink-it-tonight impulse purchase.
This meant that the Founding Fathers were drinking wines from barrels purchased by their ancestors. I once demanded of my teatotaling but impish grandmother “Hey, where’s my cask of Madeira?” “I drank it,” she blushingly replied.
My point to you is this. If you have any guts, surely you’ll outlive your cellar. This is a greater legacy than your stocks and bounds. It is a way for you to reach back from the grave and say “This is what I chose for you to remember me by. Go and do thou likewise.” This is how we, a culture whose history is brief and with questionable roots (for we Smiths, it’s principally based on canasta and clam dip) can evolve into something more like the French.
Do I have a commercial agenda here? Of course I do. I write with passion in hopes to create a new market for the yet unborn. Yeah, okay, busted. I can use the cash.
That doesn’t mean I’m off base. I’ll just quote George Bernard Shaw here from Man and Superman:
“Life is no brief candle to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got a hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.”
I turned 70 last week and this is the principle that guides my life. I am not wealthy, but I am comfortable and very wealthy in friends. Time to pay it forward. I will never drink or buy a drop of wine with concern that it may outlive me. I hope it does.
@winesmith
Well, interesting outlook on wine cellar, hadn’t thought about it to that extent before, however just last month I did tell my one nephew that is starting to like wine (got him to order his first case in June from casemates) that if wife and I die in an accident to hurry over and get control of wine cellar…
As far as shade trees, I’ve planted about 40 hardwood trees and 50 pine trees around the old homestead which I won’t get to enjoy the shade, but future generations and squirrels will… (every tree is a nut or pine cone producer)
@chipgreen Thanks, Chip. Actually, after discovering intermittent fasting and a ketogenic diet and dropped 30 pounds, having thrown away my diabetes meds and my C-Pap, I feel a lot better now than I did at 60.
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations)
2016 WineSmith Cabernet Franc - $60 = 23.06%
Greetings and apologies for the late report. I received this bottle unexpectedly last Thursday and tasted it on Friday with my LW over some reheated Fettuccine Alfredo (we are in the process of moving so meals on the run are common right now).
Didn’t know when this was going up for sale but was expecting a Saturday launch, given the timing of receipt. When both Saturday’s and Monday’s offers came and went I kind of forgot about it momentarily, as I work for the local Board of Elections and we had an election Tuesday, meaning that I worked 28 hours over 2 days so I wasn’t really thinking much about Casemates!
I stopped, dropped and snored by 7pm yesterday and woke up around 2am this morning. Eventually I pulled up Casemates and saw that the WineSmith Cab Franc had already been Live for over 24 hours. Doh!
Anyway… on to the wine!
COLOR: Deep magenta in the glass. I will try to post pics later, took one against white paper background to show the color but Casemates is glitching out right now, telling me that I can only upload “images”, so I guess .jpg does not qualify?
Also took a pic of the cork to show that it is barely stained at all, indicating that the wine has been recently bottled.
NOSE: Like many of Clark’s extended cooperage wines, my first impression on the nose is straight-up barrel room. It’s an intoxicating aroma which evokes many wonderful memories. Continuing to sniffy-sniff, I get some cherry, plum and leesy notes with a hint of… cardamom? All of it swaddled in that lovely barrel room bouquet.
PALATE: Mocha-dusted cherry and plum, with secondary notes of blackberry and mushroom. Drinking it with Fettuccine Alfredo really brings out the savory tertiary notes of parmesan and sage. Baking spices round out the flavor profile.
BODY/MOUTHFEEL: Medium bodied wine with moderate acidity and that buzzy minerality on the tongue that is one of the trademarks of Clark’s wines. Medium+ finish that encourages the next sip. Not very tannic, this is a smooth easy-drinker.
SUMMARY: Clark Smith makes many delicious wines but he is an absolute Master when it comes to Cab Franc and this latest effort is no exception. I will definitely be buying this with or without a little help from my friends.
OK, I’m in. I don’t know where I’ll put it, though. I really enjoyed the Two Jakes 2011 CF I bought a few years back (last bottle was opened last month), and if this is another well made Cabernet Franc, I suspect I’ll love it. We’ll see how long this shall last…
This has a much higher proportion of Merlot, though… @winesmith, you mention “skins” in the video, so did you remove some of the Cabernet Franc skins during fermentation, or was so much Merlot added to the blend specifically for the skins?
