Wines

93 Points! The Duemani 2021 Cabernet Franc CiFRA is an entry-level wine that punches above its weight class (and its price point). This organic and biodynamic wine reveals dark, purplish fruit with a soft texture and velvety quality. It is layered with fresh blackberry, plum and tobacco, but the energy of the primary fruit is what stands out in this classic vintage. - Monica Larner, robertparker.com

Founded directly above the San Andreas Fault, DeRose Vineyards is located in one of the most active earthquake areasin the World. Furthermore, it is one of only a few wineries anywhere to have a major fissure dissecting its wine cellars. DeRose has vineyards on both sides of the infamous fault. Soils east of the break contain fragmented granite and crumbled sandstone while those on the west side are mostly granite and limestone. Some blocks lie precisely above the line, their tilled surfaces concealing the fissure far below. Cabernet Franc grows east of the fault in loosely packed loam where the drainage is excellent.

A temperamental grape variety in many locations, Cabernet Franc thrives on the DeRose estate, creating heavily extracted wines with wonderful viscosity. Winemaker Pat DeRose prunes each vine in the winter and later exposes the grapes to beneficial sunlight with careful leaf removal. Clusters are thinned after veraison to attain proper vine balance.

92 Points! Based on 81% Cabernet Franc, 8% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Malbec, the 2021 Cabernet Franc sports a vivid purple hue to go with impressive aromatics of cassis, black raspberries, spring flowers, and chocolaty oak. It's medium-bodied and has a supple, elegant mouthfeel, fine tannins, and a great finish. A beautiful wine, it might even be better in another year or two as it integrates its oak. Regardless, it's a terrific value that I'd happily drink any time over the coming 8-10 years. - Jeb Dunnuck

92 Points! A rich and fruity cabernet franc with creamy berries, vanilla and sweet oak spices on the nose. Medium body with plush tannins. Creamy berries and mocha on the palate with dried herbs and cedar in the finish. Try after 2025. - JamesSuckling.com

From the importer: Originating from vines planted on clay and chalk (tuffeau) soil, this wine offers the distinctive character of Cabernet Franc: deep and bright ruby color, fine aromas of red fruits (red current, cherry) and floral subtleties (violet, iris), fine and velvety tannin, with a fresh and balanced finish. Best served below room temperature (14 to 16º C), Clos des Cordeliers Cuvée Tradition is at its prime when young and is the perfect companion for cold meats, roasted meats, grilled fish and cheese.

94 Points! Sweet tobacco, currants and white pepper here, with a red-chili note. Medium-to full-bodied with seamless, ripe tannins on the palate. Flavorful, yet elegant. Extremely well made. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

From the importer: The domaine’s top red wine is the cuvée Charles de Batz, which was the original name of d'Artignan. The wine is composed of 90% Tannat with 10% Cabernet Sauvignon from vines that are between 50 and 100 years old. After being completely destemmed, the Cabernet and Tannat are fermented separately in cement tanks. During this time, a bit of micro-oxygenation or microboullage takes place. The wine then goes into oak (50% new) in an underground cellar where it also undergoes malolactic fermentation. After 12 months in wood, it is blended and bottled after a very light filtration.

Very ripe, rich Madiran that takes no prisoners. This wine succeeds in obtaining more fruit than tannin! The color is nearly opaque—wine doesn't get much darker than this. It displays notes of black fruit (blackcurrant and blackberry) along with just a hint of red fruit. There is a cedar-like creaminess to the oak which is extremely well-integrated. Tannins pick up on the finish but, let's face it, this is Madiran and that is to be expected. These tannins seem to dissolve when the wine is matched with richly flavored meats like leg of lamb, duck, goose or game.

