ROANOKE VINEYARDS 2019 CABERNET FRANC SITE-SPECIFIC

We were serving up a boneless roast leg of Lamb with pan juice gravy and skillet seared asparagus in an Italian herb and lemon sauce for dinner.  This hearty meal needed a glass of wine to pair with it, so we scoured the wine cellar and selected a Roanoke Vineyards 2019 Cabernet Franc Site-Specific wine that we have picked up as part of our fall wine club selection.  When opened, there were clear Herbal, Green Peppercorn notes, but the wine was allowed to breathe a bit, and it faded.  The nose was intense dark fruit such as cherries with a hint of leather.  The color was bright red, especially at the fringes, and completely transparent (Figure 1).  On the palate, cherry fruit came roaring forward but notably absent were any Pyrazines (Green Bell Pepper) or other herbaceous tones familiar to the typicity of the Long Island terroir.  The wine had a good acid structure balanced with some tannins allowing it to stand up well to the roast Lamb.  While this is called a Cabernet Franc, a small amount of Cabernet Sauvignon (<5%) blended in to round out the wine and extend the finish.  Overall, a fine wine that paired very well with the Lamb and one we will be revisiting several more times.

1 - ROANOKE 2019 CABERNET FRANC