Wines made from Cabernet franc grapes of Mâconnais

Discover the best wines made with Cabernet franc as a single variety or as a blend of Mâconnais.

More informations about the variety Cabernet franc

Cabernet Franc is one of the oldest red grape varieties in Bordeaux. The Libourne region is its terroir where it develops best. The terroirs of Saint-Emilion and Fronsac allow it to mature and develop its best range of aromas. It is also the majority in many blends. The very famous Château Cheval Blanc, for example, uses 60% Cabernet Franc. The wines produced with Cabernet Franc are medium in colour with fine tannins and subtle aromas of small red fruits and spices. When blended with Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, it brings complexity and a bouquet of aromas to the wine. It produces fruity wines that can be drunk quite quickly, but whose great vintages can be kept for a long time. It is an earlier grape variety than Cabernet Sauvignon, which means that it is planted as far north as the Loire Valley. In Anjou, it is also used to make sweet rosé wines. Cabernet Franc is now used in some twenty countries in Europe and throughout the world.

More informations about the region of Burgundy

The Mâconnais wine region in Southern Burgundy is centred on the provincial town of Mâcon, from which it takes its name. The region produces a considerable amount of wine, specializing in white wines made from Chardonnay and a smaller number of red wines made from Pinot Noir and Gamay. Unlike the Côte d'Or to the North, where a band of densely planted vines runs roughly north-south across the countryside, the vineyards of the Mâconnais are more sparsely planted and interspersed with land devoted to other forms of agriculture. The landscape here is made up of rolling limestone hills, bordered to the east by the Saône River, which flows south to join the Rhône just outside Lyon.

What are the typical flavors of the Cabernet franc grape variety?