@worbx The latter. I crush the Merlot into the tank first, then bleed off saignee rose of about half the juice so I have about 1/3rd Merlot skins but still end up with the CF percentage above the required 75%.
Just had my case arrive. Think I’m near the end of the route, since my cases tend to show up in the early evening more and more. Bottles were a bit warm to the touch but nothing on the corks
2016 WineSmith Cabernet Franc, Lake County
Tasting Notes
Specs
Varietals:
What’s Included
3-bottles:
Case:
Price Comparison
Not for sale online, $480/case MSRP
About The Winery
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Monday, Aug 16 - Thursday, Aug 19
WineSmith Cabernet Franc
3 bottles for $64.99 $21.66/bottle + $2.67/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $199.99 $16.67/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
2016 WineSmith Cabernet Franc
Hi everybody! It’s a great pleasure to be back with my Casemates homies, especially when I am finally bringing you the latest vintage of your favorite wine I make: Diamond Ridge Vineyards Lake County Cabernet Franc. I had to skip offering the 2015 because it was all bought up in one day by a single buyer, so it’s been quite awhile since you’ve seen the WineSmith version from this vineyard.
I’m going to be repeating myself from what I’ve said about previous vintages because the 13 vintages I’ve made off this vineyard are incredibly consistent, so you can expect more of the same: Youthful bright white cherry and pomegranate aromas with some varietal cinnamon and rosemary from the surrounding droughty herbs, all nuanced by the complexities of 56 months in 20-year-old neutral French oak, firm but supple tannins and an energetic minerally finish that marks it volcanic soil origins.
I’m here to field questions, suggest pairings and whatever’s up. You can expect from me as always to be up front and honest. Just ask.
@winesmith Rat report coming up…
In the meantime, who bought all the 2015? It also looks like DRV is one of the few vineyards on the east side of the lake?
@winesmith How does this compare to the Two Diamonds Reserve?
@klezman No, Clay Shannon and Six Sigma are standouts. I think more in terms of north of the lake and south. There’s more volcanic soil on the south side, so more masculine, minerally wines, whereas Ceago, Mike Noggin and Shannon Ridge’s other vineyards up there make a richer, fatter, more feminine wine. The blends of the two can be really nice, as Steele has demonstrated.
@danandlisa It’s very different in style because the Roman Reserve wines have no sulfur dioxide. They’re wilder and more like Barberesco - indescribable and ever changing. They also tend to be more reductive in their first decade. This is a more conventional ST. Emillon style, easy to like and understand. SO2 civilizes the wine and makes it easilr to understand, but I think the Roman wines are more fun, though much more enigmatic. I like them both equally for different occasions. The Roman wine will dominate the conversation and cause more disagreement at the table, whereas this wine behaves itself better. Everybody likes the conventional style, but the Roman is either love passionately or hate outright.
Ha, am I finally the first to order!?
@SoSmellyAir Only if you ordered for delivery to IL.
@rjquillin @SoSmellyAir
@rjquillin Sorry, over-exuberance to see @WineSmith back at CaseMates.
@karenhynes @SoSmellyAir should have known…
Have had this and it was so good. If I were not overstocked and running out of room I would be so in.
I was definitely happy to have @rjquillin suggest that I rat this vintage of one of my house favourite wines! The bottle arrived last Friday, only slightly warm to the touch from UPS’s late in the day delivery to my place. We stood it up all weekend, not that I expected any sediment from a wine bottled as recently as this.
Best laid plans and all that, between work and kids we were unable to get a duck breast pairing sorted out (which I am especially disappointed about since Clark mentions it in the video) and ended up starting the bottle yesterday to have with a shio koji marinated salmon dinner.
On to the wine! On first opening (at a 23°C-ish room temp) I was quite surprised to get almost no aromas from the wine in bottle or in glass. No matter…air solves all! So I kept swirling and trying to gently oxygenate the wine. The aromatics started to slowly appear, mostly in the non-distinct realm of tobacco, red fruit, and a touch of something herbal. Expecting the palate to be as closed down as the aromas, the first few sips showed more texture than flavour. And that texture was everything I’ve come to expect from Winesmith: supple, smooth, and with some tannin along with the trademark mouthwatering finish.
