2006 Lang & Reed Cabernet Franc				**
	Region	Price	Purchased	Date
	North Coast, CA	$20	K&L Wines	2/7/10
	A medium-deep, ruby-colored wine with bright aromatics of black fruit, cherry, sweet spice and a hint of herbs. We popped and poured this wine, which took awhile to sort of develop more than bright fruit flavors. It's smooth and medium-bodied, starting out all blackberry and black cherry with some notes of vanilla and mocha. Then as it sat in the glass and got away from food, the leafy, chalky, herbal nature of the varietal took over and settled in with the ripe fruit and sweet spice. Well-structured with integrated tannins and medium acidity. Only aged for 8-9 months in neutral barrels, which really let the fruit speak for itself. Needed a bit more complexity and a longer finish to get three stars. The winery specializes in Cabernet Franc and the North Coast is their "drink now" bottling. Would definitely buy this again, as it showcases what the grape is all about without being so in your face green and vegetal which the ones from France generally are. Very good QPR and ready to drink though could still age a year or two. (14.5% abv)

2005 Anglim Winery Cabernet Franc, Paso Del Sol Vineyard				***
	Region	Price	Purchased	Date
	Paso Robles, CA	$32	@ The Winery	1/11/11
	This is the first release of this varietal from Anglim with 100% of the grapes coming from the south-west side of Paso. The wine is a medium, ruby/garnet color with a moderate nose of ripe cherry, blackcurrent leaf and cassis with notes of licorice and leather. The palate is medium-bodied with well-balanced acidity and well-integrated tannins. The flavors are of red cherry, blackraspberry, wet leaves with hints of cedar, licorice and mocha. It was quite tart and disjointed when first poured, but opened up beautifully once we aerated it rounding out the acidity and integrating the flavors into a smooth, classy experience. This wine has plenty of life left. If you have to crack it open, I would decant it for at least an hour. It was aged for 29 months in 100% French oak (75% new). It's rare to find stand alone Cab Francs that have this much depth of flavor and still taste varietally correct. Great QPR. (70 cases/14.8% abv)

2005 Cass Winery Cabernet Franc				***
	Region	Price	Purchased	Date
	Paso Robles, CA	$42	@ The Winery	6/6/08
	A deep, ruby/purple colored wine with subtle aromas of black fruit, herbs, minerals and hints of oak. The palate is full-bodied with firm tannins, low acidity and intense ripe fruit flavors (plum, black cherry) with hints of oak, lead and herbs on the big finish. Still a bit disjointed, this wine could use another 6 months to fully integrate. Bigger than many Cab Francs, but still shows the typicity of the varietal.

2005 Charles Joguet Chinon Cuvée Terroir				**
	Region	Price	Tasted	Date
	Loire Valley, France	$18	@ Wine House	3/17/08
	A deep, ruby colored wine with typical French Cab Franc aromas of red fruit, green vegetables, smoke and a strong minerality. The medium body and tannins make this almost ready to drink showing rich black cherry, toast, coffee and clay flavors that need a bit more time to unite fully on the palate. The finish and complexity are pretty good for the price and a bit more lushly flavorful than many French versions of this varietal. One to look for if you're interested in seeing what this region has to offer. Retasted 9/8/08: Very vegetal this time around, though less tannic. Went better with food (Linguine with Goat Cheese and Arugula) which turned the asparugus/mineral flavors into bright berry fruit flavors with hints of smoke and pepper, complimenting the arugula and goat cheese. Quite a great pairing.

2005 Dark Star Cellars Cabernet Franc				**
	Region	Price	Purchased	Date
	Paso Robles, CA	$25	@ The Winery	12/27/08
	This is the first Cab Franc from Dark Star which usually uses these grapes in their Ricordati blend. The wine is a dark ruby/purple color with a nose filled with black fruit, sweet spice and blackcurrant leaf. The palate is medium-bodied with good balance of tannin and acidity with black cherry, blackberry, earth and oak flavors with some minerality on the dusty finish. This wine doesn't show much typicity of the varietal, but is well-made if not overly complex. A good first try.