94 Points! Made with Nerello Mascalese taken from all the vineyards. The aromas show plenty of strawberries and cherries with wrought iron and pumice. Medium-bodied with creamy and polished tannins with hints of cedar and light nutmeg. Savory and lightly tannic giving it tension and beauty. - JamesSuckling.com

93 Points! Against all odds, the 2020 Cabernet Franc, from a warm and dry year, feels fresher and more harmonious than the two other vintages I tasted next to it, the cooler 2019 and 2021. It contains some 10% Malbec that fermented together with the Cabernet Franc, which feels very integrated and softened the tannins that feel velvety but without losing grip. It spent 15 months in ancient oak foudres, and the oak feels very integrated. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

94 Points! Plenty of citrus, orange peel, honey and beeswax with some pumice and volcanic soil character. Medium body, with firm and integrated tannins that are energetic and integrated. Very pretty now but even better in three or four years. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

94 Points! The 2018 Cabernet Franc Family, aged in 25% new oak (Vicard and Mercurey cooperages) for 18 months, easily possesses the finest nose of the three Cabernet Francs that I tasted from Raats, with soaring red berry fruit laced with bell pepper, powdered dark chocolate and gravel. The fresh, vibrant palate is medium-bodied with fine-grained tannins, fine acidity and a very precise and sustained finish. This is an outstanding Cabernet Franc. - Neal Martin, Vinous Media

Benoît et Celine Blet cultivate 10 hectares of biodynamically farmed vineyards in Oiron (département Deux-Sèvres in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, about 50 kilometers south of Saumur) that are planted with Chenin Blanc, Cabernet Franc and Gamay de Bouze. The domaine was founded in 2004, and I am always blown away by the huge personality of the wines that will be even finer and more complex after some years in the bottle. This is one of my favorite Loire producers, but unfortunately, I have never managed to visit the domaine. - Stephan Reinhardt, robertparker.com

96 Points! This shows notes of darker berries with red licorice and fresh ripe peaches. Intense with hints of moist clay soil and bark undertones. Full and steady on the palate with a firm backbone of chalky tannins that go on for minutes. Lot of tension and energy. Stays long on the palate, turning to a more smooth and powdery mouthfeel. Needs some time. Try after 2025. - JamesSuckling.com

95 Points! This is more vibrant with red berries, blood oranges, light spices and hints of terra-cotta. Medium-bodied, juicy and fruit-forward with tangy acidity and dusty tannins. Hints of bitter orange at the end. Long and chalky yet very attractive and enjoyable now. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

95 Points! This shows a very attractive, savory character with red cherries and raspberries, accompanied with dried summer herbs, candied orange and red spices. Dry earth, too. Medium- to full-bodied. Very even and seamless tannin structure. Refined and polished with a dusty earthiness that leads to a dry, delicate finish. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

96 Points! This has a fresh and fragrant nose with beautiful cherries and raspberries as well as rose petals, licorice and crushed stones. It’s firm and linear on the palate with a medium body and vivid acidity. It’s hard to draw a line between the tannins and the earthy, mineral aspect as both build a chalky mouthfeel and lead to a long textural finish. I like the finesse here despite being still quite tight and firm. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

96 Points! Pure cherry fruit here, reminiscent of kirsch, with orange peel and an ashy, mineral backbone to it, almost like cracked flint or gunpowder. Similar aromas and flavors on both the nose and on the palate. Medium- to full-bodied, really tense and firm with chalky tannins and a lingering crushed granite and rock sensation on the palate. Seashells, too. Long. Try after 2025. - JamesSuckling.com

97 Points! The darkly alluring 2020 Cabernet Franc Poggio de' Colli takes its time in the glass, slowly awakening with a dusty mix of red currants, pepper-tinged rose, exotic curries and the slightest touch of animal musk that adds gravitas. This is velvety smooth yet finessed. It's cool-toned in feel with a potent wave of tart raspberry fruits that saturates the palate with savory spice and mineral tones. It leaves a coating of fine tannins and a staining of berry concentration through the finale, tapering off sapid and long, yet perfectly balanced. What a radiant vintage for the Poggio de' Colli, Piaggia's varietal Cabernet Franc. Revisit it in five years to see some real sparks fly. - Eric Guido, Vinous Media

96 Points! The 2019 Bel Canto is more Cabernet Franc-dominated and includes 17% Merlot. While it doesn't match the 2018, it's a beauty offering impressive redcurrant and spiced plum fruits, notes of spicy oak, dried flowers, and leafy herbs, medium to full body, a pure, seamless, gorgeous texture, and ultra-fine tannins. It's just a stunning Cabernet Franc from Washington State that offers incredible pleasure today given its balance and texture yet will evolve for 20+ years. 290 cases. - Jeb Dunnuck