Chatter Creek Cabernet Franc

From the winery: "This wine sparkles with bright, deep garnet color and shows only the slightest sediment. Riper and more forward than the 2001, the 2002 Cabernet Franc shows striking minerality in its nose of violets, blueberry, and black cherry alongside exceptional hints of sage, cocoa powder, and star anise. The attack on this wine carries through the lead pencil and quartz notes, warming to plumy cherry and blueberry fruit and fresh acidity on the mid-palette. The finish continues the interplay of the fruit and terroir, framed in by notes of toasted almonds and vanilla bean. A wine of tremendous balance and attentive winemaking savoir-faire, this Cab Franc deserves not only to be bottled by itself, it could serve as your whole meal."

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From the winery: "The cousin to Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc is widely grown in France. In Bordeaux it is traditionally used for blending in the Loire Valley it is famous as Chinon. In the US it has, until recently, been used as a blending wine, adding brightness to the palate and nose of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Now more people have been enjoying the wine on it's own. I too started making Cabernet Franc for blending but in 2000 finally gave into the wisdom of my friends who would always ask "When are you going bottle this wine by itself" whenever they would stop by to taste the wine from barrel. This is now my third release of Cabernet Franc."