2018 Cabernet Franc

VQA Niagara Escarpment

About This Wine:

This wine originates from our Cave Spring Vineyard, located on a gently sloping terrace of the Niagara Escarpment overlooking Lake Ontario At this site, limestone-clay soils, elevation and moderating on-shore breezes provide ideal conditions for Cabernet Franc, yielding a robust wine with a mint-berry character unique to our terroir

Origin:

100% Beamsville Bench

Soil:

Beamsville Bench - limstone-rich clay till over sandstone and shale;

Composition:

100% Cabernet Franc

Harvest Data:

Harvest Date- Oct. 12 - 16
Sugar- 22.7º Brix
Titratable Acitity- 5.21 g/L
pH- 3.48
Yield- 2 mt/acre

Vinification:

A 14-day maceration was followed by gentle pressing and aging for 14 months in predominantly older French, Hungarian and American oak barriques. 100% of the wine was fermented using indigenous yeast naturally present on the grapes.

Bottling Data:

Bottling Date- March 2020
Alc./Vol. 13.5
Residual Sugar- 3 g/L
Titratable Acidity- 6 g/L
pH- 3.6
Production- 577 cs. (9L)

Tasting Notes:

On the nose, juicy red cherry and blackcurrant fruit come to the fore, with notes of eucalyptus, tobacco leaf, cinnamon and mint in behind. The palate is medium-to-full in body with firm tannins and sour cherry fruit up front, nicely balanced in the middle by ripe cassis fruit and round, supple textures around the edges. A juicy thread of acidity is nicely integrated throughout, giving way to an intense and plush finish of dark berries, black pepper and coffee grinds.

Taste Profile:

Dry (D)

Serving Suggestions:

Grilled steaks, hearty beef stews, Shepherd’s pie, pasta with Bolognese sauce, pork chops with herbs & olives, coq au vin, roasted game birds

Ageability:

Best consumed 2020 through 2023; will hold through at least 2026

Ontario Retail Price:

$17.95

Availability:

Winery only

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