2005 Domaine Filliatreau Saumur Champigny La Grande Vignolle				**
	Region	Price	Tasted	Date
	Loire Valley, France	$17	@ K&L Wines	4/3/08
	A medium-bodied ruby-colored wine with a vibrant nose of dusty black fruits with a hint of herbs that is typical of the region. The palate was a bit tannic and rustic, but still filled with enough blackberry fruit and spice to make the experience enjoyable. This wine could definitely use a bit more time to soften it's rough egdes, but it's a nice version for those interested in exploring how French Cab Francs taste. Especially if you don't care for the green pepper notes that usually accompany these wines.

2005 Domaine La Grange Tiphaine Béccare				**
	Region	Price	Tasted	Date
	Loire Valley, France	$18	@ K&L Wines	1/29/09
	A medium-bodied, ruby colored wine with a nose filled with black fruit, earth, green pepper and hints of minerals. The palate is soft with good balance and acidity, low tannins and alcohol. The flavors are mostly vegetal with blackcurrant, black cherry, smoke and slate with a bit of black pepper on the finish. This is a classically-styled wine that really showcases its cool climate region. Its definitely less vegetal with food, but this is very differnet from New World versions. Much more earthy and dry. I liked it, the Man did not. You'll have to judge for yourself.

2005 Halter Ranch Winery Cabernet Franc				***
	Region	Price	Purchased	Date
	Paso Robles, CA	$28	@ The Winery	9/2/10
	(90% Cab Franc with 10% Malbec) A medium/deep, ruby/magenta colored wine with a moderate nose of black fruit, plum and herbs with notes of sweet spice and licorice. Initially still very tight we aerated the wine to open the palate, which is full-bodied with dusty fine tannins and medium acidity. The flavors mirror the nose with black cherry, blackcurrant and plum balanced by hints of oak and herbs on the medium-length finish. The wine was aged for 18 months in French oak (40% new), which gives it a solid structure and noticeable finesse despite its 15% abv. It's still way too young. Needs at least another year in the bottle to be best enjoyed. If you still have a bottle I'd decant for a few hours. Solid QPR.

2005 Les Hauts Lastour Coteaux du Quercy				**
	Region	Price	Tasted	Date
	Cahors, France	$10	@ Colorado Wine Co.	4/19/09
	A medium, garnet-colored wine with a bright nose of red fruit, earth and licorice with a hint of herbs. A medium-bodied, soft and surprisingly ripe wine (for a French Cab Franc) with strawberry and plum flavors along with notes of white pepper, earth and a hint of green pepper and minerals on the lingering finish. A well-crafted wine that was quite intense and delicious without food, which is not easy to find in French versions of this varietal, especially for the price. A wine to seek out.

2005 McKeon-Phillips Winery Reserve Cabernet Franc				**
	Region	Price	Purchased	Drank
	Santa Barbara, CA	$42	@ the Winery	8/12/10
	A deep, ruby-colored wine with a moderate nose of black fruit, blackcurrent leaf, herbs and smoke. The palate was full-bodied and round with fully integrated tannins and medium acidity. The flavors were of blackcurrent leaf, blackberry and black cherry with notes of mocha, vanilla and oak on the medium-length finish. A well-constructed wine that showed elegance and finesse, as well as strong varietal character, if not exactly the depth one would expect from the price. Could still age for several years, though I don't think it will be getting much better. (14.6% abv)

2004 Cass Winery Cabernet Franc				***
	Region	Price	Purchased	Date
	Paso Robles, CA	$36	@ The Winery	11/28/09
	A deep, ruby/purple colored wine with aromas of black fruit, cherry, minerals and hints of lead pencil and coffee. The palate is full-bodied with firm tannins (even after aerating), low acidity and fruit flavors of blackberry, plum and black cherry with hints of lead and mocha on the dusty, medium finish. This is a big wine that could use another year or two to fully integrate the tannins. Thought five years would be enough. A full throttle version of this varietal that's complex and intense. Wish I had another bottle to sit on and see what happens. (300 cases/14.9%)

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