The proof is in the glass: Maryland is now producing world-class Cabernet Franc. Al reviews a tasting of home-grown wines that got full marks.
Price key: $=less than $20 $$= $20-40 $$$=$40-60 $$$$=above $60
Quality key: * = decent wine ** = very good wine *** = superb wine ****= elite
VALUE = exceptional quality for the money
NOTE: Al organized this tasting to assess the current state of cabernet franc in Maryland. These are his notes.
Cab Franc is Maryland’s most successful red grape. But what would an outsider think of it? Well, I asked our friend Franck Agostini, who imports Cab Franc from the Loire Valley in France to sit in on a tasting. I invited four wineries to send their best Cab Francs, including Boordy, Old Westminster, Loew, and Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyards. We all met over at Boordy and had a wonderful time.
Hugh, I think one of the key milestones in the progress of a new wine region is when they can say with confidence that their wines have achieved a distinctive style and identity.
In Maryland that is happening. We already have established that our Chardonnay is unique to our state. But the question remains, “how about Cab Franc?”
Today, I’m happy to say we have our answer. After tasting 7 assorted bottles of Maryland Cab Franc, we can say that, yes, there is a distinct style here. And Franck Agostini, who knows Cab Franc inside-out, couldn’t agree more.
Here are the wines we tasted: Boordy’s 2019 regular bottling; their 2019 Reserve; Lowe’s 2023 and 2021; Old Westminster’s 2020 Home Vineyard; Sugarloaf’s regular 2023 bottling and their 2022 Reserve.
We tasted these wines blind, one after the other, and it didn’t take long to figure out that we had a very high-quality line-up here. Similarities became apparent. Each and every one of them led with a burst of sweet fruit; each and every one of them was medium bodied to one extent or another; each and every one had well-behaved tannins; they all had basically the same color; they all had balance; and they all were very well made. (I constantly was hearing Franck exclaim, “wow” under his breath as he tasted them.
Where the wines differed was, predictably, in the aroma. No two were alike. And yet 5 out of the six had an unexpected floral aspect to their nose, something relatively rare with red wine.
All of the grapes here came from the superb Central Maryland growing region, which has proven to be the golden circle. To be sure, many other Maryland wineries are doing equally good things with Cab Franc, and it’s time the whole state gets behind these amazing wines.
I’ve begun saying recently that in my opinion, Maryland is on the verge of a Golden Age, a time when quality soars and recognition finally arrives. Please, folks, put away your old notions of what Maryland wine is all about. It’s not the unimpressive plonk of 20 years ago. Amazing strides have taken place, and we are arriving in a very good place. Go out and try some.
And for the sake of tradition, we always have a Wine of the Week, so I’ll start by saying any one of these wines would qualify. But having to make a pick, I’ll go with the Old Westminster 2020. We all agreed, this is an impressive, elegant bottle of wine that would grace any dinner table anywhere the world. in
