In Bordeaux’s cooler vintages, Cabernet Franc stands a better chance of fully ripening
If Chardonnay is the vanilla of the commercial wine world, then Cabernet Sauvignon is its chocolate. These two grapes dominate both the marketplace and our collective palate. When you consider that most Merlot-based wines (with a few exceptional exceptions) taste, basically, like Cabernet Sauvignon on Prozac, the fact that nearly half of all wine sold in the United States is made from one these grapes tells us that our collective palate is quite specifically tuned.
Still, as Americans are becoming ever more wine-savvy, other varietals get to play — Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling for whites, for instance, and Pinot Noir and Syrah / Shiraz for reds — and the wine world lies in constant wait for the Next Big Grape. I’m a wine lover, not a psychic, but I wouldn’t be shocked if Cabernet Franc emerges from the shadows to wear that title soon.
It’s a grape that’s hiding in plain sight. In much of the modern wine world, Cabernet Franc is considered a humble blender to augment wines that more prominently feature its relatives Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, but its charms as the featured grape in a wine — balance between fruitiness and austerity, approachability and complexity — are finding more and more adherents. As a blending grape, though, you may have sipped its nectar but never knew what you were tasting because the wine label did not mention the varietal. As is traditional (and, in many cases, the law) in France, the bottle probably instead boasted the name of a village in the Loire Valley or the proprietary name of a Bordeaux château.
In Bordeaux, judicious amounts of Cabernet Franc and Merlot (and sometimes others) are used to tweak the esteemed Cabernet Sauvignon-based wines of the “Left Bank” of Bordeaux, adding strawberry-like qualities. But realistically, in this region it is often easy to tell the difference between wines produced from Cabernet Sauvignon and those produced from Cabernet Franc. “Franc”-based wines have lower acidity, less pronounced tannins, lighter color extraction, and greener, more herbaceous aromatics. It rarely achieves the complexity that wines made from ripe Cabernet Sauvignon can achieve. In the best vintages of Bordeaux’s Left Bank, Cabernet Franc is used in tiny amounts, and its character is –intentionally — barely noticeable.
The “Right Bank” of Bordeaux is a different story, especially cool-climate St.-Emilion. Cabernet Sauvignon rarely ripens successfully in St.-Emilion, and so the wines rely on their lush, sexy Merlot coupled with a healthy dose of the angular, restrained structure of Cabernet Franc. (Here — and the district called Pomerol — is the home of those exceptional Merlots I alluded to earlier.) Most wines in St.-Emilion contain somewhat more Merlot than Franc, but quite a few wines use more Franc. The best example is one of the world’s finest red wines, Château Cheval Blanc (the 2000 vintage, if you can find it, is currently selling for close to $2,000 per bottle). You can find fine St.-Emilion from a myriad of châteaux starting at under $20 per bottle, with quite a few under $35.
For the wine grower, the appeal of “Franc” is that it thrives in colder weather than Cabernet Sauvignon, and so in Bordeaux’s cooler vintages, Cabernet Franc stands a better chance of fully ripening than its more highly-regarded but warmer-weather loving sibling. The smart Left Bank vignerons plant Franc as an insurance policy against cold weather, raising the percentage of the cool climate ripener whenever necessary.
No doubt Cabernet Franc has performed its blending duties well, but it has also established itself as an increasingly important varietal in both the old and new worlds. This workhorse, so capable of producing extraordinarily elegant red wines on its own, is poised to become the Seabiscuit of vitis vinifera. Imagine a young Cabernet Sauvignon, but without the arch tannins. Cabernet Franc is all about balance. The tannins are noticeable, which will help the wine to age, but the black fruit/berry flavors make a good Cabernet Franc accessible both when young and with some more age. Also, in a world where high alcohol is the order of the day in so many Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot wines, Cabernet Franc achieves its balance of fruit, tannin, and refreshing acidity without becoming an oak and alcohol bomb.
France’s Loire Valley, best known for its white wines, is home to wonderful-but-not-much-heralded Cabernet Franc-based wines. The three mid-Loire villages of Chinon, Bourgeuil, and Saumur-Champigny comprise the epicenter for these medium-bodied, luscious reds. In Chinon and Bourgeuil, the wines can be powerfully complex and age-worthy, and from Saumur-Champigny, the wine has a certain gaiety, full of raspberries and strawberries. Chinon, the traditional “house red” of Paris bistros and brasseries, is perhaps the easiest to find in the American market, but all three are worth seeking out. Prices should be around $18-$25. These Franc-based reds show the grape to great advantage, ramping up its acidity and fruit; Loire is considerably cooler than Bordeaux.
