Anthony Gismondi: Cabernet Franc making bold moves in B.C.

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Cabernet Franc is having a moment, even if it has a long history as one of the central black grape varieties grown worldwide. Traditionally, it has been used as a blender, playing second fiddle to Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in Bordeaux, France, and globally, where it is often used in Bordeaux-style blends. In terms of its makeup, modern DNA analysis shows that Cabernet Franc is one of two parents of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Carménère.

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Bordeaux has records of Cabernet Franc that go back to the late 1800s, but there is evidence it has been grown in the Loire long before that time. The Loire Valley is the best-known historical home to Cabernet Franc. Still, its appellation or Loire AOC labels, Anjou, Saumer, Saumur Champigny, Chinon, Saint Nicolas Bourgueil, and Bourgueil, do not mention the grape variety on the label, leaving them more of a mystery than an aid to folks outside of France. That said, global solo versions are attracting attention, allowing all levels of drinkers an easier path to the varietal wine and building confidence and respect for the grape.

The short story is that Cabernet Franc is lighter in style, or to be specific in tannin, than Cabernet Sauvignon and much fresher in nature. It can be lighter in colour, but not always. Depending on the growing region, the style of the wine varies from floral, raspberry, and leafy notes to a soft, rich, dense red wine with spicy, black fruit and smooth, round textures. The warmer the site, the thicker the skins and the darker the wine. Think cool Loire red versus warm South Okanagan or Napa Valley.

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Outside of the Loire, Cabernet Franc is thriving in places like Bolgheri and Puglia, Italy; Mendoza, Argentina; Maule, Curicó, Colchagua and Maipo, Chile; Napa and Sonoma, California; Stellenbosch, South Africa; the Niagara Peninsula, Prince Edward County, Ontario, and the Okanagan and Simikameen Valleys, B.C.

Cabernet Franc buds and ripens a week earlier than the Cabernet Sauvignon, hence its popularity in cool sites like the Loire Valley, the Niagara Peninsula, and B.C. It is becoming a serious category of red wine in Canada, and its style varies dramatically from those in the West to those in the East. Here is a quick look at some of the best labels coming out of B.C. that you should be looking at.

From Lilloeet the Cliff and Gorge Cabernet Franc 2022 is a fresh, lively version of the Franc that attracts wine nerds. Tantalus Cabernet Franc Furthur Afield Series 2022 is an attractive, juicy red that pays homage to the Loire with its herbaceous, savoury notes. Rigour and Whimsy Licorice Daddy 2022 is an ode to the Loire and aficionados pitching plums, florals, desert scrub and black tea.

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Monte Creek Living Land Series Cabernet Franc 2022 takes you to Osoyoos for a fresh, plummy plate of cherries, brown spices and savoury sagebrush notes, while Three Sisters Winery Cabernet Franc 2022 offers up spicy plums, black currants, peppery herbal hints, and soft tannins.

En Terre Cabernet Franc 2022 is a new project from Terravista Vineyards, allowing the Naramata-based winery to expand its portfolio with a muscular, gritty franc from the Rock Oven Block at Okanagan Falls Storm Haven Vineyard. Kamloops is home to a gentler, cooler version of the grape, pitching mostly wild strawberries and cherries with a dusting of sagebrush and pomegranate labelled Harper’s Trail Thadd Springs Vineyard Cabernet Franc 2021.

Among the best of local versions, most years, is the rich, dark Painted Rock Cabernet Franc 2021. The equally powerful Corcelettes Cabernet Franc 2021, out of Keremeos, is almost Napa-like California style, pitching spice, savoury dried herbs, green olives, espresso, and black raspberry. It is a giant.

If you think we are just scratching the surface, you are right. Expect Cabernet Franc to take a big step forward in the coming decade across B.C. and in many other places around the world.

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Weekend wine picks

Monte Creek Living Land Series Cabernet Franc 2022, Okanagan Valley

$24.99 I 88/100

UPC: 775412910017

The year 2022 was a good one in B.C., with generous crop sizes. This cab franc is a 90/10 mix of Osoyoos Cabernet Franc and Merlot that pitches a vibrant, slightly acidic palate of cherries, brown spices, and savoury sagebrush notes. Plums, tobacco and tart black cherries fill an edgy palate with firm acidity and plenty of spice. The wine was barrel-aged in French oak for 15 months but only just opened up. It is best served with a T-bone steak or a mushroom pie.

Terravista En Terre Cabernet Franc 2022, Okanagan Falls

$30 I 88/100

UPC: 626990449324

En Terre, meaning earthen or of the earth, is a project that began five years ago at Terravista, named after its home vineyard on the Naramata Bench. The vines for the cab franc are grown at Okanagan Falls on the Rock Oven Block of Storm Haven Vineyard. After weeks of skin contact, the fermented juice is racked off into barrels for 18 months. This is a cooler style, reminiscent of the Loire, pitching damp earth, smoked cherries, and red fruit that spills onto the dry and somewhat burly palate, with some sticky tannins to disperse. A solid first effort you can drink now with grilled vegetables or a mushroom pasta dish.

