Up this week, we have another bottle from our personal Wine Shop at home consultants wine club and comes from Evo winery in northern California. A $1 from each bottle sold goes to National Geographic to protect endangered species. This wine is a Cabernet Franc, which refers to a grape that is primarily used for blending Merlots and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes in Bordeaux (the best French wine IMHO). The grape is a little lighter than its genetic cousin Cabernet Sauvignon and produces a slightly paler red wine. In the Americas, the use of different grapes beyond Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, etc. is becoming more prounounced as the national palette becomes more enriched. One of my favorite varietal types of red wines is Malbec, which is primairly produced in the Mendoza region of Argentina. This was my first bottle of Cabernet Franc though. We paired with pasta with a marinina sauce with green olives and capers.
The color was good, even if it was a little darker than I expected. The aroma is very earthy, like fresh tilled earth after a rain storm. The taste was a mixture of berries with a pretty sharp spicy aftertaste. So they are not far off in their description of the wine. This wine kind of grows on you a little bit, so overall for a first time experience it was pretty good. I would have prefered a little less spice though. I think I would give it a 4.2 out 5.
This 2008 EVO North Coast Cabernet Franc has aromas of cherry, wet leather, and moist tobacco with hints of spicy jalapeno and kiwi. The flavors are a ripe combination of the aromas with smooth acidity and mild tannin. The mouth-feel is medium to heavy with a nice roundness in the long fruit centric finish. Enjoy this wine with roasted pork chops, artichokes with aioli, portabella mushrooms or morbier cheese.
2 comments:
Sounds interesting! I've always been a little leery of trying new wines, especially reds, because I never know how high the tannin content is and I'm always afraid it will be bitter. That's why I stick to Pinot Noir mostly.
The problem with too much tannin is that really people are drinking red wines too soon. Basically, the purpose of the tannin - at least those from the oak barrel help the wine age gracefully. So if you buy a bottle of red under two years it is likely the tannins will be overtly strong.
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