August 21, 2008

Peninsula Ridge 2002 Cabernet Franc

(Re-Tasted August 2008) ... I seem to be on a Cabernet Franc kick, and why not, I am still convinced it is Ontario’s grape to show the world what we can do; and if the last two I have tried are any indication, then man we should really hop on this Franc bandwagon pronto before the Chinese rip off icewine and the world thinks we’re nothing but a one-trick pony. With this very Pen Ridge Cabernet Franc making it’s appearance in Vintages September 13th, I thought it best to pull it out of the Taste it Again program and, yes, taste it again. What I found was amazing.

First, I’ll point out that when I bought this wine back in 2006, I paid a whop
ping $18.95 for it (it will now sell for $25.15 in September) and I picked up two bottles … one for the Taste it Again program and another for cellaring further. All I can say now is, good call. The nose is, at first, tobacco, leafy with a touch of green pepper – as it opens more vanilla, cinnamon and dark fruit come out to play. You will notice quite a bit of sediment on the cork or in the bottle, so I would suggest decanting or pouring slowly so as not to get too much of those “floaties” in your glass. In the mouth, at first again, you’ll notice the greenness and wood tannins, but as it opened there were also hints of dried red fruit and then some darker fruit nuances – this wine seemed to get better the more air that got into it – so after an hour or more it was going down way too easy. After 6 years from vintage date there was still plenty of good tannin structure and a good drying-dusty finish. Very impressive.

As I mentioned, I have another bottle still kicking about … seems only right to give it some more time and see where it goes from here – I guess we’ll find out together in another 2 years or so.

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