Nose

The nose opens with notes of dried fruit, dark berry, and milk chocolate. Hints of sweet oak, dried herb, and coconut add to the complex aroma.

Palate

Smooth and supple tannins finely woven with cherry and sweet herb on the palate. A crisp, clean finish with lingering notes of cassis.

Growing Conditions

Cabernet Franc offers a complex array of characters—plums, cherries, peppercorn, violets, olive, and tobacco—and gives quintessential Bordeaux expression. I love that it is powerful yet refined, with richness and elegance. Mount Veeder Winery was one of the first producers of Cabernet Franc, and was the first vineyard in California to plant all five Bordeaux varietals. As the father of Cabernet Sauvignon, this is a truly noble grape variety, with its own personality and characteristics that reach terrific expression on the mountain. The high elevation and steep hillsides of our vineyards create small berries of intense concentration. We have only a small amount of Cabernet Franc planted, so it's a treat to be able to create a limited-production bottling of this special variety.

2014 was another year of low rainfall and warm temperatures in Napa Valley, which once again resulted in an early harvest with excellent flavor intensity and beautiful ripeness in the fruit. The winter started off very dry with no rain from December through February. In late March and early April, we received a good dose of rain that started the vines growing with ample water in the root zone. Throughout most of the growing season, conditions were textbook normal for fruit set and ripening, which gave us an abundance of high-quality grapes. Our single block of Cabernet Franc on the North Ranch of our Mt. Veeder property was picked at the peak of ripeness on October 9. The Cabernet Franc sits in a beautifully protected bowl surrounded by redwoods and California bay trees with dappled light for slow and steady ripening. It's one of the oldest blocks on our property, still planted on AXR rootstock, and continues to display health and vigor, with more amazing years to come.

Winemaking

Pre-fermentation cold soak of four days to enhance color and body. Fermentation and maceration averaging 22 days to build structure and integrate mouthfeel.

Appearance

Dark garnet in color.