Wines made from Cabernet franc grapes of Idaho
Discover the best wines made with Cabernet franc as a single variety or as a blend of Idaho.
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.
Idaho is the third largest state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, bordered by the famous wine states of Oregon and Washington. Currently, Idaho is better known for its potatoes than for its wine. However, with the rapid growth of the wine business and the quality of the wines produced here in recent decades, its profile is rising. Idaho's different mesoClimates allow for many different styles of wine to be produced.