A story of a long-ago trip to Napa Valley.
In an earlier life as a wine consultant in New York, Joy and I often visited Napa/Sonoma. The food was always excellent and there were many wine tasting appointments. While tastings are a professional requirement of such trips, sometimes the tasting was a pleasure and sometimes it was simply instructive. However, there were occasions when the tasting experience was both a pleasure and instructive. One such pleasurable and instructive experience was a trip to Spottswoode.
Spottswoode was and is (Robert Parker awarded their 2015 vintage 100 points), an outstanding Cabernet Sauvignon producer. The wineries director was then Tracey Skupny. Because Sterling Cellars of Mahopac, New York, which I represented at the time, was a long-time supporter and sales outlet for Spottswoode Cabernet, Tracey offered us the opportunity to sample the latest vintage. She suggested we taste aside the pool of Mary Novak, Spottswoods late founder and owner/manager over nearly forty years…a wonderful suggestion. On the walk from the winery to the pool, Tracey shared insights about the specific vintage and Spottswoode in general. Tracey also shared that she and her husband, John (who we met as he happened to be driving between vineyard visits for his primary employer, Neibaum-Coppola Estate) were producing a small amount of Cabernet Franc. Joy and I love Cabernet France and Tracey suggested we look for Lang and Reed, named for their sons.
It is not unusual that individuals connected to larger and prestigious wineries might try their hand at a personal label, but Lang and Reed’s focus on Cabernet France was intriguing, and we began the search. Eventually, we found .375 bottles at a small Italian restaurant in San Francisco. We purchased a bottle and loved the wine. Upon our return to New York we purchased a few cases over the years from the Lang and Reed NY representative, but rarely encountered it in a restaurant or in a wine shop.
Fast forward to our new address in the South Carolina Low Country.
We were very pleased to find the North Coast Lang and Reed Cabernet Franc at the wonderful Crushed, a small wine shop in Mt. Pleasant. The wine was rich with the excellent fruit forward approach that Tracey and John have always emphasized with this grape. This wine was (and is) available for approximately $30. Sourced from 100% Cabernet Franc, with grapes produced in Napa (6%), Sonoma (14%), and Lake Counties (80%), the nearly 3,000 cases of this wine are aged for eight months in French Oak, and offer great dark fruit on the palate following a violet, raspberry, and herbs on the nose.
Recently, we had the opportunity to sample the Lang and Reed, 2014, Two-Fourteen, Cabernet Franc at our favorite wine bar, Accent on Wine in Summerville.
The Two-Fourteen, which sells for north of $50, is produced entirely from Clone 214, sourced entirely from the Sugarloaf Vineyards located in the southeastern corner of Napa overlooking the ‘northern reaches of San Francisco Bay’. This clone ‘migrated’ to Napa from its source in the Loire Valley of France, an area noted for producing some of the world’s finest Cabernet Franc. The 850 cases of this wine spent 16 months in French Oak and offer raspberry and blueberry elements on the nose that extend through the palate (with the addition of some herbs), and a lingering finish.
The 2014 version of the Lang and Reed Cabernet Franc has 90 (or higher) point ratings from Robert Parker, The Wine Spectator, and The Wine Enthusiast.
Cabernet Franc, according to Master of Wine Jancis Robinson, is one of the two DNA predecessors of Cabernet Sauvignon (along with Sauvignon Blanc), and is believed to have developed in the Loire Valley from cuttings originating in the Basque region, and transported to Loire by the ‘infamous’ Cardinal Richelieu. It is one of the twenty most widely planted varietals and has been historically utilized as a ‘minor’ grape blended with its more elegant Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot relatives in the production of Bordeaux. However, the Loire Valley continues to produce outstanding single varietal Cabernet Franc…look for Chinon. The price of Loire Cabernet Franc is less ($20+) than the U.S. version, but the wine offers softer tannins and would benefit from chilling before serving.
The 1980s saw the greatest growth in California’s Cabernet Franc plantings as winemakers sought a grape that would ‘soften’ the more ‘muscular’ and sometimes less approachable (but more expensive) Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot bottlings. California producers then determined that Cabernet Franc was ideal to blend with Cabernet (and other varietals) in the creation of a wineries/winemaker’s signature Meritage…Napa’s version of Bordeaux. Eventually, 3,400 acres of Cabernet France were planted in California (largely in Napa and Sonoma). And, finally, California Cabernet Franc is finding traction as a single varietal.
You will often find a few facings of Cabernet Franc stuck amongst ‘other red’s, or beside the more prestigious Cabernet Sauvignon. The Lang and Reed is not the least expensive of the Cab Franc options available, but it is certainly amongst the first, and amongst the best.