I recently (May) took part in a Cabernet Franc Eastcoast tasting panel with Lenn Thompson of the Cork Report, Keith Beavers of Vinepair, Allison Slute of Cabernet Franc Chronicles, and Byron Elmendorf winemaker at Macari Vineyards.
Glen Manor Vineyards, 70 miles west of Washington D.C., is located on a 100-year old family farm, in the Blue Ridge mountains. Today, the estate is comprised 226 acres of pastures, and 18 acres of vineyards. It is surrounded by neighboring farms and mountain forests and shares a common border with Shenandoah National Park. Jeff White is the vineyardist and winemaker.
Jeff has a non-interventionist outlook when it comes to wine. He tries to stand by and let his fruit do the talking. The Cabernet Franc is grown in three separate blocks, the first planted in 1996, and second two in 2008 and 2009. Typically, Jeff hand-harvests in the cooler morning hours and then chills their fruit in a walk-in cooler for 24 hours. The next morning the clusters are sorted through to remove leaves or damaged berries and destemmed without crushing. Then a second sorting is normally performed before entering the fermenter. After a 4 day cold soak, the crushed grapes were brought inside the winery, warmed and yeast was added. Fermentation usually lasts a week-and-a-half, with two daily cap punch downs. Malolactic cultures are added and the grapes continued to macerate before pressing. The wine is then aged for 17 months in 2-6 year old barrels.
The resulting wine was incredible. The nose was full of big, dark fruit A veritable compote of black cherry, black berry, cassis, and dark plum. Those notes absolutely came through on the palate as well, with hints of freshly cured tobacco, earth, and a hint of wet slate. On the back end there were notes of medium tannins with the feel of black tea, and a white pepper finish. A nice dose of acid kept the fruit light and lively on the finish, which lingered of fresh cherries for some time. Complex, layered, and well-balanced, this wine had everything going for it. It was well rounded, sexy and luscious, No question, one of my favorite wines of the day. A stunner!