Red Tail Ridge Winery Red Tail Ridge Cabernet Franc 2022 750ml

This cabernet franc has no hint of greenness in spite of the cool, medium-bodied palate. Fine tannins gently build in the long, very elegant finish. Bottled unfiltered and unfined. Only the third vintage of this wine. Drink or hold.

Give this a few good swirls in glass or little time in a decanter to release the strawberry, cherry, white pepper and dried herbal aromas. The palate has a lovely, comforting quality to it. It's mid-weight with supple red berry flavor, a well-placed lift of acidity and savory, even sappy tannins. A solid cool climate example from a thoughtful Finger Lakes producer.

The 2022 Cabernet Franc RTR Estate Vineyard weighs in at a pretty big 13.2% alcohol and spent 17 months in used French and Austrian oak. There's an attractive hint of crushed stone on the nose, with added notes of tomato leaf and ripe raspberries, while the medium-bodied palate is softly dusty and tannic but ripe, with a lingering finish that picks up nuances of dark chocolate and coffee.