2023 Cabernet Franc
2023 Cabernet Franc is another stellar and extraordinary wine. A good Cab Franc
is a rare find and this small production is a true testament to the greatest of the grape.
Immediate aromas of luscious black cherry, black currant and pepper are enticing. The
palate offers a firm tannic texture, consistent with French Countryside Cabernet Franc.
It contains amazing structure from start to finish. A solid backbone of ripe red fruit
mixed with plenty of herbs coats the mouth. There's a dash of florals on the nose, spice
and vineyard floor, hints of bell pepper too. Overall, its dusty, chalk-textured and
layered with sizeable tannins. Give this wine a good decanting, it will improve beyond
2028.
We hand harvested the grapes at 3:00am and delivering them to the winery in
half ton macro bins. The fruit was hand sorted in the vineyard and only the best fruit
was sent for crushing. The clusters were destemmed and “The Must” was cold soaked
for 24 hours. We elected to use yeast T-73 for its inherit ability to stabilize juice color,
enhance the wines mouthfeel, and bring forth flavors of baked raspberry pie. Like 2022
this vintage burst with herbaceous notes from the fermenting tank, including jalapeño
and dill. We aged the wine in 500L Puncheon barrels, both French and American barrels
being used. We racked just once following Malo-Lactic Fermentation, and barrels were
topped and tasted every six weeks. This small production was bottled in mid-August
2025, giving the wine a total of 20 months barrel age. This wine is exclusively available
at the tasting room.
| Download Wine Notes |
| Vintage | 2023 |
| Varietal | Cabernet Franc |
| Varietal Composition | 100% Cabernet Franc |
| Appellation | Paso Robles |
| Vineyard | Frankel Family Estate |
| Acid | 0.66 g/ml |
| PH | 3.55 |
| Residual Sugar | 0.03 g/100 ml |
| Alcohol | 14.00% |
| Volume | 750 ml |
| Bottling Date | 08/14/2025 |
| Cases Produced | 270 |
Our Cabernet Franc vines were planted in 2003 and yielded its first crop in 2005.
Now, this mature vineyard offers consistent taste focused on dark fruits with herbal and
peppery qualities. Often, we pick up bell pepper, green olive and bay leaf in the wine; all
flavors common to Cabernet Franc. What is not typically seen however is the level of
ripeness we achieve in the vineyard. First off, we prune the vines in early January, which
encourages early bud break. We limit the vines to six spurs per cordon with two
producing buds. Secondly, we implement strict vineyard practices like shoot thinning,
leaf pulling and cluster thinning. Lastly our vineyard is unique because of the cross arms
that separate out the canopy, thus hanging fruit on both sides. We encourage sunlight
to connect with each cluster, significantly aiding in higher BRIX production and mature
phenolic development. 2023 was a fantastic vintage I the vineyard with suitable weather
all season. The grapes saw longer “hang time,” needing a extra month to fully ripen
compared to 2022.
