Crazy about Cab Franc

Of the Bordeaux varieties, Cabernet Franc has always been a favorite of mine. Usually a tad bit lighter in body compared to Cabernet Sauvignon, Franc generally offers supple tannins; a ripe, fruit-forward palate; and a hint of exotic spice. I have blogged about Cab Franc from boutique producers such as Titus, Crocker & Starr and David Arthur; now I can add Cornerstone Cellars to that list.

The 2010 Stepping Stone by Cornerstone Cabernet Franc is an approachable Napa Valley red with distinction. With savory aromas of red pepper and dried herbs, it is quite different than its Cabernet Sauvignon counterpart. This Franc offers super-smooth tannins, bright acidity, and luscious red berry flavors. Blended with 8% Merlot, this wine is aged in 100% French oak (50% new). It is youthful and bright; enjoy it now or hold on to it for a couple years.

Cabernet Franc is a unique wine because less than 3% of Napa Valley vineyards are planted to this varietal.  Cornerstone produces less than 800 cases of Cab Franc and sources the fruit from vineyards in St. Helena and Carneros. It was a great match for the homemade spaghetti Bolognese with sautéed mushrooms and fresh basil I cooked for dinner last week. At $35/bottle, this wine offers value and food-pairing flexibility. Find it in their Yountville Tasting Room, which is mentioned in my debut novel Where I Want to Be: A Wine Country Novel, or order it directly from their website. Cheers!

The Atlas Peak Advantages

I’ve always had an affinity for mountain-grown wines, so when I received an invitation to a luncheon and tasting organized by the Atlas Peak Appellation Association (APAA), I quickly confirmed my attendance.

Prior to the luncheon last week, I don’t think I had ever tasted a wine from the Atlas Peak AVA. It was an enlightening experience. Approved as an American Viticultural Area in 1992, the region includes Soda Canyon and Foss Valley and ranges in elevation from 760 feet above sea level to the highest point of its namesake (the Atlas Peak itself stands at 2663 feet in elevation). This region is not new to the wine-producing landscape of the Napa Valley; in fact, grapes have been grown here since 1870! Located east of Yountville and above the Stags Leap District, Atlas Peak covers 11,400 acres. Only 1,500 acres have been planted, which is a teeny-tiny number compared to the total vineyard acreage planted in the Napa Valley.

With its diverse micro-climates, treacherous terrain and limited access (there are only two very narrow roads in and out), it can be hard to imagine why anyone would want to develop a vineyard site in Atlas Peak.

When asked this very question, Doug Hill of Hill Family Estate Winery just laughed. As a vineyard manager, grape grower, and vintner, Doug talked about the surplus of challenges involved with growing grapes in Atlas Peak. The soil is thin and extremely rocky. Preventing soil erosion on these steep slopes and irrigating the vines is tricky. Also, all the farming must be done by hand, which is more costly. And yet Doug and other APAA-members saw the potential in this area and agreed that the additional effort required to farm this land has been a worthwhile venture. Fortunately, this region gets a good amount of rainfall and there are natural springs throughout.

Another advantage of this AVA is that it’s above the fog line which allows for long, sunny days and more consistent temperatures than the valley floor. Michael Parmenter of VinRoc Wine Caves explained that the grapes benefit from additional hours of sunlight and the rocky soils stay warm at night so there is a smaller shift in temperature from day to night. The elevation also shields the vines from heat spikes. On Michael’s property, we witnessed how diverse the climes of Atlas Peak can be. Only twenty feet from the front of his house where it was warm and sunny, the wind picked up and the temperature dropped noticeably! For this reason, grapes within the same vineyard—even on the same vine—mature at different speeds, which makes picking at optimal ripeness all the more grueling and time-consuming. The harvest of red grapes in Atlas Peak usually begins the first week of October and takes a full month before completion.

