Last Saturday evening we were invited to Dezel and Niki’s house for a special Cabernet Franc tasting. Dezel writes the blog Virginia Vine Spot. John and Megan from the Anything Wine blog also attended and other friends of Dezel and Niki volunteered their palates for the tasting. We must mention that John and Megan have their own winery, Woodland Vineyards; their expertise was certainly appreciated at the tasting!

Dezel and Niki provided a very warm atmosphere for the event, and they served an array of Cabernet Franc-friendly foods. Warren made a dash for the Muenster, and Paul indulged himself with harder cheeses and cheese flavored crackers. Dezel poured eight Cabernet Francs, but he first provided us with tasting sheets that required us to rate the wines on a point system. As we acquainted ourselves with the rating sheets, we also acquainted ourselves with each other. Soon enough, the wine began to flow, and Dezel guided us through our tastings; we must add that this was a blind tasting, but we did have tasting notes with each Cabernet Franc sampled. Of the eight, two were from Virginia, two were from California; one Franc hailed from Washinton, and two others were produced from the Finger Lakes. A final treat was a Cabernet Franc from Chinon, France.

After several rounds of swirling, sniffing, sipping, and savoring, Dezel calculated the points to come up with the most recommended cabernet franc from the group. The winner was the 2005 Dom Semellerie Chinon Cabernet Franc. This was not a surprise. At little more than ten dollars a bottle, this one is a real steal. Lovely red fruits with some spice and hints of tobacco make the Dom Semellerie Chinon a classic Cabernet Franc. Second place had to be California, right? Think again. A close second was the 2002 Waterford Vineyards Cabernet Franc; this one proved to be the surprise crowd pleaser that seemed superior for the price.

We must admit that we enjoyed all of the Cabernet Francs poured that evening; however, since we worked with a rating scale, somebody had to come in last place. The two Cabernet Francs that scored lowest on the list were the 2000 Edgewood Cabernet Franc from Napa, California, and the 2004 Willowcroft Vineyards Cabernet Franc from Virginia. The former was deemed too “hot” for many on our panel, and the latter proved to be a bit lacking in fruit characteristics normally associated with Cabernet Franc. However, both pours found homes that evening as Dezel graciously allowed the panelists to take home their favorite wines.

While tasting each wine, the participants attempted to guess which winery produced the Cabernet Franc being tasted. Megan, Paul and Warren guessed correctly 50% of the time, and we were able to get first bids on the wines to bring home. Paul quickly grabbed the Waterford Cabernet Franc. On top of the wonderful wines poured that evening, Niki treated us to Turkish cuisine that included lamb and beef; the featured Cabernet Franc with our meal was the Michael Schaps Cabernet Franc from King Family Vineyards.

We had a wonderful experience and enjoyed spending time with such a great group of wine enthusiasts. We left with ideas for other tastings in the near future. Thank you Dezel and Niki!