Over the last five or six years, California has begun to embrace Cabernet Franc as a varietal. Well-known producers, many of them in Napa, Sonoma, and Mendocino, who not long ago used Franc strictly as a blender with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, have begun to produce varietal-labeled Cabernet Franc. Fine wines are produced by Pride Mountain, Rubicon Estate, Steele, Lang &Reed, Peju, Imagery, Geyser Peak, Conn Creek, Chappellet, and Alexander Valley Vineyards, among many others. Prices start in the mid teens and top out at about $50, with most wines selling in the $20-$28 range.
New York State is a helluva lot colder than most of California, and cool-climate Cabernet Franc shines in both the Finger Lakes region and on Long Island. Really impressive wines are produced by Konstantin Frank, Red Newt, Glenora, Standing Stone, Lucas, Anthony Road, Fox Run, and Knapp in the Finger Lakes, while Wölffer Estate, Schneider, Castello di Borghese, Paumanok, Palmer, and Macari are some of the better producers on Long Island. Also, in the Hudson Valley region, Millbrook almost always produces a very fine estate-bottled Cabernet Franc. Prices for the New York wines run from the low teens to about $40, with most wines under $20. These gems are certainly worth a search.
Sales of Cabernet Franc continue to grow, but mostly in niche markets and among red wine cognoscenti who have come to appreciate the wine over time. Cabernet Franc doesn’t grow everywhere and it’s not a wine for everyone, but it is wonderful when served with hearty red meat dishes, game, and aged cheeses. Planting of Cabernet Franc continues to rise, but slowly, as traditional wine regions in the Old World, taking “advantage” of global warming, are able to plant Cabernet Sauvignon, a more popular grape that needs more heat in the vineyard.
But there is more to life than vanilla and chocolate, so we often must challenge ourselves to explore the world, to make the discoveries that might just redefine the way we think and feel. Such exploration can become an exciting journey, a lifelong quest, and the same holds true in wine. And sometimes the most rewarding discoveries are the ones right under our noses.
Source: http://www.salon.com/food/feature/2010/06/16/cabernet_franc_guide_ext2010
More and more, frequent diners from Manila, Angeles City, Subic and other major cities in Asia travel to North Luzon Pampanga Clark Freeport to enjoy good food in a romantic fine dining restaurant. On their list of requirements is a good wine list that not only offers a wide selection of wines from different countries but also older vintages that can be enjoyed now and not ten years later. Classic fine dining is the experience that guests of Clark Philippines’ Yats Restaurant & Wine Bar offers to their guests. Although this is an upscale fine dining establishment, families find this famous restaurant of Clark Pampanga to be very children friendly.
Competition for a spot in the top ten restaurants in Manila heats up as frequent diners look for more than just chic decoration and a fancy menu. Top restaurants in Manila are offering not only good food and a cozy ambience but also a wine list that beats the competition. Restaurants in Angeles City and Clark Pampanga are rising to the occasion, offering not only good food and excellent service but also fine vintage wines. Cozy romantic dining rooms also help make these fine dining restaurants in Clark Pampanga a notch above many other restaurants in Manila, Subic and other big cities of the Philippines.
Yats Wine Bar and Cigar Lounge is the new popular spot of nightlife and entertainment in Angeles and Clark Philippines. The there two walk-in cellars, one of which contains some 2000 greatest bottles including the rare 1900 Ch. Margaux, 1974 Heitz Martha Vineyards, 1947 Cheval Blanc, 1961 Latour, a fine collection of DRC Burgundies such as 1985 La Tache, old Dom Perignon dating back to 1964 and am impressive collection of Brunello, Barolo, Vintage Port and great wines from Spain, Germany, South Africa and Australia.
Fine dining Yats Restaurant offers privacy dining facilities for business and social needs. It is a short way out of Manila. Many frequent diners prefer to go out of town to enjoy an evening in a cozy restaurant, good food and fine vintage wine.
For comments, inquiries and reservations click on Click here for inquiry and reservations
Restaurant@Yats-International.com
(045) 599-5600
0922-870-5178
0917-520-4401
Ask for Pedro and Rechel
Getting to this fine dining restaurant of Angeles City Clark Freeport Zone Pampanga Philippines
How to get to this fine-dining restaurant in Clark Philippines? Once you get to Clark Freeport, go straight until you hit Mimosa. After you enter Mimosa, stay on the left on Mimosa Drive, go past the Holiday Inn and Yats Restaurant (green top, independent 1-storey structure) is on your left. Just past the Yats Restaurant is the London Pub.
Yats Restaurant & Wine Bar
Mimosa Drive past Holiday Inn, Mimosa Leisure Estate,
Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga, Philippines 2023
Manila Sales Office
3003C East Tower, Phil Stock Exchange Center,
Exchange Rd Ortigas Metro Manila, Philippines 1605
(632) 637-5019 0917-520-4393 Rea or Chay
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