Cabernet Franc

Although Cabernet Sauvignon is indisputably the premier red Bordelais grape, lately, Cabernet Franc has been gaining fresh attention among winemakers in the state. In the past few years, the grape has been making its way into many more single-varietal bottlings, as well as blends. One of the grape’s hallmarks is its green streak and proclivity to be super-herbal if not well handled and grown in warm enough spots and with managed yields. The challenge is this: pushing Cabernet Franc to full ripeness causes it to lose its nuanced aromas and flavors. That said, when underripe, it can be exceedingly weedy and unpleasant.

Working The Land

Does soil influence the flavor of the final wine?

Traditionalists answer unequivocally, “Yes!” Soil is a key element of terroir, the natural environment in which the vines grow, along with climate (temperature, rainfall), topography (altitude, drainage, slope, aspect) and sunlight.

A more unorthodox view holds that the influence of soil on what you taste in the glass is a myth. Maynard Amerine and Ann Noble, two famous names at UC Davis, California’s premier wine school and wine research facility, conducted a study on the topic. Though the study is based on Chardonnay grapes, they concluded that the following holds true for all wine grapes: “no outstanding sensory differences were observed in wines produced from different soil type locations.” The key word is “sensory” (sight, smell, taste). They are not saying that the soil doesn’t affect vine behavior (yield, growth cycle, etc.).  

Clonal diversity of Cabernet Franc in California is comparatively limited. Per UC Davis FPS, Cabernet Franc 01 was the only Cabernet Franc selection on the list of registered vines between 1967 and 1996. Even so, very little Cabernet Franc was distributed from the FPS foundation vineyard prior to 1970, which began to use Cabernet Franc as an indicator variety to detect leafroll and other viruses in the late 1970s. Today, there are more options, including Cabernet Franc 04 and 05, imported directly to FPS in the winter of 1988-89. Cabernet Franc 04 is reported to be French clone 332, which originated in Béarn in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques in southwest France. Cabernet Franc 05 is reported to be French clone 331 from the same region. Clones 11, 12, 13, 15, 16.1., 17, and several ENTAV selections followed. Finally, Napa Valley’s Larry Hyde donated a Cabernet Franc selection to FPS from his Carneros vineyard in 2002. The material is a heritage selection from the Niebaum-Coppola vineyard in Napa. Cabernet Franc 14 qualified for the foundation vineyard in 2004.