Cabernet Franc, 2021
Vintage Notes:
A mild winter lead into a mild and beautifully warm spring. The large cropload and rainy summer and fall made for an extremely extended growing season. The whites came in with flinty minerality, high acidity and interesting flavors. The reds were an even bigger surprise. Racy but with tempered acidity, silky delicate tannins, cedar and herbaceous notes without being vegetal. Graceful and poignant, 2021 reds will be wines to watch as they develop over coming years.
What a classic Cabernet Franc! While light in color, like most 2021 reds from the FLX area, this wine does not hold back on flavor. Baking spice on the nose, with notes of forest floor, bramble, and just a hint of jalepeno. On the palate, sour cherry and blueberry compote are complemented with vanilla and nutmeg from the very gentle oak influence. Moderate tannins that will soften with age wonderfully in the next 5-10 years.
| Vintage | 2021 |
| Varietal | 100% Cabernet Franc |
| Appellation | Finger Lakes |
| Vineyard | 39% Varick, 39% Glenora Farms, 14% Dalrymple, 8% Knapp |
| Harvest Date | 10/21/2021 00:00:00 |
| PH | 3.63 |
| Residual Sugar | 0.0% |
| Alcohol | 12.10% |
| Volume | 750 ml |
| Artificially Carbonated | No |
| Sparkling Wine | No |
The Cabernet Franc developed surprisingly ripe flavors given the 2021 growing season. We were also able to let it hang much longer than we expected given the rain. The fruit came in beautifully ripe and unscathed by disease, so we were able to cold soak and ferment without issue. Most was aged in stainless steel to preserve the purity of the fruit but a portion was racked into barrel with 10% new oak after fermentation to complete maloloactic fermentation and age for 14 months.
