Wines made from Cabernet franc grapes of San José
Discover the best wines made with Cabernet franc as a single variety or as a blend of San José.
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.
San Jose, in South-western Uruguay, is one of the country's 19 administrative departments. Located immediately west of the Uruguayan capital of Montevideo, it enjoys the climatic benefits of its position on the northern banks of the Rio de la Plata estuary. Seventy miles (113km) to the west, at the apex of the vast estuary, is the confluence of the Parana and Uruguay rivers, and just south of that is Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina. San Jose vineyards produce white wines from a number of international wine Grape varieties including Pinot Blanc (although some authorities have suggested that these vines might in fact be Chenin Blanc), Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay.