Patrimony Estate Patrimony Cabernet Franc 2020 750ml

Along the same lines, the 2019 Patrimony Cabernet Franc (100% Cabernet Franc aging in new French oak) is slightly more California in style with a Napa-like sexiness and opulence. Stunning blackberries, dried flowers, incense, dried tobacco, and cedary notes all soar from the glass, and it’s a powerful, super-rich barrel sample that still stays balanced and even elegant. It ranks with some of the finest examples of this variety in California.

The 2019 Cabernet Franc Patrimony is impossible to resist, with a beguiling and hauntingly dark bouquet that blends crushed ashen stone and graphite with black currants and freshly ground espresso beans. Its textures are like crushed velvet, impossibly soft and supple, ushering in masses of peppery red and black fruits. A gentle bitter twang resides toward the close. For all the power within, the 2019 finishes remarkably fresh and lifted, leaving a faint stain of grippy tannins that perfectly frame the experience.

Classy cabernet franc freshness with great varietal characters here, showing fresh leaves, undergrowth, green olives, cigar box, chili chocolate. Rich and full-bodied but still quite juicy, and not heavy at all. Firm, really sleek and silky with a long, lasting finish showing a hint of vanilla in the finish. Stunning now, but give it two or three years to integrate. Drink or hold.