Varietal
Cabernet Franc, one of the classic Bordeaux varietals, is most often used as a blending grape to add interest and to compliment Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot based wines. On its own Cabernet Franc produces alluring wines that are early maturing with generous mouthfeel and fruit and less tannic than Cabernet Sauvignon.

Vintage
Vintage 2002 started wet, even before the calendar said it was 2002 - we almost had our seasonal average of rain before the New Year – with January and February being unusually dry and typically cold. We had light rain at the end of March that slowed down budbreak but without causing any major problems. Unsettled weather through spring kept things interesting. More cool weather in May extended bloom, which could have caused uneven ripening. At the end of May we were about two weeks behind 2001. Veraison began in late July, later than average, but earlier than 1998 and 1999. Moving into the final stages of the growing season we were in pretty good shape considering that our summer had been fairly mild. 2002 was a vintage won in the vineyard, beginning shortly after budbreak with shoot thinning, and on through the season with crop thinning to balance the vines and eliminate any damaged or delayed fruit. This work by our growers allowed us to bring in ripe, uniform, high quality fruit with intense flavors and nice natural acid levels.

Vinification
The harvest began on September 27th. The fermentation took place in open top tanks and was punched down daily over 12 days. After pressing, the wine was racked to French oak barrels and aged for 19 months then ultimately bottled in June 2004. Alcohol 14.5%, Total acidity .54, pH 3.93, Residual sugar .09%.

Tasting Notes
It is a richly flavored, complex, well balanced wine, with a very long finish. It tastes of opulent, jammy blueberry and chocolate with a slight herbal note and soft but chewy tannins in the finish. Serve with veal scallopine (veal scallops with marsala sauce), rosemary pork chop, filet mignon, and lamb stew.

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