Napa Valley Cabernet Franc

Fav from Wm Harrison. Just a touch vegetal in a good way.

Breakfast maple waffles nose. Astringency and dark red cherries. Well developed, buxom, full-fruit bite. Earthy rhubarb and plum.

@Mark Flesher and I did a quick side by side tasting of two 2014 Napa Valley Cab francs tonight and it’s always such a joy to try wines side by side that are the same in one respect, but can differ so greatly!

I opened a bottle of ‘14 Arnyca Cab Franc (I’ve posted a few times, so no need for me to be redundant, but it’s a killer bottle of Cab Franc) while Mark opened this. At pop and pour (and throughout the hour) where the Arnyca was lush and approachable, this had a volcanic type back end note and was very tannic. The fruit was still there, but it was a bit more complex due to the earthy type note. This continued on the palate with a more spicy/peppercorn finish. Changed in the glass quite a bit. This has all the stuffing of a great cab franc (fruit notes of rhubarb, blackberries, and plum, cherry spice, and an herbal/earthy finish) as well as structure and age ability. This is without a doubt the best sub $60 Cab Franc I’ve ever had. 9.3 score, but 9.4 would have happened with more air. Expect this to be 9.5 with 5-7 yrs of age.

Brought this to Tim's 1-2 mths ago. Drinking the other bottle at home now. Full but not fruity. Good spice.

Wish I would've showed a little more self control and opened this guy in 2020. Darker side of fruit for most Napa Cab Francs that I run into and this wine was a little rough around the edges, which I welcomed because I sip on well behaved wines very frequently. Dark fruits and a solid sentencing of oak make this wine fall into the category of big, but not burly. Beyond is unique representation of the varietal, its a welcomed interpretation.

Upon opening i felt it had too much alcohol. This was a misperception. After giving it a half an hour to breathe it balanced out very well. The nose is heavy black currant and bell pepper with creamy vanilla lingering. Great fruit in here lots of over ripe stewed blackberry and dried black currant and dark cherry notes. Slightly smokey with amazing oak flavors. Cinnamon and other baking spices with intense vanilla flavors. Excellent effort.

2407

See previous rating. This is as good as it gets!!!!!

William Harrison cabernet franc 2016. Their best cab by far!!!!! I am so happy to have discovered this small family winery. The bouquet is lovely with aromas of dark berry pie. The initial palate brings an immediate flourish of blackberry jam and rhubarb. This is followed by a rush of leather, mineral soil, moss, and oak. The finish then comes dragging in with a beautiful chocolate and spicy finish. This will be perfect with a nice square of Dove dark chocolate. Hang on… Oh yes!!!!! A perfect compliment. It takes a little finesse to make a very good cab Franc and this Family has done an incredible job of it. Im ordering 6 more bottles right now!

Perfect wine to celebrate getting through a heavy week, with good friends. All is well even in quarantine.