Jan Krupp, the founder of Krupp Brothers and Stagecoach Vineyard, is known as a visionary. When he sold his medical practice in 1998 to pursue his dreams of creating a vineyard to rival that of Chateau Margaux, he was not intimidated by the formidable terroir of Atlas Peak. Jan was captivated with the rich soils and rocky nature of this AVA and he was determined to make world-class Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Malbec, and Cabernet Franc here. Due to the adverse growing conditions, vines on Atlas Peak “struggle”, which equates to small yields and tiny berries. These highly concentrated grapes offer superior intensity of color and tannins, as well as a greater potential to age these wines—just the qualities Jan was determined to achieve in his vineyards. He farms the Bordeaux varietals and 13 more varieties in his mountainous vineyards. Under the Krupp Brothers label, he only makes about 7,000 cases of wine but his vineyards are capable of producing as many as 133,000 cases. He sells the surplus fruit to 80 different wineries.

For the luncheon and tasting, we were hosted at Antica Napa Valley by Glenn Salva, who has been the Estate Manager at this property since 1985. Similar to the Krupp Brothers, Antica sells as much as 90% of the fruit they grow in Atlas Peak. Of their total planted acreage, 50% is Cabernet Sauvignon; Chardonnay accounts for 25%; and the Bordeaux varietals and Sangiovese make up the balance. Owned by the Antinori family, Antica was named in 2006; it is the word for ‘ancient’ in Italian and also a blend of the family name and California. Today, this beautiful wine estate boasts breathtaking views; a 10,000-case annual production; and an Italian-trained chef.

The terrace at Antica Napa Valley was the perfect setting to enjoy some stellar wines, which represented a variety of styles. I highly recommend a trip up Soda Canyon Road, just be sure to call before you get there; Antica Napa Valley is by appointment only (as are the rest of the wineries in Atlas Peak). 

For the complete tasting notes of the APAA tasting, please click here. Cheers!

Notes from the Mount Veeder Spring Tasting

Set at the Golden Gate Club in the Presidio, with a beautiful backdrop of the Golden Gate Bridge on a crystal-clear afternoon, the Mount Veeder AVA Spring Tasting was a very civilized event. I appreciated the small, intimate nature of the venue (compared to the overwhelming vastness of Fort Mason). It wasn’t crowded and most of the winery representatives were the owners and winemakers (which is not usually the case at some of the bigger tastings).

 

Mount Veeder Summit

 Most of the producers at this event were teeny-tiny, some only produce a few hundred cases, many of which were new to my taste buds.  I was impressed by almost everything I tried. What can I say…I’ve always been a fan of mountain fruit.

I started in one corner of the room with Chateau Potelle. I really enjoyed the 2009 Illegitimate ($37) from the Explorer collection. A crazy blend of 39% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 17% Zinfandel, and 11% Syrah, this wine is aromatic and full-bodied with bright fruit flavors and terrific food pairing potential. I can’t wait to check out their new tasting room in St. Helena!

I really enjoyed the two selections from Hess Collection. The 2009 19 Block Cuvee ($38) is a blend of mostly Cabernet (63%) and Malbec (20%) with a little Merlot, Syrah, and Petit Verdot. It is plush and powerful with velvety tannins and delicious dark berry notes. Although I can see how the 2009 Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon ($55)—82% Cab, 14% Malbec, 2% Merlot, 2% PV—could be cellared for many years to come, it’s already very approachable with all the ripe red fruit and concentration I expect from a mountain-grown wine. Both of these wines will only get better with time.

I was also charmed by the 2009 Y Rousseau Cabernet Sauvignon “Le Roi Soleil” ($65). This is a small producer that has recently doubled its production. Yannick Rousseau, founder and winemaker, also makes Russian River Valley Tannat, Mount Veeder Chardonnay, Sonoma Cab, and Colombard. The new tasting room will open in Napa soon. Check out their website for more info.

