Applegate Valley Cabernet Franc is an enigma. The grapes are hardy, resistant to winter freezes, but also strangely sensitive, with unpredictable harvest yields and a susceptibility to the dreaded red blotch virus. The wine though, makes it all worth it. It is ethereal but comforting, with notes of spices, earth, tobacco, and mint. It is also extremely ageable, improving over time well into future decades. The Applegate Valley is Cab Franc's alternative universe, where greatness happens, albeit in frustratingly less quantities than one would want.
All the things are going on here, red pepper, loam, mysterious spices. The texture is firm, at release, but will likely soften and open up over the next few years.
