Today’s Cornerstone Cellars 2013 Napa Valley Cabernet Franc is a classic Napa Franc, with plenty of juicy fruit, tempered by an exquisite earthiness and silky feel.

In 2014, Cornerstone Cellars won our Wine Intrigue Award as the best wine in its category. That was a great wine, but today’s is leaps and bounds better.

Lush and full on the nose, with raspberry, spiced cherry, chocolate covered cherry, twigs, cassis, black plum, sweet spice and a hint of cracked pepper.

On the palate, this wine is darker and more rich that the exciting, inviting nose indicates, with flavors of blackberry candy, cassis, wild strawberry compote, grilled plum, smoky blueberry, dark spice, baker’s chocolate, black licorice and tobacco leaf.

One of the reasons we Wine Spies - and so many others - love Cab Franc is that it presents a more subtle and nuanced profile than Cabernet Sauvignon. For instance, in many high-end Napa Cab Sauvs, you’ll experience a wall of flavor and chewy tannins, without any secondary components. With Cab Franc however, especially wines like today’s, you get layer after layer of soft, delicate flavors, which make it an ideal choice to pair with a big meal or to sip on its own.

The 2013 vintage was a boon for wine lovers. The vintage was a favorite of winemakers too. Top wine reviewers around the globe gave the 2013 Napa harvest very high marks. Decanter Magazine even gave the vintage a stellar 5/5, citing, “A warm summer and a crop of small berries produced deeply concentrated, structured wines with amazing potential in the cellar; the best vintage for decades.”

This delicious wine is yours… while it lasts.

Enjoy!