Diamond Mountain District Cabernet Franc

I opened one of these knowing it would be young as I just needed to get a feel for the style and see how it would improve.

I’m writing this note on day 2 after I re-corked the night before. Chalky/dusty red and black fruit...aromatics of tart raspberry, black cherry, floral and a hint of a sweet note at the core. The youthfulness really shows itself on the palate where all the fruit is tart. Geez...and this is day 2! Dried and candied cranberry, rhubarb juice and dark chocolate drizzled raspberries. Acidic and tannic. Mid palate is a bit more forgiving showing a glimpse at where this will go. Powerful structure and a don’t touch for 3+ years. This will gain a point or two by then easily. Very well crafted.

Franc Friday continues. A completely different beast than the Detert. This is more restrained and less ripe but absolutely elegant and delicious. Medium bodied, with more floral than fruit notes, this still offers some fruit but skews more savory (yet lacks the green/olive flavors). Paired exceptionally well with food.

Ripe but pulled back. Mineral note.

A well made Franc with good spice, a pretty nose and structured. Not over the top or too big. Decant and enjoy!

Another special bottling from the Dyers (and minuscule production: 48 cases). I get graphite and a touch of game on the nose. On the palate lots of blue fruits and minerality. It's very complex, layered and delicious.

Cab franc, really.
Stunning. It displays toast, cloves, and roasted nuts. Lithe and smooth on the palette with nutmeg, coconut and vanilla. Finishes sweet and completely consistent.

First bottling of 100% cab franc by the Dyers (I'm a fan of winemaker Dawnine who makes Meteor). This is a great bottle of wine from their minuscule vineyard on Diamond Mountain. Medium-bodied and beautifully balanced this has a nice blend of fruit (strawberry) and savory with medium tannins and acid. nothing over the top or standing out too much. This is a great food wine and I can't wait to see how a few years in the cellar will improve this!

Thanksgiving wine number 6. Very much a split decision for the group for wine of the night. Half of people thought it was the 2006 Dyer Cab edging this one out, where the other half believed that this one edged the 2006. My personal observation is that this wine definitely had a sweeter and more youthful and concentrated fruit profile upfront as one would expect, yet lacked the complexity that the 2006 displayed. This wine displayed a lot of dried herb, floral jasmine, raspberry and black cherry throughout. The tannins on the wine are massive, very stiff. In five years, this one could probably easily outdo the 2006 Cabernet. Alas my willpower is total crap to keep any of these CF's around longer than a couple of years so I can only postulate. All I know is that you need to try to keep your hands off of these for a while if possible. If not, you still have yourself a darn good bottle of wine!

A great way to end a 6-day vacation. Bottle enjoyed with family over a great meal. I will preface this by saying this bottle is extremely young. Will do much better in about 5 years. After an hour of oxidation, this one had a lot of candied black cherry, wildflowers on the nose. Entry of black cherry, cola, middle which is a combination of sweeter yet more ripe black cherry with a hint of bacon fat. Finishes acidic, even after 2 hours. This wine is great structure, but still extremely young. Will develop very nicely.

So after opening one of these around Christmas, I told myself I wouldn't open up another one again for a while. I guess four months is a 'while'? This wine is very youthful. From a Coravin pour, this wine has a wildflower and grilled meats dominated nose. There is some black cherry there as well. Entry is more black cherry rich. Sharp acidity on the front that kind of dies in the middle where more of the flowers and spice show along with a hint of gritty minerality. Finishes with black pepper, acidity, but also some very grippy tannin. Classic Cab Franc characteristics, with the power and structure to last a LONG time. This one will continue developing for the next 10 years. @Shay A I would leave your 3 at Classic for at least a year and we can drink my 13 instead!