Colour: Red
Species: Vitis Vinifera
A grape variety of growing importance, Cabernet Franc is today found throughout the world. It is best known as a contributor to most Bordeaux blends from the Médoc to Pomerol. Normally a minor element bringing keen scents and a herbal twist, it provides backbone to the fleshier Merlot in many a Right Bank wine. For small number of top Saint-Émilion Châteaux it is the heart of the blend. In the Loire, Cabernet Franc is the sole variety for such wines as Saumur-Champigny, Bourgueil, Chinon and Anjou-Villages. It is also found as a varietal further afield, in Italy and in the New World; it has found a home in the cool coastal regions of North America and Canada and, more recently, in South Africa and New Zealand. Cabernet Franc produces lighter and less tannic wines than its cousin Cabernet sauvignon, with subtler fruit, herbaceous and spicy characteristics and, especially in the Loire, can smell of pencil shavings!
Aliases
- Bordo
- Bouchet
- Bouchy
- Breton
- Cabernet Frank
- Carmenet
- Grosse Vidure
- Gros Bouchet
- Veron
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