1995 Cabernet Franc
These grapes were picked in two lots: on October 25 at 23.8
Brix, pH 3.52, TA 0.81 and on October 26 at 23.8, pH 3.46, and
TA 0.78. The wine was barrel fermented in separate lots
in French and American oak for 10 months, then blended at bottling.
850 cases were produced. The wine was released in May 1998.
The retail price is $18/bottle.
Critics have enjoyed our 1995 Cabernet Franc, and it won several
awards: gold at the 1997 Indy International Wine Competition
and silvers at the 1997 World Wine Championships, the 1997 West
Coast International Wine Competition, and the 1997 Santa Cruz
County Fair.
Comments:
2 Jan 2008: For several years, I had all my wines
stored in an interior closet. About 10 years ago I bought
a 400-bottle
Vinotemp unit and moved all the wines into that. Or at least
I thought I’d moved all of them. Two days ago, my older
son was cleaning out one of those closets and found a bottle
of your 1995 Santa Cruz Mountains Cabernet Franc hidden at
the back.
I assumed that there wouldn’t be much left, after some
11 years, particularly as it had been aging in a closet, without
any temperature or humidity control. My son and I were quite
pleasantly surprised this evening, when I opened it, to find
that there was still some nice fruit in the flavor (not much
in the nose, however, but then, I don’t drink thru my
nose). It was somewhat light in color, perhaps like my birthstone,
garnet. (Garnet is the stone in my San Diego State class ring,
that’s the only reason for the comparison.) There was
a slight, almost sweetness on the initial taste, followed by
a very pleasant aftertaste and moderate finish. - Mike T, San
Jose, CA
