Lucas & Lewellen Barrel Selection Cabernet Franc 4-Pack
$54.99 $140.00 61% off List Price
2014 Cabernet Franc, Barrel Selection, Santa Barbara County
Props for the back bottle shot.
Had some pretty decent L&L bottles over the years, and enjoyed visits to their TRs in Solvang.
I have enjoyed L&L wines quite a bit and they tend to be great QPR. If I were buying this might be a good choice. Especially to those who enjoy cab franc.
Rats? I buy so little but love a delicate Cab Franc.
I got another Golden Ticket from the FedEx driver yesterday, and inside the box was this Cabernet Franc.
First off, my bottle is a stelvin closure/screw cap, not a cork, for what it’s worth.
Opened last night, and had a small glass on pop and pour to see what was going on. Really nice beautiful clear ruby color, very pretty wine. Lots of alcohol on the nose, very hot right out of the gate. Palate followed, pretty hot, glycerin mouthfeel, some red fruit, and then polished tannins at the very end.
I left the bottle poured down below the shoulder to air out for a couple hours, and then came back and tasted again, this time with some steak and potatoes. Definitely better with food, some of the alcohol had blown off, and I got more complexity on the nose and some herbal qualities on the palate in addition to the fruit. Mouthfeel had calmed down a bit, and still had really fine polished tannins- reminded me of a Scott Harvey wine in the tannin management.
My wife, who likes reds, including Cab Franc, got some acetone on the nose, and immediately commented that the wine tasted hot. She got some herbs, but complained that there was a bitter element to the finishe she did not like, probably from the high alc.
I put the of the bottle away for the night, used the Vineyard Fresh argon preserver on it (love, love that product…) and just tried it again a minute ago, 14 hours later.
I like it the best now. Alcohol has integrated much better, letting the fruit on the nose shine through a lot more. Still a little generic red fruit on the palate, with herbs, and maybe a bit of spice to go along with the red and purple fruit.
I would have a hard time pegging this as a Cab Franc on a blind tasting. I might guess zinfandel because of the heat, and it has a little bit of a brambly vibe to the fruit.
I like it in the end, but it needs a ton of air to let the alcohol blow off and integrate. Probably worth a try at this price point if you like L&L, and are curious about their take on Cab Franc. It’s a little too hot for me, I prefer a lower alc CF, and I also have no wine budget after blowing everything on the continuing Wellington “last offer,” LOL.
redacting
Couple of questions…
Given you thought it may improve with some slo-ox air time, why the Ar cap?
Seems counter productive.
Could you comment additionally about the herbal content.
Thanks for the Stelvin observation.
I’ve got a few older, ca. 2007, bottles under that closure that don’t seem to have aged much, if at all. Wonder if they are just using too low an OTR membrane.
Wellington: yeah. nuff said.
The bottle had been open for about 7 hours when I went to bed and Ar capped it. I was concerned it would be totally gone the next day. It did still seem a little mellowed even with the Ar cap when I tasted it this afternoon. So it slow ox’d for a long time before I put it to bed.
Herbs are just savory. Can’t pin it down more than that. Definitely no green pepper element in this CF.
Any other questions, just ask!
Just gave the last half glass to my wife for another taste.
She picked out celery, and now some pepper. She still had an alcohol burn on her tongue.
Hope that helps!
Just add tomato juice for a Bloody Mary? 
Yeah, CF being among my preferred varieties this is intriguing. But visiting family keep asking if we’re alcoholics.
The above is what I was curious about.
Might no Ar have aided it furhter?
Some bottles, I’m thinking Wine Smith, need huge amounts of O2. Not at all comparing this to Clark’s, just an observation.
Good point. It was definitely at its best at the end, but couldn’t, in my opinion, get past the high alc. I don’t think more air would have helped, it hit a wall.