Vintage: 2023
Tasting notes: This is Franc in its element - bright, fragrant and just the right amount of wild. Expect raspberry, violet and bay leaf on the nose, with leafy spice, pine needles and dark forest fruits on the palate. It’s medium-bodied, savoury and fresh, with gentle tannins and a bit of crunch that makes it super satisfying to drink cool. Unfussy, unfiltered, and dangerously moreish.
Winemaker’s notes: This is the fourth time we’ve worked with fruit from this little block, about 15km south of Mount Barker. It’s a small planting of Cab Franc tucked out in the bush - one of those sites that flies under the radar, but quietly delivers the goods. We skipped 2022 due to low yields, so we’re extra glad to have the 2023 in bottle. Picked right on the edge of ripeness to keep it savoury and energetic. Fruit was destemmed, fermented wild in open-top fermenters with minimal intervention - just a few lazy plunges now and then. The wine was left unsulphured on full lees in seasoned French barriques for around six months, before blending and bottling with a touch of sulphur, and no fining.
It’s not showy, but it’s got character. Leafy, spicy, juicy - and full of the charm that makes Cab Franc quietly one of the best red varieties to drink without overthinking.
Reviews: 95 Points. Erin Larkin, Wine Advocate
“The 2023 Fric Frac has a fragile, lovely, leafy, dusty nose. It is layered with cassis and bramble, pomegranate molasses and crushed rocks, white pepper, sandalwood and concrete. In the mouth, the tannins are grippy and chalky, and there is real energy and zip in this wine. There was once a wine that I used to buy a lot of—a Chinon—and this reminds me very much of that wine. Good times were had with that wine, and I feel the same could be said of this. Here, there is an abundance of pressed flowers and sweet tobacco. I love it. Highly recommended.”
Alcohol 13%
Vintage: 2023
Tasting notes: This is Franc in its element - bright, fragrant and just the right amount of wild. Expect raspberry, violet and bay leaf on the nose, with leafy spice, pine needles and dark forest fruits on the palate. It’s medium-bodied, savoury and fresh, with gentle tannins and a bit of crunch that makes it super satisfying to drink cool. Unfussy, unfiltered, and dangerously moreish.
Winemaker’s notes: This is the fourth time we’ve worked with fruit from this little block, about 15km south of Mount Barker. It’s a small planting of Cab Franc tucked out in the bush - one of those sites that flies under the radar, but quietly delivers the goods. We skipped 2022 due to low yields, so we’re extra glad to have the 2023 in bottle. Picked right on the edge of ripeness to keep it savoury and energetic. Fruit was destemmed, fermented wild in open-top fermenters with minimal intervention - just a few lazy plunges now and then. The wine was left unsulphured on full lees in seasoned French barriques for around six months, before blending and bottling with a touch of sulphur, and no fining.
It’s not showy, but it’s got character. Leafy, spicy, juicy - and full of the charm that makes Cab Franc quietly one of the best red varieties to drink without overthinking.
Reviews: 95 Points. Erin Larkin, Wine Advocate
“The 2023 Fric Frac has a fragile, lovely, leafy, dusty nose. It is layered with cassis and bramble, pomegranate molasses and crushed rocks, white pepper, sandalwood and concrete. In the mouth, the tannins are grippy and chalky, and there is real energy and zip in this wine. There was once a wine that I used to buy a lot of—a Chinon—and this reminds me very much of that wine. Good times were had with that wine, and I feel the same could be said of this. Here, there is an abundance of pressed flowers and sweet tobacco. I love it. Highly recommended.”
Alcohol 13%
