"The Keeper" Cabernet Franc 2008
CORVIDAE WINE COMPANY
Cabernet Franc
14.3% alcohol.
Pop and Pour: The color is dark red with light pink and clear edges. Ruby highlights. Not opaque. On the nose, cherry comes out first. Heat and a touch cough syrupy. Earthy and weedy (yard weeds....not....) Mint and menthol also come through. The palate has vanilla, quick. Slight bitterness, almost balsamic vinegar on mid??? Soft red fruit. Big spice notes. Smooth red fruit on finish. Tree bark, forest. Dark black licorice coming out. First taste I was taken back and not happy. As I taste on there are S (explicative) Tons of layers with this wine. Almost a garlicky sensation. Canned cherry fruit pops from mid to 3/4 through. Very solid finish. Tongue almost becomes dazed either from spice, alcohol, or just busy separating all the layers. Was very worried at first, but as I taste on this wine could be holding a pearl. Will the clam open up? No doubting some vegetal green and earth tones.
Fast Froward: 45 minutes. Perplexed, about the only word I can muster at this point. There is no doubting the vegetal notes, which can come across as "weedy", This is a crazy complex wine, that at times can feel disjointed and not at all put together. There are great red fruits, but there is also an earthy and menthol tone that is not so fun. I will say there are LAYERS and LAYERS of various flavors, not all are bad and not all are good either. I believe you can find a reason to love this wine or hate it. I find it perplexing and not necessarily for those looking for same ole same ole. I truly believe, even at 45 minutes, you will have to be patient with this wine. You (the drinker) will also have to want to be adventurous.
Overall: Complex is good and layers are good. Cherry is great. Anise and spice are great. Weeds and heat are bad. I found myself WANTING to like this wine because it would be a wine "nerdy" thing to like. I just couldn't get into it. I wanted to, but didn't. There are some good spots, just not enough for my palate. If you are a wine nerd or an aspiring wine nerd, this is a conversation piece for sure, with other wine nerds. This is a Ying Yang type of wine. This wine represents a little pain with a little pleasure. This just might not be my style........but for my palate things just didn't click. There are some GREAT things going on, so by no means are we talking POOR......The Good and The Bad even each other out for AVERAGE. Wine Nerds and Wine Adventurers Need APPLY. AVERAGE