Cabernet Franc's time

This is short post with simple message.

Cabernet Franc in France is typically planted where the temperatures or the soils are not warm enough for Cabernet Sauvignon.  But while it is true Cabernet Franc does ripen about a week earlier than Cabernet Sauvignon (of whom it is a parent), that still means that it is often planted in regions where it only just gets ripe. And if it does not, it can taste pretty green and horrible.  In St Emilion its inclusion in the final blend has historically been spotty and varied, illustrating how problematic it is regularly to get full ripeness in a marginal climate in a grape variety with high phenols.

But global warming has changed all that. 2018 for example was a vintage where Cabernet Franc did extremely well in France - in the sense that it had no difficulty getting fully ripe - both on Bordeaux’s right bank and in its ancestral home in the Touraine section of the central Loire. 

And when it does get fully phenolically ripe of course that greenness - the leafy sensation that seems to run throughout the wine - is less present and what you get is many of the desirable qualities of Cabernet Sauvignon but with less bracing acid and without any of the aggressive tannin.  When it reaches these levels of ripeness the fruit is darker and there is a silkiness of texture surrounded by a less insistent tannic structure. The wine is more aromatic with that attractive graphite smell one associates with Cabernet Sauvignon from the Medoc.

And of course it ages well - witness Chateau Cheval Blanc, which is two thirds made up of Cabernet Franc and where ripeness normally is achieved courtesy of the heat retaining warmer gravel soils of the terroir in which these vines grow.

The grape’s increasing appeal in these warmer times is evidenced by new plantings in St.Emilion at really prestigious names - like Chateau Ausone and the associated property La Clotte. 

The wine drinking public in the USA has long been adverse to Cabernet Franc.  That may be about to change.  Current vintages of Chinon and Bourgeuil, showing the qualities of the grape when climate favors its more gracious and silky qualities, may in the future seem very cheap indeed.  

Predictions of change in popularity of certain grape varietals are a graveyard of false starts. Riesling anyone ? It takes a while to change perception. But perhaps Cabernet Franc’s time has finally come.

The picture is of course of Cabernet Franc grapes, courtesy of the Domaine Baudry website