Wine night Hart, Yz, Sloke, Liz and Daryl at Sloke’s.
Cabernet Sauvignon (one of my favorite grape) is the literal bastard child of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc, created by the supposedly accidental cross pollination of the 2 latter grapes.
I’ve been DYING to try this wine for almost 6 months. All of my favorite Bordeaux blends (including super Tuscans) contain Cabernet Franc. And while I understand the theoretical notes of CFs, I actually have no sense of what they smell or taste like. Le Macchiole is supposedly one of Italy’s best producers of both its flagship 100% Merlot, and 100% Cab Franc.
In the glass, this was a rich deep ruby, with the tiniest tinge of garnet at the rim. This wine was still visibly extremely young, given the vibrancy of its color, and its giant ass meniscus.
Wine was first drank following a terribly short decant (maybe 20 mins?)
On the nose: I was solely focused on picking on key notes and differences vs cab sauv. This was still largely dark fruits, specifically black currant. There was a distinct earthiness and medicinal note that I don’t find in cab sauv. Interestingly, I didn’t pick up any spices. Tinge of smoke when I deeply inhaled it. Most importantly, the nose did not have the big round plushness of most Cabernet Sauvignon. It’s, thinner, leaner, and just more medicinal. That said, the nose remained closed for a long time.
On the palate: contrary to its looks in the glass, this was mid- bodied, mid or mid- acidity, and did not have a long finish. I also detected a slightly bitter aftertaste.
This wine needs a shit ton of air, which we didn’t grant it sadly. In the glass, the nose opened up super slowly, and never got the chance to really bloom. The palette gained structure and density with time, and in fact built up a pleasantly longer finish.
The main notes that I locked in was that this was essentially a lighter cab sauv with a medicinal/herbal tinge on the nose. Also leaner, without the plush rich expansiveness of a cab sauv. In this regard, the wine served its purpose, but I can’t help but feel we shortchanged it. Definitely wouldn’t pay THAT money again tho.