If you’re a Cab Franc fan like me, you’ll love the 2009 Yates Cheval ($48)! Delicious and dark and 100% Cab Franc, this beauty offers black cherry, plum, and spice. The Yates Family Vineyard is a family affair—Michael and Lynn Yates own the vineyards and the winery is staffed by their daughters Whitney (assistant winemaker) and Mary (CFO) and son-in-law Todd (sales and marketing). They also produce Merlot, Cab, and the super tasty Cab/Merlot/Cab Franc blend, the 2009 Alden Perry Reserve ($65).

Lampyridae Vineyards is another itty-bitty producer on the mountain with a well-known winemaker, Aaron Pott. The 2010 Communication Block Cabernet Sauvignon is very tasty. It’s a wine project that supports a local charity which promotes academic achievement for children who have severe communication needs. Awwww!

Wow, normally I don’t have this many wines to rave about from a single tasting, but I also have to mention the Foyt and Meadowcroft Cabernets. These delicious wines are showcased at Corner Stone in Sonoma.

 

Last but not least, the three wines (Malbec, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon) from Mt. Brave Winery are all gorgeous. The Malbec ($75) was particularly appealing; this dark-purple beauty is concentrated with raspberry and cassis flavors with a full and luxurious palate.

A special thank you to the Mount Veeder Council for putting this awesome tasting together. More info about Mount Veeder AVA wines can be found on their website. Cheers! 

Bordeaux Matchmaking

The following statement was said to me the other night: “You, young lady, have a California palate.”

No, really?

You, loyal reader, know just how much I embrace my California wines, so I would never dream of denying such an astute observation, but I was encouraged to tell this person that I have been enjoying quite a few French wines recently, including the Cornin Mâcon-Chaintré.

I don’t think of it as cheating on my locally fermented options; it’s more like playing the field.

However, “playing the field” is an analogy that can’t really be applied to the wine tasting event I attended last week. Unlike the Rhone Rangers event, where I randomly approached various wineries of my choosing and was free to taste as many wines as I wanted to, at the Bordeaux Matchmaking event at the Clift Hotel on March 27^th, I was provided with a table assignment and drink tickets upon check-in.

Before the event, I filled out a short questionnaire with simple questions about my wine preferences and based on my answers, I was matched up with the four wines poured at Table 7.

My friend Laura and I located our table and were presented with a glass of 2011 Château Reynier, Entre-Deux-Mers, a blend of 60% Sauvignon Blanc and 40% Semillon. It was crisp and refreshing with tropical fruit notes and lively acidity.

Although we were off to a great start, we were dying to know what was being poured at the other tables. Why is it we always want what we can’t have?

As we worked our way around the Velvet Room to the beats of DJ Antiks, it was too dark to see what other wines were available. We got away with tasting the 2009 Château Beaumont Haut-Médoc at Table 6 (shh, don’t tell); it was quite tasty.

We returned to our assigned table where we socialized and conspired to switch tables. We met a guy whose nametag read “Sexy” and he was suave enough to convince the staff at Table 4 to let us taste the 2009 Château Guibeau Saint-Emilion—which was my favorite wine of the night. Rich blackberry and cassis with dry cocoa notes and sweet oak…it was soft but powerful, and one small taste was not enough of this delicious wine.

The last wine we tasted was the 2006 Château De Cruzeau, Pessac-Léognan. This blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 43% Merlot, and 2% Cabernet Franc was starting to show some age; the palate was dominated with masculine notes of cedar and tobacco. It wasn’t the fruit-forward style of wine I’m used to drinking, but it was worth trying, and with the right meal—like mushroom risotto or duck breast—it would be incredible.

At that point, I was out of drink tickets. I only tried four wines that night; but three of them I would happily drink again (these are pretty good odds). There are more terrific (and affordable) Bordeaux suggestions at Bordeaux.com, the major sponsor of the event. This was a really fun event, even if it had a different format from what I’m used to. Because going to a wine tasting is all about trying new things, right?