Tamarack Cabernet Franc 2016

Tamarack Cabernet Franc is made from 100 percent Cabernet Franc.

Glorius vintage with wonderful weather conditions for normal production of low tonnages equaling delicious, balanced and succulent fruit.
Elegant with spiced cherry, blackberry and boysenberry mingling pleasingly and lingering seductively with a hint of oak, smooth chocolate and mocha on the structured tannins and fine-grained finish.

Review:

"Sleekly layered, with precise cherry, lead pencil and dusty dill flavors that persist toward refined tannins. Drink now through 2028. 1,176 cases made. — TF"

- Wine Spectator (Web only 2019), 90 pts

Tamarack Cabernet Sauvignon is made from  91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot 

Crushed gently and dropped by gravity into 1.5 ton bins, cold soaked for 24 to 72 hours, then inoculated with a variety of yeasts, hand-punched and pressed directly to barrel where the wine finishes both primary and secondary fermentations. The individual lots of wine that compose the Cabernet Sauvignon are kept separate for at least one year before they are blended.

A warm summer led to an early start to harvest, followed by a stretch of lower than average temperatures in late September that slowed ripening so grapes hung longer without sugars skyrocketing, providing balance, more flavor development and concentration. A long but successful harvest!

Full bodied with black currant jam, honey glazed dates and black peppered seasoned T-bone steak aromas intertwined with piercing boysenberry, rosemary rack of lamb, balsamic, blue cheese, bacon wrapped figs and intriguing tannins extended out over an intricate and balanced finish.

Review:

"Rich and ripe cabernet in the dark-berry zone that really has attractive freshness and intensity to the nose. The palate has a very sleek array of ripe dark plums with a fleshy texture. Ready now."

 - James Suckling (July 2019), 91 pts

Monteagrelo Cabernet Franc has beautiful ruby red with purple highlights.
It displays aromas of ripe red berries with a nice wood smoke complexity, thanks to the aging in French oak barrels. The wine has a very good structure, but the tannins are still quite round and integrated.

Aged in French and American oak barrels for 15 months. No filtration and no fining.

The finish is very long and will allow the wine to be consumed with food, such as grilled meat or cheese.

Review:

"The pick of the Monteagrelo wines, at least for me, in 2016, this comes from Vista Flores and is a beautifully judged expression of a variety that has found a home in the Uco Valley. Leafy, fine and refreshing, with black cherry and graphite notes. 2019-26"

- Tim Atkin (Argentina Special Report 2018), 93 pts

"The Cabernet Franc that Bressia acquires in Vista Flores comes from a 15 year old vineyard (same one as the Syrah) planted on the area’s alluvial soils with a high percentage of sand. But 2016, one of the coldest ever in Mendoza, molded the fruit in a very different way, highlighting more herbal notes. For those unfriendly to herbal flavors, they may be excessive, but we like that there here at “Descorchados”, mainly because they’re accompanied with heaps of red fruit in a lightish body with crisp acidity."
- Descorchados, 92 pts

This Cabernet Franc is black cherry red in color with aromas of blueberry jam and white pepper spiciness. With wonderful ripeness we were able to make one of our best Cabernet Francs. The wine is very lush across the palate with a silky softness and sweet impression of ripe blueberry fruit. Tannins are very moderate with a nice light texture in the mid palate. This is an easy drinking Cabernet Franc, rich and complete and very enjoyable.

Paradigm Cabernet Franc is made from 76% Cabernet Franc,  13% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot 

Willowcroft Cabernet Franc is made from 75% Cabernet Franc, 14% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Chambourcin and 4% Petit Verdot. This is a blend of clones from Bordeaux and the Loire Valley. 
This is planted on silty loam soils. 
Harvested from home Vineyards on Sept 23rd 2015 (brix 23.9). 
Malo-Lactic fermentation.
Fermented and aged for 12 months in a mix of French, Hungarian and American Oak barrels.
It was slightly filtered before bottling.

Dark and chocolate, spiced with pretty notes of allspice and clove, this wine is round and rich, bursting with ripe berries, combined with an earthy complexity and a velvety finish.

Made from 42% Cabernet Sauvignon,  29% Merlot,  29% Cabernet Franc 

The wine spent 22 months on 75% new French oak with the remaining 25% second vintage French oak. Select barrels from the best forests of Taransaud, Boutes, Quintessance, and Vicard cooperages.

Review:

A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (60%), Cabernet Franc (30%) and Merlot, this wine seems a little green out of the gate, with aromas of herbs, cocoa, vanilla, black licorice, woodspice and black fruit. The fruit flavors display the warmth of this region, with the tannins providing some heft, stretching out over time. - Wine Enthusiast 91 Points 

Tamarack Cellars’ 2011 Ciel du Cheval Vineyard Reserve is an outstanding blend of 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot and 29% Cabernet Franc that spent 22 months (each variety is kept separate until 12 months after the harvest) in 50% new and 50% once-used French oak. Classically styled, with lots of smoke tobacco, licorice and blackcurrant aromas and flavors, it has everything in the right place, in the right proportions, and is incredibly enjoyable to drink. Enjoy this medium to full-bodied, moderately tannic, balanced beauty over the coming decade, although it will probably last longer. - Robert Parker Wine Advocate 91 Points