David Rosenthal did not intend to bottle a cabernet franc, at least not in 2015.
You see, another winemaker had arranged to purchase the fruit from his Middletown vineyard. Rosenthal resigned himself to tending the grapes — right up to September 12.
In the wake of the Valley Fire the buyer turned his back on the deal, fearing it had been tainted by smoke. Left with a few acres of abandoned cabernet franc, Rosenthal decided to produce it himself.
“This was an opportunistic wine,” Rosenthal explained. “The buyer rejected the fruit, but the wine was fine.”
Perhaps “fine” is an understatement. Cabernet franc tends to boast of spicy affairs, of guttural brawls, of low down and savory addictions. Those who approve often decant the varietal in order to tame its wild side.
But the 2015 R Vineyards cabernet franc is throws on a polite, even cheerful aspect. It waves you in with aromas of ripe plums and fresh black cherries that drift pleasantly over the wine’s earthier surface.
The fundamental savoriness of cabernet franc is still apparent on the nose. But there is refinement rather than cheeky spice: hints of fig, a distant note of cedar and a rustic impression of gravel turned over tilled loam.
Still, the fruit stands out. And this is so on the palate, as well.
A sip brings a gush of strawberries, ripe, freshly cut and juicing. Yet the berries have not strayed far from the field. The light flavors breeze over a firment of earth and toasted plum, hewn wood, old stone and spiced chocolate — the trill of fruit balanced neatly by a terrene bellow.
The wine leans out on the finish, light and merry. The fresh snap at the end suggests a red wine suited for the swelter of summer.
Again, there is an emphasis on fruit rather than the varietal’s notorious peppery side.
“Cabernet franc does well in the county,” Rosenthal pointed out. “We are warmer and the warmth keeps that vege down” — a reference to the green, spicy notes.
While Rosenthal credits terroir, he did treat the cabernet franc with an outcome in mind. He rested it between one spanking new barrel, two that had been worn down to neutral and a final barrel, used just once.
“We didn’t want to overpower it,” he said. “We wanted the fruit to come out.”
It worked. The R Vineyards 2015 cabernet franc is a wonderfully engaging and beautifully balanced wine.
We are just fortunate the opportunity presented itself.
