Cape Grace Wines Cabernet Franc

Production – 49 dozen / 588 Bottles – limited release.

Colour: Deep Plum

Aroma: Raspberry lamingtons and underlying cardamom pods.

Palate: Swathes of fresh raspberries and red currents. Bright acidity and contoured tannins envelope the fruit giving a wine with delicate yet present structure. Judicial use of French oak adds a touch of vanillin biscuit notes on the finish.

Harvest: The grapes were picked on 17th March.

Vinification: The grapes were picked in the cool of the morning then placed in open fermenters where the must was innoculated with a neutral yeast and fermentation began. The cap was hand plunged four times a day in the early stages of the ferment, to extract colour and tannin. After 10 days the wine was left on the skins for extended maturation. The free run juice was drained and the fermented grapes were basket pressed. The wine then under-went a malolactic fermentation which softens the acid and racked to a mix of 50% new & 50% one and two year old French barriques where it matured for 12 months. The Cabernet Franc was bottled in Novemer 2019. Can be enjoyed now or will age gracefully to 2029.

Technical Data: Alc. 14.5 % pH 3.46 TA 6.2 g/l

2019 Vintage Rating 8/10: The 2019 vintage started about 2 weeks later than the previous few years and had been cool - very different to the rest of the country.

Yields have been lower. Lovely white wines have had time to develop delicate flavours while retaining natural acidity. A bit of mid-vintage rain refreshed the reds, then the fruit hung out there allowing for a long, slow ripening period. There was no Marri Flowers so netting of all varieties was necessary.

Awards and Reviews: