Early Mountain, 2019 Shenandoah Springs Cabernet Franc, Virginia, USA

No.11 | What's In My Glass

Since opening their doors in 2012, Early Mountain Vineyards has quickly established themselves as a leading wine producer in Virginia. Their winemaker, California-native and UC Davis grad Maya Hood White, came on board in the vineyard and cellar in 2014, becoming Assistant Winemaker in 2017, and as of 2022, Maya is Head Winemaker and Viticulturalist.

To say that Maya and Early Mountain are Cabernet Franc fanatics might actually be a bit of an understatement. The estate’s 8.6 acres of Cabernet Franc, plus some additional fruit sourced from growers, make its way into over a half dozen of Early Mountain’s wines, including their rosé and other red blends, plus Maya makes three, sometimes upwards of five, single-varietal Cabernet Francs depending on vintage conditions and fruit quality. Their single-varietal expressions include the Madison County Cabernet Franc sourced from the estate’s Early Mountain and Quaker Run Vineyards, the Quaker Run single-vineyard bottling, the Shenandoah Valley bottling (from two vineyards in the Shenandoah Valley AVA), their Shenandoah Springs single-vineyard wine, and the newest addition to their single-vineyard Cabernet Francs comes from the Capstone Vineyard, which was first bottled in 2019.

If THIS isn’t commitment to the grape variety, I don’t know what is!

I connected with Maya back in August of 2022 to get a better understanding of her work and approach with Cabernet Franc, so that I could do a video deep dive featuring the winery’s 2019 Quaker Run Vineyard Cabernet Franc. Over the course of our email exchange, it became very clear to me how much Maya believes in Cabernet Franc as a star variety at Early Mountain and in Virginia.

Her enthusiasm for the variety and the terroirs she works with is infectious. “Cabernet Franc is very expressive of site!… We are so lucky to work with such diversity in Cabernet Franc sites, that really makes a difference in the wines we are able to produce,” she shared with me in our email exchange. She added, “we love well exposed sites, where there is greater potential for phenolic development; but in those situations, we are also cognizant to not overly leaf-remove in order to maintain aromatically driven wines.”

Maya is also highly tuned to what each vineyard can give, viticulturally-speaking, to the Cabernet Franc planted there, and then how to work with it appropriately in the cellar. “Early Mountain [Vineyard] Cabernet Franc is best respected when it is allowed to be fresh and fruity and not overly extracted, with a lighter body. We don’t see a high phenolic load at Early Mountain [Vineyard] but do get interesting and lively fruit diversity, with bright aromatics.”

In my conversations with wine-growers, it is these sorts of insights and understanding of the variety that can make the difference between good Cabernet Franc and great Cabernet Franc. And great Cabernet Franc can take all shapes and expressions, from light and juicy to dense and structured, and everything in between, the key is understanding what the site brings to the table and being respectful of this in the cellar.

The 2019 Shenandoah Springs Cabernet Franc is coming from 2 acres of vines from the Shenandoah Springs Vineyard, which is owned by one of Early Mountain’s grower partners. Located in the westernmost part of Virginia and bound by the Allegheny Mountains to the west and the Blue Ridge Mountains to the east, the vineyards in the Shenandoah Valley AVA are at some of the highest elevations in the state, upwards to 450m (1500ft) above sea level. The AVA’s viticultural landscape is defined by slightly cooler temperatures during the growing season, lower rainfall than other parts of the state, and limestone soils.

This block of Cabernet Franc was planted in 2001 and is situated on a southeast-facing slope at around 390m (1285ft) above sea level, and the soils are deep, limestone-derived silts and loam. Maya shared with me that “Shenandoah Springs [Cabernet Franc] achieves higher phenolic loads, which can lend itself to a very extractive wine with greater body.” To complement this, the wine sees one month on skins, and during the fermentation she leaves about 15% of the fruit whole cluster to help amplify the aromatics, and the finished wine is aged in 500L neutral oak for 16 months.

In the glass, this is an impressive and beautifully crafted wine. The nose has plenty of depth and intensity, with ripe, dark-fruited notes of black raspberry preserves, black cherry and Italian blue plum. The pyrazines take a back seat to the fruit, but provide balancing, supportive varietal nuances like underbrush, cedar and mountain herbs. While not terribly floral, there is a subtle underpinning of rose petals - reminiscent of a fresh rose preserved between the pages of an old, heavy book. While the nose exhibits a lot of richness and density, there is a brightness that instantly make you start to salivate. The palate continues with dark, brambly fruits, crushed rocks, cocoa and a plethora of spices, like quatre épices, a French sweet-savoury blend that is typically a mix of white pepper, nutmeg, cloves and ground ginger. As the nose suggested, the acidity is fresh and bright, and is particularly exhilarating towards the back of the middle palate and on the finish, which brings enough levity to balanced the richness of fruit. The tannins are luxurious and supple, with a cashmere-like texture and a touch of meatiness on the finish. Richly textured, marrying power with grace, the wines exudes sophistication and a quiet confidence.

Each of Early Mountain’s Cabernet Francs expresses a unique sense of place with understated elegance, exemplifying Maya’s ‘less is more’ philosophy. With her attention to detail in the vineyard and respectful hand in the cellar, Maya is crafting exquisite Cabernet Francs, and doing her part to show the wine world why Cabernet Franc is emerging as Virginia’s star variety.

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Celebrating Women in the World of Cabernet Franc

From vineyard to bottle and beyond, these women are responsible for some of the top examples of Cabernet Franc from their respective regions. While this is not an exhaustive list, I will continue to do my part to share the stories of these women and others as it relates to their contributions to the world of Cabernet Franc and increasing the awareness of Cabernet Franc as a star variety.

LOIRE

Anne-Charlotte Genet - Charles Joguet (Chinon)

Sylvie de la Vigerie - Olga Raffault (Chinon)

Béatrice Lambert - Béatrice et Pascal Lambert (Chinon)

Beatriz Papamija - Clos Kixhaya (Chinon)

D’Arcy du Petit Thouars - Château du Petit Thouars (Chinon)

Fiona Beeston - Clos des Capucins (Chinon)

Catherine Breton, France Breton - Catherine & Pierre Breton (Bourgueil)

Laurie Caslot - Domaine de la Chevalerie (Bourgueil)

Agnès Amirault, Ana Gimeno Espasa - Domaine Amirault (St-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil)

Estelle Cognard - Vins Cognard (St-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil)

Françoise Flao - Caves Louis de Grenelle (Saumur)

Aurélia Moly - Domaine Moly (Saumur/Saumur-Champigny)

Caroline Meurée - Domaine des Sables Verts (Saumur-Champigny)

Lydie Chancelle - Domaine Chancelle (Saumur-Champigny)

Elisabeth de Tigny Mourot, Camilla Murray - Château de Chaintres (Saumur-Champigny)

Isabelle Esnault - Domaine des Passereaux (Saumur-Champigny)

Clotilde Legrand - Domaine Legrand (Saumur-Champigny)

Amélie Neau - Domaine de Nerleux (Saumur-Champigny)

Jeanne Germain - Domaine Jeanne Germain (Saumur-Champigny)

Christine Kieu - Domaine de la Chance (Saumur-Champigny)

Sophie Maire-Kurdziel - Les Justices (Saumur-Champigny)

Marie-Françoise Ratron-Galet - Clos des Cordeliers/Domaine Ratron (Saumur-Champigny)

Ana Gimeno Espasa, Candela Rodriguez Regidor - Must Be Wine (Saumur-Champigny)

Pauline Mourrain - Domaine l'Austral (Saumur Puy-Notre Dame)

Carole Kohler - Domaine Jardins de Fleury (Anjou)

Céline Blet - Les Terres Blanches (Anjou)

ELSEWHERE

Cinzia Merli - Le Macchiole (Bolgheri, Italy)

Elena Celli - Duemani (Toscana, Italy)

Elisabetta Foradori - Ampeleia (Maremma, Italy)

Ilaria Felluga - Russiz Superiore (Collio, Italy)

Susann Hanauer - Weingut Wassmann (Villány, Hungary)

Csilla Sebestyén - Sebestyén Pince (Szekszárd, Hungary)

Adriana Catena - El Enemigo (Mendoza, Argentina)

Noelia Juri - Zorzal Wines (Mendoza, Argentina)

Pilar Miranda - Garage Wine Co (Maipo, Chile)

Fabiana Bracco - Bracco Bosca (Atlántida, Uruguay)

Kelly Washington - Kelly Washington Wines (Hawke's Bay, New Zealand)

Julia Hoyle - Hosmer Winery (Finger Lakes, NY, USA)

Meghan Frank - Dr. Konstantin Frank (Finger Lakes, NY, USA)

Julia Alvarez-Perez - Usonia Wine (Finger Lakes, NY, USA)

Diana Lyttle - Boundary Breaks (Finger Lakes, NY, USA)

Léana Godard - Forge Cellars (Finger Lakes, NY, USA)

Marin Brennan - Bedell Cellars (Long Island, NY, USA)

Gabriella Macari - Macari Wines (Long Island, NY, USA)

Joy Ting - Joy Ting Wine (Virginia, USA)

Maya Hood White - Early Mountain Vineyards (Virginia, USA)

Leah Jorgensen - Leah Jorgensen Cellars (Oregon, USA)

Bree Stock, MW - Ltd.+ Wines (Oregon, USA)

Megan Glaab - RYME Cellars (Sonoma, California, USA)

Lori Budd - Dracaena Wines, Founder of #cabfrancday (Paso Robles, California, USA)

Lydia Tomek - Ravine Vineyard (Niagara, Canada)

Kelly Mason - Mason Vineyard/Domanie Queylus/Honsberger (Niagara, Canada)

Brooke Husband - Domaine Queylus (Niagara, Canada)

Ann Sperling - Southbrook Vineyards (Niagara and the Okanagan Valley, Canada)

Jessica Otting, Augusta Vanmuyen - Tawse Winery

Melissa Marotta-Paolicelli, Angela Marotta, Emily Royal - Two Sisters Vineyards (Niagara, Canada)

Emma Garner - Thirty Bench (Niagara, Canada)

Andrea Kaiser - Drea’s Wines (Niagara, Canada)

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If you know of other women making waves with Cabernet Franc, let me know who they are in the comments below!