New World: Cabernet Franc
2018 Gold 1 Silver 5 Bronze 1 Commended 7
2017 Gold 1 Silver 2 Bronze 0 Commended 3
After a storming start in 2016, last year Cab Franc rather disappointed – so it was good to see a rise in the medals this year. The fact that the results were dominated by South Africa and South America is probably an accurate reflection of the places that are most engaged with the grape at the moment.
There was generally positive feedback for the wines sent in, though if you thought this was going to be a good place to come looking for cut-price single varietal Cabernet substitutes, think again.
None of our medals – not even those from Chile – were under £10. Though the bulge of £10-20 Silvers suggests that there’s plenty of good stuff in that mid-price area.
Spend big, and you get wines of elegance and complexity, seems to be the message this year.
FROM THE TASTING TEAMS
‘Desperately food friendly, with nice varietal character. Some were much leaner, more crunchy and leafy, while the warmer climate ones were more richly fruited, with a pure fruit core. The oak worked really well - a nice affinity with the wine.’ Sam Caporn MW, team leader
‘A difficult flight. The cheaper ones weren’t that cheap and in the middle they were very similar. I felt like I was tasting the same wine.’ Michael Fiducia, Coworth Park
‘I was very pleasantly surprised by the quality, even at the lower end. Complexity increased the further you went up in price. Impressive as a flight.’ James Franklin, Fenwick