Given how closed this was and my general aversion to forced aerators for evaluating wine, I knew it was time to grab a second bottle and wait for this one to gobble up some air and show its stuff. (The second bottle was nothing of note and not worth comparing. I decided against comparing this to one of its elder siblings.)
I had my next sips of this about halfway through the shio koji salmon. Unfortunately it was still rather closed down and I’d already decided nothing else needed to be said about it in that state.
About 3-4 hours after opening, well after dinner was done, I poured another glass. Took a sniff: finally! There’s something here! And what was there was a whole lot of what I could only describe as white cherry along with kirsch. It really had that fresh fruit aspect alongside the candied fruit liqueur note. There was also a very distinctive balsamic vinegar note (with zero hint of acetic acid, of course). I got a sensation almost of baking spices, and of course some herbs as is common with this wine. I couldn’t really identify any specific herbs last night though.
The palate had become more lively as well, repeating most of what I smelled. Perhaps more of a red fruit sensation than previously. I neglected to get a good note about the finish - my bad. But at this point in the wine’s evolution it was singing!
As it was getting late and thinking the wine needed even more time to open, I recorked the remaining 60% of the bottle and left it for today.
Again, my plans to have this with a suitable pairing got disrupted by a rather annoying project I’m finishing under a tight deadline, so no second dinner pairing notes. (I also really thought this project was going to be wrapped up last week!)
Compared to later in the evening last night, the wine had retreated a bit. I got more of the balsamic note and some herbs at first, and the occasional whiff of kirsch. Less fresh fruit. Nice mineral finish, though, with some added herbs compared to last night.
When the offer popped up I saw the video on the front page was one of Clark’s recommended tunes so I paused working to sip and listen. What a difference a tune makes! Everything was enhanced by it. The definition of the fruit was clearer (cherry came back, as did raspberry and maybe pomegranate). I could start to even pick apart some specific herbs - could have sworn I smelled some basil. The finish lengthened too. And with Clark’s note saying cinnamon is common, I was able to distinguish it when looking for it. That finally gave me a sense of what this wine is, and I’m a bit mystified that it only came out with the music. That’s not been my experience in the past. I wonder if it has something to do with the recent bottling of the wine, in which case a few weeks/months of cellaring would solve it entirely. Because it wasn’t obviously more open on day 2, I do wonder if it’s more bottling shock than having been closed down. On the other hand, I know Clark makes wines with incredible reductive strength and so maybe I just needed to wait until day 5. But the wine is all gone now and there won’t be a day 5 for this bottle.
As for Clark’s standard question - what is this wine trying to teach me? I can’t say I know this time around. Maybe it’s that 4.5 years in barrel doesn’t lead to an oxidized mess of a wine? That a wine like this can be a chameleon, coming and going over hours across multiple days, showing different aspects of itself each sip? I’ll go with that last one.
As for my recommendation: this is a wine that will, in a bit of time, please those who enjoy Clark’s CF and more thoughtful and brooding wines. I don’t think this is a wine that you’ll take to a party where people will take a sip and go “yum!”, but I also don’t think that’s what this wine is meant to be. IMO, at the Casemates price it’s a very very good QPR.
@klezman @winesmith
You will always do better than I on a CF, and I had even less time…
Sounds like this one is worth finding some cellar space for.
@klezman @rjquillin @winesmith agree, time rewards the patient…
@klezman A perfect description. In a world of wines trying to knock your socks off with the first impression, you will still be fully clothed. But my aim is that you’re sad when it’s gone. We always talk about how these Cabernet Francs are tight when they’re young. You have a very long drinking window here, so I recommend stocking up. The '94 is still going strong.
Halfway through your notes, I wanted to shout “Try the Springsteen!” And you did! It’s an amazing effect. CF is always eccentric, so you need to put your brain in the right frame of mind. In particular, music moves your attention from the left-brained analytical approach to the right-brained holistic / poetic realm of passion and mood, which is where Cab Franc lives.
