Comparing Cabernet Franc from France, Virginia, and California plus pairings!
Since 2015, December 4 has been recognized as Cabernet Franc Day. Why? The man credited with bringing Cabernet Franc vines from Bordeaux to the Loire Valley and planting them at the Abbey of Bourgueil, Cardinal Richelieu, died on December 4, 1642, and so the powers that be (aka Lori Budd) decided that it was the best day. In the Loire Valley, Cabernet Franc became a stand alone wine instead of just being part of the blend like in Bordeaux. Today Cabernet Franc is among the 20 most planted wine grapes and grown around the world. In character, Cabernet Franc is similar to cabernet sauvignon, but lighter, more peppery, and much more herbal with notes of bell pepper and green bean. No surprise: DNA evidence shows Cabernet Franc crossed with Sauvignon Blanc to become Cabernet Sauvignon.
So pop a cork of Cab Franc — still, rose, or sparkling– and toast Cardinal Richelieu!
To honor the memory and accomplishments of Cardinal Richelieu, each year Sue and I gather different Cabernet Franc wines or cab franc blends from different regions of the world.Since Sue is such a fan of cab franc, when traveled in 2019 to the Loire Valley to compete for Team USA in the World Wine Tasting Championship, we visited vineyards of several biodynamic wineries and tasted with their winemakers including Xavier Amirault at Clos des Quarterons in Bourgeil (read here), Guillaume Reynouard at Manoir de la Tete Rouge, and Matthieu Vallee at Chateau Yvonne.
This year, we honor Cabernet Franc Day with wines from the Loire in France, Virginia, and California’s central coast.
- As we know, in the Loire Valley thanks to the Cardinal who died in 1642, cab franc became a stand alone wine. From the Loire, we have a sparkling blend that includes cab franc alongside Chenin blanc and chardonnay —NV De Chanceny Crémant de Loire Brut — and a 2022 Arnoud Lambert Terres Rouge Saumur Champigny.
- According to Wine Folly, wine grapes were first planted in Virginia in 1619 because England wanted wine from its American colony so every male household in Virginia had to plant ten vines of imported vinifera grapes. Today, Cab Franc is the most planted grape in Virginia where it is blended (read more here) or a stand alone grape. We write about two Cabernet Franc wines from Virgina below: 2023 DuCard Vineyards Cabernet Franc Vintners Reserve, Etlan VA and 2023 Paradise Springs Winery, Cabernet Franc Brown Bear Vineyard, Clifton VA.
- In California, wine grapes were first planted at Missions starting in San Diego in 1779. In 1833, Jean-Louis Vignes, the state’s first commercial wine maker, planted European vines in Los Angeles. From Santa Barbara County’s Happy Canyon, located in east of the cold Pacific Ocean and near the Lake Cachuma reservoir, we have a Cabernet Franc made by Dusty Nabors. Read about more about his Pinot Noir here.
So how do they compare? Overall, we’ve found the wines from Virginia have a lot of oak while wines from California are fruity yet fresh and lively, while the wines from the Loire are light and elegant. All worked well with the components of our meal in different ways. Read on for more details!
Comparing Cabernet Franc from France, Virginia, and California plus pairings!
Cabernet Franc Wines
- NV De Chanceny Crémant de Loire Brut
- 2022 Arnoud Lambert Terres Rouge Saumur Champigny
- 2022 Dusty Nabor Cabernet Franc, TTT Vineyard Happy Canyon, Santa Barbara
- 2023 DuCard Vineyards Cabernet Franc Vintners Reserve, Etlan VA
- 2023 Paradise Springs Winery, Cabernet Franc Brown Bear Vineyard, Clifton VA
Menu for Cabernet Franc
- Cheese board – St Agur, Ovalie Cendree, Fromager d’affinais Truffle noire, Brebirdusse, mimolette
- Various sausage bites
- Green beans with bacon and delicata squash
- Twice baked potatoes
- Green salad with persimmons, Asian pear, St Augur blue cheese, walnuts
- Porterhouse Steaks
Sparkling blend with cab franc from De Chanceny Crémant de Loire Brut
NV De Chanceny Crémant de Loire Brut
ABV: 12.5%
SRP: Sue purchased for $15 on sale at Whole Foods
Grapes: Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc
We found this wine to be such a great value wine as it went with so many of our tasty bites tonight.
