October 11, 2009

Norman Hardie 2005 County Cabernet Franc


(Re-Tasted October 2009) ... Norm Hardie isn't known for making Cabernet Franc, his specialties are Pinot Noir and Chardonnay; he's also been known to make a pretty good Riesling and Pinot Gris, this would have been his first Cabernet Franc at his eponymous winery. 2005 was a pretty good year for Ontario reds, though it was a short crop year (meaning we had far less fruit then usual due to a worse than usual winter). This Franc is very Pinot like with a nose that's very raspberry and smoky with tobacco notes. The palate also screams Pinot Noir, so much so that I re-checked the label to make sure it really did say "CabernetFranc": light red fruit, cranberry, sour cherry and some tobacco with a tart acidic finish. There was also a fair bit of earthiness on both the nose and palate, which was another reason I had to re-look at the label. This tasted like a Franc made by a Pinot producer - or a Franc that was mislabelled; either way it was unrecognizeable as a Cabernet Franc, but it was far from a bad wine.

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