Vineland Estate Reserve Cabernet Franc 2015

For the Reserve Cab Franc, Schmidt still only uses neutral oak barrels but ups the time spent to 18 months. This is the top expression of his favourite grape and the result is a fabulous treat for Cab Franc lovers. The nose is ripe and fulsome with purity of black currants, cassis, underlying cherry, leather, vanilla bean, cocoa and herbs that come at you in waves. On the palate, it perfectly demonstrates how a wine can straddle that line between fresh and ripe with concentrated blackberries, currants, cassis followed by herb, anise and spice accents in a textured, complex style from beginning to end. This is a beautiful wine that is drinking really fine right now but can improve in the bottle for 4+ years. Score - 93. (Rick VanSickle, winesinniagara.com, Nov. 22, 2017)