2017 Estate Cabernet Franc - Ravines Wine Cellars

Cherry puree, green bell pepper, raspberry compote. Pulverized mulberry, wilted rose, wild huckleberry. Fresh basil and jalapeno, wrought iron and copper penny.  Green tobacco, peppercorn, dill, and thorny bramble claw ferociously at surprisingly dense and concentrated fruit, which emerges not completely unscathed as cranberry sauce and pomegranate preserve after doing battle against intense herbaceousness. Gourmet coffee beans, clove, and soft baking chocolate seek to glamorize the spicy herbs with a sheen of oak that has not yet integrated. An interesting earthy rusticity sits quietly beneath the expressive upper registers revealing river stones and iron oxide in a smooth and subtle twang. Medium bodied and relatively lean despite its richness, strutting medium tannin and fresh acidity. This 2017 Estate Cabernet Franc by Ravines Wine Cellars is a complex and characterful cool climate red from New York's Finger Lakes.

While primarily known as a region of tremendous potential for growing Riesling, the Finger Lakes of Northwestern New York has also proven formidable in the production of cool climate red wine. This bottling, crafted by Ravines Wine Cellars using Cabernet Franc sourced from their estate vineyards in the Finger Lakes, is an interesting example of what makes this area unique. The fruit here is certainly ripe and rich yet this wine booms with intense herbaceousness. Cab Franc's telltale pyrazines are present in full force creating a delicious and complex juxtaposition of flavors. If we had to present one gripe with this wine it is that the noticeable oak presence does not quite fall in line with its overall character, but this is still a tremendously fun bottle regardless.