2015 Col Solare Component Collection Cabernet Franc

Col Solare, located in the Red Mountain appellation of eastern Washington, is a partnership between Marchesi Antinori of Tuscany and Chateau Ste. Michelle, one of Washington’s leading wine producers. Col Solare’s first vintage was 1995, and each year it makes just one wine, always a Cabernet Sauvignon blend. The 2007 vintage, for instance, is 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc. Col Solare has consistently won compliments from reviewers. Wine Advocate awarded the 2005 vintage 94 pts and called it “reminiscent of a top level Pauillac.”

Yakima Valley AVA was the first AVA created in Washington State. The valley, a 600,000-acre area in south central Washington, was granted AVA status in 1983. In 1984 Columbia Valley was given AVA status, and Yakima Valley was enclosed within the Columbia Valley AVA. Nevertheless, Yakima Valley remains home to the largest concentration of vineyards and wineries in the state. There are more than 60 wineries and some 16,000 vineyard acres, and nearly 40% of Washington wines are made with Yakima Valley grapes. The most frequently planted grape is Chardonnay, followed by Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Winemaking here dates to 1869, when a winemaker from Alsace planted grape vines. Vineyard planting and wine production plodded along slowly until the early 1980s when numerous modern pioneers started making well-reviewed Yakima Valley wines. Some of the state’s newest, most closely watched appellations, including Red Mountain AVA and Horse Heaven Hills AVA, are contained within Yakima Valley.

This is a parent grape to Cabernet Sauvignon. It most likely originates from Basque country. It is an excellent blending grape, known for making the exquisite Cheval-Blanc. Franc is a little hardier on a vine than Sauvignon, but drinks smoothly at the table.