Dwight Furrow and I have just finished the manuscript of A Practical Guide to Pairing Wine & Music, which will be on Amazon at $9.99 within the month.
@winesmith Perhaps it is time to open the '94 I have…
@trifecta I’d say it’s at its peak of perfection.
@klezman Whoa! Awesome rattage!!
VAN MURALS! GROUND SQUIRRELS! SPIT CURLS! AWESOME!
Autobuy
/giphy frail-impervious-drink
Anyone want to split in the Atlanta area? Way too overstocked to be getting a full case.
My only concern is that one case might not be enough
What is the cellar window for this?
If I pull the trigger, it probably would be with the intention of not touching them for a bit of time.
@Drez143
In a good cellar, this will keep for decades. As noted above, it’s somewhat closed now, and needs several years for the nose to blooom entirely. Then it will continue to acquire tertiary nuances like Romano cheese and truffle for a good long while and will still have that fresh white cherry note front-and-center for a couple decades. I make this prediction from thirteen years experience with this remarkably consistent vineyard and 30 years making Cab Francs from all over the State.
@Drez143 FWIW, I won’t be touching mine until at least a year from now, maybe two.
@Drez143 @klezman That will work fine.
@winesmith Talking about a ‘good cellar’- I keep my wine in an insulated area I constructed in the corner of my basement- it’s stable, but not ‘temperature controlled’. Any thoughts on what would be too high of a temperature for good storage? It gradually gets up to around 65° F in the summer, and down to low or mid 50 in winter. Is that reasonable, or too warm?
I’ve got my case!
hostile-candid-calendar
@drgonzo99 @winesmith interested to hear about the basement temps. The wine fridge is downstairs but with so many “extra” sale items there are many scattered about. Pretty good about controlling with the A/C vents down there but it’s not a separate thermostat. Strive to keep that room around 62 degrees year ‘round
@drgonzo99 The main concernes in cellaring are
The seasonal temperature swings you mention should be okay, but 65 and 50 tap the end of the comfort zone. Of course, retailers keep their wines at 68-70, but that’s about the limit for short term storage. In the high 79s, oxidation sets in pretty readily.
Another tip: thermal mass. The more wine you have in your cellar, the more it will minimize those diurnal temperature swings.
/giphy valid-shady-vacation
With the reputation of wine smith offerings I am in for two cases! Can’t wait to see how this evolves in the cellar.
For whatever reason never had one of Clark’s CFs. Had to change that this time.
/giphy enchanting-vile-floor
You had me at Jungleland…you had me at Jungleland.
Hope this baby ages as well as the song ! Time to find more room.
@forlich It’s hard to believe that album is 45 years old. Here’s some other recommendations to add to your playlist for this wine:
Roxanne The Police The Police (remastered)
Fire and Rain James Taylor Greatest Hits, Vol. 1
Weekend In L.A. (Live) George Benson
Down By the Water The Decemberists
Winds of Change Ben Tavera King
Earth Died Screaming Tom Waits Bone Machine
The Fire Down Below Bob Seger/Silver Bullet Band
@winesmith Yea, HS times for me so special.
I love your wines. I’m sitting on some 2 Jakes that felt like they needed a good rest when I opened one upon arrival. That’s the beauty of many of your wines it delivers for years to come.
This is a surprisingly tame discussion for a Clark offer! So Clark, why 56 months in barrel? How do you decide how long to leave it in there?
@klezman Yeah,I know. I hope folks will start peppering me with embarassing questions and attempts to hack my secret sauce.
Now, barrel age is an interesting question. While I have spoken of the incredible consistency of these 13 vintages from DRV, the big variable is the time they take to come around in barrel, which varies all over the map. 56 months is a very short time in this program. The longest was the first vintage in 2007, which took 96 months. I had to release the 2008 a year before the 2007. I learned that although extended hangtime is against my religion, in the case of DRV CF, it has so much reductive strength that I have learned to hang it just a little extra time to tame its energy and civilize it.
So 56 - 96 months is the range, and I never know what to expect. I do think I’ve done a good job of releaseing them all at about the same state of readiness.
Perhaps others who have experience with them can comment on how they compare the various vintages.
