Cabernet Franc 2019, Leaning Post Wines

Description from the Producer

Tasting Notes
The 2019 vintage had a cool start and stayed moderate throughout. The sunny, warm-but-never-hot weather continued well into harvest and allowed us to hang the grapes very late into the season, giving plenty of time to fully ripen. On the nose raspberry, blackcurrant, strawberry and blackberry immediately appear, followed quickly by tomato-leaf, roasted red-pepper, cured meat, cigar-box, cocoa and cumin. The palate shows lovely balance but is a bit more brooding, with blueberry appearing along with cassis and blackberry playing off leather, tobacco and smoked-sausage with a mossy/brambly character the underpins the whole wine. Elegance and exquisite finesse meet richness, with present tannins giving this wine immense structure and agebility. We continue to raise the bar for Cabernet Franc in Niagara, and this is another great example that call easily age 8-10 years. To drink now, decant well in advance and the wine will really unfold for you!
Winemaking Notes
The grapes were hand-picked and hand-sorted on November 12th, destemmed and left to cold soak on skins prior to fermentation. The fermentation started spontaneously in small open-top fermenters with the skins being punched-down by hand 2 times per day. Once fermentation was finished, the wine remained on skins for 6 days before being gently pressed. It was then transferred to French and American oak barrels (35% new) and aged for 20 months. The 2019 Cabernet Franc was bottled in September 2021.