Wines made from Cabernet franc grapes of New Hampshire
Discover the best wines made with Cabernet franc as a single variety or as a blend of New Hampshire.
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.
New Hampshire is a small state in the far northeastern United States, bordering Maine, Vermont and Canada. New Hampshire's wine industry is still in its infancy; the state's oldest winery was only established in 1994. The good news is that its early vintages are promising, and New Hampshire wines have won national and international awards in the early 21st century. The state is roughly rectangular in shape and covers 24,000 km² (9,300 square miles) between latitudes 42°N and 45°N, making it roughly equivalent to southern France.