Appearance: Very golden, pale yellow rim, delicate bubbles.
Aroma: Green apple, brioche, pear, cherry blossom, cinnamon apple, baking spices, granola, cinnamon apple granola, minerals, very nice to sniff and contemplate.
Palate: Tart apple, green apple, nice freshness, minerals, bright acidity, smooth bubbles cross the palate, salty pretzels, lemon lime on the finish. This would make a great greeter or party wine as it is very nice to sip and easy on the budget.
Pairing: The NV De Chanceny Crémant de Loire Brut is great with many of our tasty treats. Kathy loved it with the sausage and mustard and Sue agreed that it brings out a lovely sweetness in the wine. I found it fabulous with the truffle brie and the St Agur which brought out the lovely green notes in the wine. Sue loved it with the olive tapenade and with the St Agur the same way she loves Roussane and blue cheese. The wine went well with the salad as the St Agur is so rich and creamy which highlights the lovely ripe fruit. This wine and this salad are a perfect companion.
2022 Arnoud Lambert Terres Rouge Saumur Champigny
2022 Arnoud Lambert Terres Rouge Saumur Champigny
ABV: 14%
SRP: Sue purchased for around $30 at Point du Chene, Ojai
Grapes: organic Cabernet Franc
The organically farmed Arnoud Lambert Terres Rouge Saumur Champigny is so lovely, delicate, balanced and paired perfectly with the meal.
Appearance: Deep ruby/maroon, bright fushia rim, looks unfined and unfiltered, dark and dense,
Aroma: Cherry, bell pepper, baking spice, vanilla, menthol,
Palate: Fresh, elegant, clean, tart cherry, fresh cherry, silky smooth tannins, clay, menthol in the clean fresh cooling finish, nice balance between earth and fruit, cranberry, mushroom,
Pairing: The wine was so fantastic with all of our French cheeses, it is amazing how sweet and fruity the wine becomes with each of the cheeses, The wine loves the autumn salad the fruit brings out lovely fruit in the wine the toasty walnuts and pomegranate glaze brings out lovely fruit in the wine. This is a great steak wine, perfect with the twice baked potato, fantastic with the green beans because of the salty crunchy bacon and how well it went with the wine,
2022 Dusty Nabor Cabernet Franc, TTT Vineyard Happy Canyon, Santa Barbara
2022 Dusty Nabor Cabernet Franc, TTT Vineyard Happy Canyon, Santa Barbara
ABV: 14.5%
SRP: $50
Grapes: Cabernet Franc
sample for my review
From Tommy Town Thoroughbreds Vineyard in the heart of Happy Canyon quite a ways inland from the Pacific, this cab franc is brand new to Dusty’s lineup. We are big fan’s of Dusty’s winemaking, and have written about his wines several times including getting him into the Slow Wine Guide. When I tasted this wine at his holiday party last year, I knew I had to have it to write about this year! This is an amazing food wine, but also an enjoyable sipper before or after supper.
Appearance: Ruby/maroon, ruby rim, deep and dark, looks unfined and unfiltered
Aroma: Cherry, so much ripe cherry fruit, black cherry, jalapeno, black walnut, mud, mineral, sage, dry chaparral,
Palate: Tart black cherry, grippy tannins, ripe fruit, black pepper toward the finish, this is a delicious wine, mulberry on the finish.
