I was just reading through an email from Sean Sullivan (formerly of Washington Wine Report and now Wine Enthusiast) and saw him mention a new Washington winery called Gunpowder Creek. Apparently, it’s a new project for Caleb Foster. He was the winemaker for Buty once upon a time and is current winemaker for J. Bookwalter. I don’t know the guy, but I’d bet this new project allows him to focus on small production wines as compared to Bookwalter, which has gotten somewhat large. The cool thing, to me, is that he’s apparently focusing on single vineyard Cabernet Franc. That’s something very few Washington wineries are doing (Savage Grace comes to mind, but that’s it…), but I’d like to see more of.
Sean’s reviews included, “…with its notes of garden herb in front of cherry and flower. The flavors are elegant, pure and supple, with a long finish…” for the Phinny Hill Vineyard Cab Franc and, “…Aromas of fresh herb, sliced green pepper, flower, orange peel and cherry are followed by soft sumptuous pure cherry flavors. The finish carries…” for the Conner Lee Vineyard Cab Franc. They garnered 91 and 90 points respectively.
Anyway, I see jokes and jabs about people loving (or hating) the herby, green Loire versions and thought I’d post this out of interest. Has anyone tried these?
I have not tried them, and curious what those who have say. I do like Savage Grace CF a lot. I will say the price on the Gunpowder seems high ($55 per bottle) compared to Savage Grace for example (which if I remember correctly is around 30, or maybe a little less?). Now I might find them worth it, but given the comparative price for Chinon and Savage Grace. Of course, if it is more a bdx style, then the price is a different story I guess.
Haven’t had the new one but have had a number from WA - Owen & Sullivan made one back in the early 2000s and Andrew Will and others use quite a bit. I’ve liked them a lot. WA wines seem to have become riper and bigger in the past few years, or maybe it’s just my perception, but the CF very often gave them a nice character. From Napa they can tend more towards cherry when they get ripe but in WA they’ve usually kept some of the herbal notes that make them interesting. I’d be interested in trying some of the newer ones. As to price, that depends on the wine more than the grape involved IMO. People are paying $100 for a bottle of generic Cab from Napa, so while $55 is high for an entry point wine, maybe it’s a good deal in the end. Cadence also has quite a bit of CF if I’m remembering correctly? And it’s good stuff and in the same price range.
Difficult to get behind projects like this when I can score world class loire franc for under $35 especially when I know they blow away the cali/washington style
The only great Cali cab franc i ever tasted was when Tooch popped an older Thunder Mountain CF from Cienega Valley
I tend to think that the styles of Loire CF is so different from CA/WA (speaking only in general, of course), that people who like one don’t necessarily like the other.
They’re wines for different audiences, different purposes.
Good call on the Andrew Will and O&S Cab Francs…forgot about those. I have one each 2013 and 2014 of a varietal CF from L’Ecole, all from Seven Hills Vineyard. Those should be fun to drink. Yeah, I think the Cadence wine with the most Cabernet Franc is Bel Canto. The 2010 is 77% Cabernet Franc…haven’t opened one yet.
Having only ever had one or two Loire Cabernet Francs, it would be fun and educational to try a few next to a few of these and then throw a well-made Cali CF in there too.
Caleb is certainly capable of making very good wine. It will be interesting to see what it is like.
Tranche also makes one, as well as Chinook. I’m sure there are others.
My favorite would be Ben’s Cadence BelCanto, but realize it’s a wine styled to be like Cheval Blanc, not a loire.
A few years ago I poured a 2009 Baudry Croix Boisse blind to a bunch of Walla Walla folks–they were very impressed. Puzzled as to what it was. thought perhaps it was a ripe year Bordeaux.
Washington State can’t seem to be able to make Cab Sauv that holds my interest, so I’m highly doubtful they can do it with Cab Franc… Oh, and apparently they’re twice the price of a comparable Loire CF…
Living in WA, I’ll say many Cab sites struggle to get ripe and provide a doughnut experience, good up front, good finish, nothing in middle palate.
Reality is Merlot is king here and the best understand that…in WA we cut Merlot tannin with Cab whereas in California you cut Cab tannin with Merlot. This makes Merlot and Merlot-based blends the Cab lovers wine.
Franc can do really well here but more in a St. Emilion style vs. Loire. Only Savage Grace makes a Loire styled Franc that is excellent.
This, in spades. My first French CF was a Clos Rougeard and it was not at all what I was expecting after lots of CA/WA bottles. I eventually accepted the gospel of Saumur Champigny into my heart (15-20 Euros a bottle didn’t hurt), but way different style.
Looking at Caleb’s website, if he is getting Franc off Conner Lee, it’s a cool site in Othello that does great with varietals that shine in cool nights with long sun days, especially Merlot and Franc, to get phenolically ripe with lower natural alcohol and balancing acidity. I havent tried it, but will ask Caleb about it.
I am just curious which Cali and which Washington Cab Francs you have tasted that lend you to pair them together as one style of Cab Franc? I would suspect they may sample slightly different than each other, especially based on the fact both Cali and Wa are both enormous states with great diversity of growing sites. (Just wondering?)
Its really a preference of style…some will not like loire cf in comparison to new world cf…I love cf, but the only style that has swooned or captured my attention on any level is primarily loire cf. It goes beyond just cf for me…today I attended a blind tasting where quite a few wines were new world cali cabs/merlot…I left thinking that these wines have no soul, no character, just high octane caricatures of a wine…bordeaux is not immune either, if you look at many right bank wines, their alcohol levels have crept up over the years and they seem to lose their unique characteristics. My interest has waned due to this.
I really like Baer Ursa ,usually with equal parts Merlot and Franc , around 40-45% of each.With a little Cab and Malbec.I am still drinking 01-08s which are singing.Worth a try at around $40
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