A Week or so in Review...
No.26 | Thinking Out Loud
Hello friends,
For the last week or so, I’ve been exploring some wines from North America, mostly in honour of Canada Day this past Monday and our American friends celebrating Independence Day yesterday. Last evening I opened the 2019 Cabernet Franc from Nathan Kendall, one of the Finger Lakes’s most celebrated young talents. It has been a couple years since I tasted this wine for the first time, and I was delighted by how it was showing. From a cooler, more challenging vintage in the Finger Lakes, the wine embodies all of the deliciousness that cool climate Cab Franc can offer. Crunchy red fruit, a delicate herbal perfume and a piquant, peppery core, all neatly packaged in a light-bodied, elegant frame with refreshing acidity and fine, gauzy tannins. Nicely balanced with good concentration, this is an understated, well-made wine that is true to the grape, true to the place, respectful of the vintage and an absolute pleasure to drink.
Coming Attractions
On Monday, I opened and recorded a video on the Vineland Estates Legacy Cabernet Franc. This is a thoughtful and well thought through wine that uses a perpetual reserve technique of fractional blending to explore and better understand the terroir expression of Cab Franc from the estate’s Bo-Teek Vineyard. This video will be available for viewing within the coming days.
Last week I celebrated my birthday, and opened a slew of wines that I ended up tasting over a few days, including the 2016 Cabernet Franc from Napa’s Ashes & Diamonds. Established in 2015, this project puts a strong focus on Cabernet Franc in their range of wines and is led by an all-star winemaking team of Steve Matthaisson and Diana Snowden Seysses. Stay tuned for a deep dive on this wine and Cabernet Franc in Napa later in the month.
2024 so far on Substack and beyond…
Six months ago I launched Being Franc so that I could expand my coverage on Cabernet Franc beyond my videos and also to practice writing (my own personal Mt. Everest). It has been a very rewarding journey so far, and I’m grateful for everyone who reads, comments, and shares these articles/posts with family, friends and colleagues.
With that said, I thought I would take a moment to highlight some of the most popular posts since the beginning of the year:
On Substack in the weeks and months to come, you can expect more deep dives on some of the Loire’s great vineyards, regional commentaries on Ontario, California, Tuscany, South America and beyond, exploring red traditional method sparkling Cab Franc, producer features, tasting notes and more.
Beyond Substack, I have continued to record and post deep dive tasting videos, all of which are available for easy viewing on YouTube, complete with timestamps for easy navigation.
It has been a busy, productive and fun start to the year, and there is lots to look forward to! Thank you so much for reading, watching, and all of the continued love, support and enthusiasm for this project.
Cheers,
Allison
Congrats on 6 months of Being Franc - it’s always a pleasure reading your posts and nobody flies the Cab Franc flag quite like you! Here’s to the next 6 months 🕺🏻
Loved your writing the last 6 months and seeing you grow and improve as a communicator has been a privilege. Can't wait to see what you have in store for us in the future!