“In the future everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes,” Andy Warhol
Lawyers and doctors who have been smitten by the wine bug often take the fearless plunge and invest in a winery. A gaggle of them from San Francisco joined hands and wallets and founded Franciscan Estate Winery in Napa in 1972. Their winemaker today is Janet Myers, who previously cut her teeth at a variety of wineries including Beaulieu Vineyards, Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars and Louis Martini.
Franciscan makes small lots of wine, usually between 150-1500 cases, very much unlike the huge tank-farm producers in California’s Central Valley. When I checked out the winery’s website, I noticed that many online offerings like Merlot quickly sell out. That alone, to me, is a great note of quality – those sales alone must be an indicator of the overall quality and market acceptance of Franciscan.
For today’s tasting I had the grueling task of sampling two wines: Franciscan’s Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Here are my tasting notes of these two remarkable wines.
1) Franciscan Estates Merlot, 2007, Napa Valley, $21. Clear, rich ruby color with medium-heavy body. Jammy, blackberry nose with intriguing notes of blueberries, spice and great depth. Introspective. In the mouth, it was smoothly fruity and suggestive of black cherry. Elegant, smooth finish. Good for a nice, light roast (even turkey for the daring) or for a rocking chair! A+
2) Franciscan Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, 2008, Napa Valley, $24 (At Sendik’s in Mequon, $24.99 at present, going on sale next week for $17.99 – a bargain in my book). Deep, rich red hue with heavy body. The nose was redolent with rich, deep berries and complex, spicy hints of blueberry and cherry. On the palate, it was deeply and nicely fruity, easing into a long, elegant finish. Very nice! A
Today’s winner, by a skinny grape, was the profoundly fun Merlot.