@winesmith OK, Clark, I’ll bite with a question: I have one bottle of the 2007 left. Drink or hold?
@wnance In a word, yes. The wine is still quite fresh, but has many years staying power. It is certainly coming into its own and will hold steady for the foreseeable future. I asume you are speaking of the Lake County, the first vintage off DRV. I also made a Sonoma County version that year, which is at its peak right now.
@winesmith
Will store for DECADEs? Hell, I am at the age, where some weeks, I’m afraid to buy green bananas.
@winecaseaholic @randallgrahm
I hear you. But some us think in terms of legacy. The definition of civilized is to plant a tree whose shade you know you will not enjoy.
My hero Randall Grahm is doing this, undertaking late in life a project to develop a unique terroir at Popeluochum based on selections of thousands of seedlings planted from grapes of known varieties from the property, a quixotic project if ever there was one.
First you must understand that grapes do not breed true. The seeds in a Grenache or Pinot Noir or Cabernet tank are their bastard children and are not entitled to existing varietal designation. Technically, everything will be unapproved for winemaking, but the rights of varietal gay marriage bridge will be crossed by some Supreme Court well into the future.
My point is that Randall does not envision enjoying the fruits of his passionate and dedicated efforts. This is his windmill to joust.
I am confident that someone, perhaps family, perhaps some stranger, will pick up the torch. If not, shame on us as a species.
Wine appreciation in America was originally based on lineage. Before steam ships, table wines did not survive the lengthy sea voyages from Europe. Wine weenies like Jefferson and Franklin learned about these treasures by going there and tasting them.
The best wines one could obtain unspoiled from Europe were fortified, and vintage Madeiras were laid away by the barrel. These sturdy fortified wines from volcanic soils benefited for long sea voyages and were employed as valuable ballast on seafaring ships - the more travel stamps on the barrel, the more valuable. Then as now, these wines need heat and a century of age to be at their best, the antithesis of today’s grocery store drink-it-tonight impulse purchase.
This meant that the Founding Fathers were drinking wines from barrels purchased by their ancestors. I once demanded of my teatotaling but impish grandmother “Hey, where’s my cask of Madeira?” “I drank it,” she blushingly replied.
My point to you is this. If you have any guts, surely you’ll outlive your cellar. This is a greater legacy than your stocks and bounds. It is a way for you to reach back from the grave and say “This is what I chose for you to remember me by. Go and do thou likewise.” This is how we, a culture whose history is brief and with questionable roots (for we Smiths, it’s principally based on canasta and clam dip) can evolve into something more like the French.
Do I have a commercial agenda here? Of course I do. I write with passion in hopes to create a new market for the yet unborn. Yeah, okay, busted. I can use the cash.
That doesn’t mean I’m off base. I’ll just quote George Bernard Shaw here from Man and Superman:
“Life is no brief candle to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got a hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.”
I turned 70 last week and this is the principle that guides my life. I am not wealthy, but I am comfortable and very wealthy in friends. Time to pay it forward. I will never drink or buy a drop of wine with concern that it may outlive me. I hope it does.
@winesmith nicely put Mr Smith. Thank you for sharing some of your legacy with us here at CM!
@winecaseaholic @winesmith
@winesmith
Well, interesting outlook on wine cellar, hadn’t thought about it to that extent before, however just last month I did tell my one nephew that is starting to like wine (got him to order his first case in June from casemates) that if wife and I die in an accident to hurry over and get control of wine cellar…
As far as shade trees, I’ve planted about 40 hardwood trees and 50 pine trees around the old homestead which I won’t get to enjoy the shade, but future generations and squirrels will… (every tree is a nut or pine cone producer)
BTW we are enjoying the CF from Two Jakes
Thanks for the long and informative reply.
@winesmith
Happy belated Birthday, Clark! 70 is the new 60!
@chipgreen Thanks, Chip. Actually, after discovering intermittent fasting and a ketogenic diet and dropped 30 pounds, having thrown away my diabetes meds and my C-Pap, I feel a lot better now than I did at 60.
@winecaseaholic
….in response to you being worried about buying “green”bananas!!
