The wine impresses with its silkiness and a hint of violets. Our cabernet franc has the strength of flavour to accommodate small oak maturation and is warm and generous; though obviously in a slighter mould than the cabernet dominant Charles Andreas, the Shiraz or the Merlot.

Cabernet Franc is the Bordeaux variety that tends to show more of the herbaceous edge in warmer ripening situations and it is pleasing to see so little of that flavour in this wine. If there is a good complement of other flavours a little herbaceousness can complement and add a spicy lifted note. It is a question of balance.

Cabernet franc is picked normally on the same day as the malbec and sometimes we vinify the two together. They complement each other very well. These two make a very important contribution to our Charles Andreas.

Cabernet Franc is bottled as a single varietal in limited quantities. It is part of the project to know thoroughly the ingredients that we have at hand.

Current vintage is 2001