2020 Cabernet Franc
Dry Creek Valley—Sonoma County
14.8% Alcohol By Volume
Then, another spanner was thrown in the gears with the 2020 fires. I could write a small treatise about smoke taint and its risks and the misinformation about it, but we don’t have the space here. In brief: we’ve dealt with smoke taint (and thrown away wine as a result) going back to wines affected by the fires in Mendocino County in 2008. While we did skip 2020 with many vineyards, I believe it’s our job as Mother Nature’s partner to honor the gift she gives us every year, and in 2020 that meant taking some risks. So, with some experience under our belt, we took the risk with this fruit and believe it paid off.
Smoke taint’s biggest challenge is that it can show itself months or years later. So we made this vintage of Cabernet Franc with a focus on early readiness after waiting a bit longerin barrel–not our normal tack with Cab Franc. While we’d normally love to tell you to age this forever, we don’t want any late suprises (and if you find one, let us know). More prominent oak, plush mouthfeel, and great density yield an incredible wine for your next grilled steak or mushrooms. Enjoy ASAP
