2017 Sinegal Estate Cabernet Franc
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Tasting notes
The 2017 Cabernet Franc Old Vine is stellar. More than anything else, the aromatic, floral character of the Cabernet Franc really shines through in a wine that retains terrific energy and verve, while also very much expressing the personality of the vintage.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
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Blended with 6% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2017 Cabernet Franc is deep garnet-purple in color with a nose of cherry cordial, baked red currants and black currants plus notes of fried herbs and underbrush with wafts of rose hip tea and pencil shavings. The palate is medium to full-bodied, firm and chewy with just enough fruit and an earthy finish.
Black fruits, forest floor, white flowers, blueberries, and some mineral and coffee notes all emerge from the 2017 Cabernet Franc, a seamless, silky, refined 2017 that hits all the right marks. Medium to full-bodied, structured, and elegant, it's going to keep for 15+ years.
The 2017 Cabernet Franc Old Vine is the most raw and undeveloped of the three 2017 wines I tasted at Sinegal. I doubt that will be much of an issue once the wine has had time to come together. The Franc is the lowest production wine Sinegal makes. That, and the character of these older vines, planted in 1982, yields a wine that seems to transcend the quality and personality of the vintage. A dollop (6%) of Cabernet Sauvignon rounds out the blend.