Wines made from Cabernet franc grapes of South Island

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

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 South Island

Central Otago, near the bottom of New Zealand's South Island, vies for the title of world's most southerly wine region. Vineyards cling to the sides of mountains and high above river gorges in this dramatic landscape. Pinot Noir has proven itself in this challenging Terroir, and takes up nearly three-quarters of the region's vineyard area. The typical Central Otago Pinot Noir is intense and deeply colored, with flavors of doris plum, Sweet spice and bramble.

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

News about the grape variety Cabernet franc

Walls’ hidden gems: Domaine Richaud, Cairanne

Whenever I visit Domaine Richaud, just outside the village of Cairanne, the winemaking team remind me of friends I made at free parties in the 1990s in fields and disused warehouses. I’m not talking dreadlocks and dogs on strings, but there’s always an anarchic frisson in the air. You get the impression they know how to enjoy themselves. Perhaps it’s to be expected, given the radical furrow Marcel Richaud has ploughed. He’s approaching 70 now, but still thrums with pent-up energy, his ice-blue e ...

Ancient elites drank wine infused with vanilla, says study

Researchers examining remnants of jars dating back to the kingdom of Judah found evidence that royal elites in Jerusalem may have been drinking wine ‘flavoured with vanilla’. It’s already known that wine has a long history in the region, and some studies suggest wines contained added spices or herbs. Yet researchers said they were surprised to find traces of vanillin in some of the ancient storage jars, which were excavated from debris caused by the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BCE ...

American whiskey becomes most valuable auction sale of its kind

The Sotheby’s New York sale of Bourbon and Rye Whiskey, held at the weekend, combined two significant collections of American whiskey, with almost 100% of lots sold and 75% of them selling for above their pre-sale high estimates. The top spot for the most expensive lot in the auction went to a bottle of LeNell’s Red Hook Rye 24 Year Old Barrell #4, which sold for $43,750, double its pre-sale high estimate and making it the joint most valuable bottle of rye whiskey ever sold at auction. The sum w ...