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Corcelettes Cabernet Franc 2022, Keremeos, Similkameen Valley

$38.40 I 91/100

UPC: 626990231172

I missed this tasting, but the Gismondi on Wine team’s HJ Cha was impressed, calling it a rich and ripe expression of Cabernet Franc. It shows dark plum and blueberry, along with a touch of sweet red bean. These concentrated fruit notes are layered with Franc’s signature violet and herbal savouriness, accented by the distinct minerality of the Similkameen. Plush, juicy fruits are balanced by ample, chewy tannins, with cedar and toasty oak seamlessly woven into the structure. Bittersweet dark chocolate nuances highlight the lingering finish.

Tantalus Cabernet Franc Furthur Afield Series 2022, Osoyoos

$31.30 I 91/100

UPC: 626990332176

Winemaker David Patterson said Cabernet Franc was a natural choice for the next Further Afield series because “It’s a variety we have long admired in B.C.” Expect an attractive, juicy red that is a nod to the Loire but made with the sensibility of a Pinot specialist. Patterson has tamed the herbaceous, savoury notes and pushed the ripe blueberry and black fruits to the foreground, all sitting on a silky tannin structure that melts in your mouth. Fresh, smooth, and intense, and it finishes clean and long, this is Next World Cabernet Franc. Considerable value.

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Mason Vineyard The Landed Cabernet Franc 2022, Twenty Mile Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ont.

$55 I 92/100

UPC: N/A

Kelly Mason is the current Winemaker of the Year and is on the fast track to stardom in Canada. This 2022, 13 per cent alcohol, stylish Cab Franc is wild fermented and aged in Bourgogne barrels for 17 months. Mason called the ’22 growing season “hassle-free.” There is no crushing of grapes; they go straight to the tank as whole berries for a brief cold soak before fermenting. This wine’s charm is its texture, which provides a classic savoury, herbaceous Franc with just a little bit of Loire, mixing barely ripe strawberries with cranberries and brown spices and a puff of campfire. The acidity is firm and structural for long-term aging. Elegant, understated red fruits with a complexing, fresh mineral finish. You can order this wine online from the winery thanks to an enlightened decision by B.C. regulators, something that Ontario lawmakers haven’t reciprocated.

Calendar Items

The Oak Bay Beach Hotel wraps up its Winemaker’s Dinner Series with a Grand Finale on Thursday, Oct 24. The evening is designed to relive the best moments of our recent Winemaker’s dinner season with a grand finale evening where the finest wines from the series are paired with a five-course tasting menu hosted by executive chef Kreg Graham and Oak Bay Beach Hotel event planner Alex Korol. The dinner will include Kettle Valley Winery, 1 Mill Road, Hillside Winery, Averill Creek Vineyard, and Mission Hill Winery. The dinner is set in the spectacular Grand Lobby with magnificent views of the Pacific Ocean; a live pianist will accompany the evening. Doors open at 6:45 p.m., and the welcome begins at 7 p.m. A minimum purchase of two tickets is required, and the advance ticket can be purchased on Tock.

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Wine-Searcher sums up the current state of Burgundy, reporting a six-bottle mixed case of legendary Domaine de la Romanée-Conti wine selling for €65,000 in a French Super-U, a supermarket in Truchtersheim, Alsace. It’s part of the country’s seasonal, nationwide “Foire aux Vins” discount wine sale. The labels include one bottle of each: Romanée-Conti, La Tâche, Romanée-Saint-Vivant, Echezeaux, Grands-Echezeaux and Richebourg, from the 2020 vintage. Truchtersheim lies just to the west of Strasbourg. It is said to boast the highest per capita density of swimming pools and jacuzzis in France and has been dubbed the “Little Monaco of the Bas-Rhin” by the newspaper Le Figaro. The supermarket offers a 10 per cent gift card for sundry items like caviar and foie gras.

B.C. wine of the week

Black Hills Sauvignon Blanc 2023, Okanagan Valley

$35 I 90/100

UPC: 058976503377

In 2023, the wine is entirely Sauvignon Blanc, and it is impressive. The nose is lively and fresh with classic gooseberry herbaceous hints and intense lime. All are enveloped in a polished frame that presents another level of complexity. You will love the intensity and weight of this wine, plus the minerality that allows it to persist for an extended period during the finish. It’s fermented in French oak puncheons and barriques with selected and wild yeasts and aged on its lees for six months. Only 15 per cent is new (down from 25 per cent in 2022), with the remainder aged in neutral oak barriques. A small amount was fermented in concrete. This wine will age well into 2029.

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Value wine of the week

Paul Mas Grenache Noir 2022, Sud de France

$13.99 I 88/100

UPC: 03760040423517

At this price point, all you want is a juicy, fresh, ready-to-drink red, and you get all that and more in this Pays d’Oc varietal from Domaines Paul Mas. Mas operates via estates and appellations even at the entry level, and it works to keep yields low, the quality up and the prices down. Look for fresh, ripe strawberries with flecks of dark fruit and a smooth, juicy mid-palate. Tannins are dusty with more mineral, savoury raspberry flavour in the finish. It is an accessible, perennial, good-value red, perfect for most poultry dishes on a cool fall day.

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