Wines made from Cabernet franc grapes of Beiras
Discover the best wines made with Cabernet franc as a single variety or as a blend of Beiras.
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.
Beiras (Beira) is a traditional administrative region in the northern half of Portugal. It is also the name of the IGP, or Indicacoes Geograficas Protegidas, wine classification (formerly known as Vinho Regional) which covers the region as a whole. A wide range of wines are made in Beiras – red wines from the region are typically Rich, deeply colored wines made from Baga, Castelão, Rufete (Tinto Pinheira), Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Touriga Nacional, and are sometimes fortified to emulate their more famous Oporto cousins. Whites are most often based on Fernão Pires and Bical, the latter being a small-berried variety with the affectionate nickname Borrado das Moscaos ('fly droppings').
Today, working alongside Seillan, second-generation Chris Jackson and assistant winemaker Hélène Seillan (daughter of Pierre) continue the vision of the estate, and the new winery is part of the evolution. Like the wines, design elements pull from both France and the surrounding natural area. Nicolas Seillan (son of Pierre and brother of Hélène) is credited as the architectural creative for the project. He counts the Abbaye de Moissac in southern France as inspiration, particularly its concept o ...
Heritage Auctions said a single bottle of Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars’ ‘SLV’ Cabernet Sauvignon 1973 – representing the Napa Valley red wine that beat top Bordeaux in the landmark 1976 Judgement of Paris tasting – fetched $12,300. That marks a new record auction price for the wine, said Heritage. It was sold to a bidder who wished to remain anonymous during an auction of nearly 4,000 wines from Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars’ ‘legacy collection’. Steven Spurrier’s 1976 Judge ...
Traditional glass bottles still dominate, but there is also a rising focus on the environmental credentials and lifestyle advantages offered by quality wines in bag-in-box, cans, paper bottles, returnable glass bottles and other so-called alternative packaging formats. Leading wine writers in the UK recently signed an open letter spearheaded by the Wine Traders for Alternative Formats (WTAF) group, which said a greater focus on viable alternatives to traditional glass bottles could significantly ...