Bordeaux Wine Guide: Cabernet Franc
I once wrote of Cabernet Franc (also known as Bouchet in Bordeaux) as a mere ‘blending variety’ but that was remiss of me; it is of course much more than that. From our modern-day point of view it is of course important as the dominant variety in a very exalted group of right bank wines, including Le Dôme (typically 80%) and Château Ausone (pictured below, typically 55%). The most commonly espoused wine in a discussion concerning this variety is usually Château Cheval Blanc, but in fact Merlot sometimes dominates here, with Cabernet Franc contributing between 40% and 56% to the final blend in recent vintages.
The Wines
Many other estates are also leaning the same way, as the precocious ripening and consequent problems with tannin and high alcohol so easily developed by Merlot in the warmer climate enjoyed by Bordeaux in recent years is pushing vineyard managers towards planting Cabernet Franc instead, as this brings a greater sense of perfume, freshness and balance to the finished wine. Châteaux making wine with significant percentages of Cabernet Franc (between 25% and 50%) include Château Angélus, Château Pavie, Château Canon-la-Gaffelière, Château Jean Faure, Château Daugay, Château Monbousquet and no doubt many others.
Aside from these few famous and not-so-famous names, however, Cabernet Franc is usually merely part of a blend, typically up to 20% in St Emilion or Pomerol, the rest being all or mostly Merlot, and it contributes even less in the left bank communes. I have already hinted at the characteristics of the variety above, as it offers an appealing contrast to Merlot’s fruity flesh, and Cabernet Sauvignon’s tannic austerity. Cabernet Franc lends a wine perfume, often a floral violet-tinged character, giving it a sense of freshness. It can provide a very elegant, silky character, although it can also provide structure, as anybody who has spent any time drinking the wines of Saumur-Champigny, Chinon and Bourgueil in the Loire Valley, which usually 100% Cabernet Franc, will be aware.
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