Pairing: Very nice with a little olive tapenade on fresh bread, fabulous with the mimolette, very nice with the olivette, fantastic with the creamy rich truffle cheese, this wine is also fabulous with just the bread alone, also fantastic with the parmesan rosemary crisps. Place a dab of rosemary butter on a steak and it will make the wine shine. The bright acidity in this wine breaks down the rich fattiness of the meat, and the wine also breaks down the richness of the baked potato that is intensely highlighted by the seasoning and the chives. This was a superb pairing with everything on the menu. Kathy left my house that night determined to buy several bottles!
2023 DuCard Vineyards Cabernet Franc Vintners Reserve, Etlan VA
2023 DuCard Vineyards Cabernet Franc Vintners Reserve, Etlan VA
ABV: 13%
SRP: $60
Grapes: 100% Cabernet Franc
234 cases
sample for my review
Born in the Bordeaux wine region, winemaker Julien Durantie grew up working on his family’s vineyard in Entre-deux-Mers. He studied Food Science and Technology in Limoges, and planned on returning to his family’s vineyards after interning at DuCard Vineyards in 2007. He’s still here and calls Virginia home.
Appearance: Ruby, fuchsia rim, a bit cloudy,
Aroma: Jalapeno pepper, bell pepper, dill pickle juice, oak, a touch of cherry, cherry cordial, black licorice, loamy rich soil, potting soil, tomato leaf, very vegetal, Sue loved the aroma of this wine it was everything she loves about a cab franc nose, dark chocolate, Chinese five spice
Palate: Tart cherry fruit, mulberry, plum skin, bell pepper, sour grass, cinnamon, clove, woodsy, vanilla oak, leather, red current tea, hibiscus tea,
Pairing: This wine was beautiful with all of the French cheeses that were on the plate, all of the cheeses smoothed out the bold tannins and brought out lovely fruit in the wine making this wine exceptional with the food. The wine was very good with the steak, this is a good steak wine, This is a steakhouse wine, it was lovely with both the filet and New York steak, it loves the earthy skin on the twice baked potato skin. They suggest pairing it with pork tenderloin with fig glaze, grilled mushrooms, and beef Wellington.
2023 Paradise Springs Winery, Cabernet Franc Brown Bear Vineyard, Clifton VA
2023 Paradise Springs Winery, Cabernet Franc Brown Bear Vineyard, Clifton VA
ABV: 14%
SRP: $42
Grapes: 100% Cabernet Franc
278 cases
sample for my review
Growing up, Paradise Springs Winemaker Rob Cox says he always had his hands in the dirt. He studied Business at Frostburg State then Agronomy at the University of Maryland’s Institute of Applied Agriculture. While he started out working with golf courses, he says ” golf courses didn’t scratch my itch” so he moved to Virginia to transition to wine joining Paradise Springs in 2011.
The Paradise Springs Brown Bear Cabernet Franc comes from the Brown Bear Vineyard, located in the Shenandoah Valley AVA on the eastern side of the Blue Ridge Mountains at an elevation of 1,100 to 1,500 feet with shale and granite-based soils with minimal topsoil, creating well-drained conditions ideal for vine stress and flavor concentration. Brown Bear is not an estate vineyard but 1.5 hours from winery in Clifton. Shenandoah is a little cooler, a little less precipitation, and one of the cheapest places to buy land with good diurnal temperature shift which helps to retain acidity, and makes easy fruit to work with. It’s also one of the driest county’s on the eastern side of blue ridge.
Appearance:Medium dense, ruby, fushia rim, vibrant, youthful, very pretty
Aroma: Cherry fruit, bell pepper, red bell pepper, putty, mud, it smells like a cab franc, oak, vanilla, cherry pipe tobacco,
Palate: Cherry fruit, bell pepper, oxalis, green bean oak, leather, clay,
Pairing: All of the cheeses were fantastic with the wine, Mimolette was my favorite with the wine because it brought such lovely fruit in the wine,
wine predator.............. gwendolyn alley 