Cabernet Franc

Cabernet franc is the state grape of Maryland. It was really important to us that we did a vertical cab franc tasting with all Maryland vintages. Back in 2020, we did a tasting that was a mix of Maryland, New York, Chilean and French vintages for comparison across  syles and climates. Our big take away, was that the east coast American wines bring the  biggest peppery finish, which we love. All paired extremely well with bell peppers. This local Maryland tasting brought a whole lot of that, and much more. The typical primary flavors of cabernet franc are strawberry, plum, bell pepper, crushed gravel and chili pepper. On the nose, you'll typically get herbaceous and bell pepper aromas, along with red fruits and violets. It's medium bodied with high acidity and medium-high tannins. Maryland specifically can produce fuller bodied cab francs with higher tannins due to our climate being warmer than somewhere like northern France. Originating  from France, it grows very well in the United States, along with Italy and Chile. For this tasting we chose Elk Run's 2019, Red Heiffer's 2017, Antietam's 2020, Boordy's 2017 Reserve and Big Cork's 2020. For food, we had beef wellington,  seafood cioppino, puff pastry cups with a spanikopita filling, pimento cheese stuffed bell peppers and mini naan pizzas, one with mushroom, peppers and goat cheese, one with salami and italian  cheeses. Elk Run's cab franc gave us floral aromas of rose, red currant, plum and pepper. As it opened up more, we later got some cocoa and vanilla. On the palate, we got cherry cola and enjoyed the lingering finish. This wine was great with the pimento peppers and  spanikopitas. The Red Heiffer needed a bit to open up but once it did, we got very floral aromas of rose and violets. On the palate, cherry cola, lots of tartness and high acidity.  This wine also had a nice finish and paired well with the pizzas. Antietam's was medium bodied with high tannin. On the nose were notes of pepper, leather, smoke and strong earthiness. This wine paired well with the peppers and spanikopita. Boordy's reserve was the fullest body with high tannin. The nose was all smoke, tabacco, black currant and  white pepper. The palate was blackberry and black cherry with a great finish. This paired best with the beef wellington and peppers. Big Cork's was the youngest vintage. On the  nose was rose and pepper. It was medium acid, body and tannin. The palate was all black cherry. It paired well with the peppers, veggie pizza and beef wellington. We are excited to taste this one again in a few years to see how it ages. It's my favorite of theirs so far and  the best one since 2015's, which was Ian's favorite and what initially turned us on to Big Cork. All in all this was a very enjoyable tasting. None of the wines really paired well with the cioppino but it was still tasty. Umami can be pretty tricky to pair with wine so that's  just how it goes sometimes. Based on our personal preferences, Ian's favorite was the  Red Heifer and mine was Boordy's but all 5 of these were chosen for this tasting because they are our favorite cabernet francs in Maryland right now. If you also love cab franc,  try to get your hands on them while you can. You won't be disappointed. Head over to Red Heifer, rent a cabana and enjoy the stunning views they provide from their winery. You won't be far from Big Cork or Antietam at that point and may even pass Elk Run on the way.  Or stay closer to Baltimore at Boordy and enjoy a flight.