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations)
2016 WineSmith Cabernet Franc - $60 = 23.06%
@chipgreen In short, I’m offering a wine clearly worth $40 or better for $17.
2016 WineSmith Cabernet Franc
Greetings and apologies for the late report. I received this bottle unexpectedly last Thursday and tasted it on Friday with my LW over some reheated Fettuccine Alfredo (we are in the process of moving so meals on the run are common right now).
Didn’t know when this was going up for sale but was expecting a Saturday launch, given the timing of receipt. When both Saturday’s and Monday’s offers came and went I kind of forgot about it momentarily, as I work for the local Board of Elections and we had an election Tuesday, meaning that I worked 28 hours over 2 days so I wasn’t really thinking much about Casemates!
I stopped, dropped and snored by 7pm yesterday and woke up around 2am this morning. Eventually I pulled up Casemates and saw that the WineSmith Cab Franc had already been Live for over 24 hours. Doh!
Anyway… on to the wine!
COLOR: Deep magenta in the glass. I will try to post pics later, took one against white paper background to show the color but Casemates is glitching out right now, telling me that I can only upload “images”, so I guess .jpg does not qualify?
Also took a pic of the cork to show that it is barely stained at all, indicating that the wine has been recently bottled.
NOSE: Like many of Clark’s extended cooperage wines, my first impression on the nose is straight-up barrel room. It’s an intoxicating aroma which evokes many wonderful memories. Continuing to sniffy-sniff, I get some cherry, plum and leesy notes with a hint of… cardamom? All of it swaddled in that lovely barrel room bouquet.
PALATE: Mocha-dusted cherry and plum, with secondary notes of blackberry and mushroom. Drinking it with Fettuccine Alfredo really brings out the savory tertiary notes of parmesan and sage. Baking spices round out the flavor profile.
BODY/MOUTHFEEL: Medium bodied wine with moderate acidity and that buzzy minerality on the tongue that is one of the trademarks of Clark’s wines. Medium+ finish that encourages the next sip. Not very tannic, this is a smooth easy-drinker.
SUMMARY: Clark Smith makes many delicious wines but he is an absolute Master when it comes to Cab Franc and this latest effort is no exception. I will definitely be buying this with or without a little help from my friends.
NE Ohio, what sayest thou?
@mrn1 @boatman72 @pjmartin @marikar @msten
@chipgreen thank you for the great report during this busy time.
Turns out I did get an email from Alice, mea culpa!
Now let’s see if we can get images to load today…
You know I’m easy game…count me in and I’ll be happy w/ any split. If you want me to do the heavy lifting…let me know.
@mrn1 @chipgreen Heck, it’s only storage space. I’m good for 2-3
@mrn1 @pjmartin @marikar @msten
/giphy brown-olden-mustard
/giphy funky-beneficent-angle
Always available, whatever you need.
/giphy notable-hissing-crawdad
One case headed to central Missouri for a 2-way split.
/giphy unzipped-wiggly-tulip
/giphy determined-theatrical-mine
I’m running low on Clark’s wines. Shows how much I enjoy them. So, I’m in.
/giphy boisterous-downy-oregano
Excited for this one.
/giphy slate-raunchy-sail
If any Denver area folks want to split, count me in!
@kristian I bought a case, if you or others want a few.
@mtnz nice! I’m happy with anything from 0-6. Thanks!
@kristian @mtnzj I’ll take 2 or 3 if possible.
OK, I’m in. I don’t know where I’ll put it, though. I really enjoyed the Two Jakes 2011 CF I bought a few years back (last bottle was opened last month), and if this is another well made Cabernet Franc, I suspect I’ll love it. We’ll see how long this shall last…
This has a much higher proportion of Merlot, though… @winesmith, you mention “skins” in the video, so did you remove some of the Cabernet Franc skins during fermentation, or was so much Merlot added to the blend specifically for the skins?
@worbx The latter. I crush the Merlot into the tank first, then bleed off saignee rose of about half the juice so I have about 1/3rd Merlot skins but still end up with the CF percentage above the required 75%.
Just had my case arrive. Think I’m near the end of the route, since my cases tend to show up in the early evening more and more. Bottles were a bit warm to the touch but nothing on the corks