This is a call out to all Cabernet Franc lovers. Judging by past Cab Franc email offers, many of you are out there. Cabernet Franc has always been a wine geeks’ favorite, but lately, new drinkers are falling in love with this wine’s intense floral notes, acidity, and finesse not seen with the other wines in Bordeaux or elsewhere. Especially in Frances’ Right Bank, where it is blended with Merlot and can be fuller-bodied, high in tannin, and can age for a decade or more. One of the most treasured Cabernet Franc wines comes from the Saint-Émilion appellation in Bordeaux, made by Château Cheval Blanc. This is not Cheval Blanc, but it comes from that region, the Right Bank, at a great price for the quality of this wine. Included is a great story.

To start, we did not know that Chateau Ribebon Cabernet Franc existed. Let me clarify. We know about Chateau Ribebon, a Bordeaux Superieur from just East of Saint Emilion, seventh generation producer Aubert family, who own seven châteaux on Bordeaux’s Right Bank. The Aubert family has lived in Saint-Émilion since 1750 and has a long and successful history as producers of some of Bordeaux’s finest wines. They own over 600 acres of vineyard property, making them one of the largest family producers on the Right Bank. Their estate centers around the old family home of Château de Ribebon, a magnificent 18th-century building once a hunting lodge for King Louis XIV, beautifully preserved on a terrace overlooking the Dordogne River.

Ribebon is best known for their Bordeaux Superior, a wine we usually buy with our Bordeaux Futures campaign from various negociants for years. It is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cabernet Franc. What we didn’t know is that they produced a Cabernet Franc dominant wine with less than 15% Merlot blended in, nor did we realize we carried it on our shelf. To be fair, the labels are almost identical, and it must have been mixed up with our regular Ribebon order. Our heads-up saleswoman, who also sells the Aubert family wines, was perplexed to see it on our shelf and charged out a bottle on her house account so we could try the wine. We loved the wine, so she did more digging to find out more about the wine.

Enter US importer Serge Dore, a fine wine importing company focusing on single-estate French wines held by generational winemakers and a long-time friend of Alaine and Bernadette Aubert, the owners of Chateau Ribebon. They were walking the vineyards one day and came to an old vine Cabernet Franc patch that Alaine wanted to rip out and graft over to Merlot. In days past, Cabernet Franc only reached full ripeness three out of ten years, and the demand and price for Merlot overshadowed the demand for Cabernet Franc. Serge, in his inevitable way, convinced Alaine and Bernadette to keep the 100-year-old vines and produce a Cabernet Franc exclusive to Serge Dore Selections, which he created a new set of labels bearing the “Famille Alain Aubert” banner across the top to honor the work of the family.

Ribebon’s Cabernet Franc vineyard is less than 12 acres and produces less than 600 cases, imported exclusively to the US. The soils are limestone and clay with low yields. Hand-harvested and is directed by Bernadette Aubert personally. Five days of fermentation and twenty-five days of Maceration followed by 18 months of oak barrel aging. Blended with less than 15% Merlot, the finished wine is full of beautiful red fruit and floral aromas that will continue to evolve through 2030. I can't tell you how excited we were to find this rare gem and we bought all that our distributor had to offer, 23 cases. 

The 2019 vintage for Bordeaux is shaping up to be an excellent one. The late winter and early spring were unusually dry and mild, prompting early budburst. A cold snap in April and May saw seasonal frosts and hail strikes, but the damage was thankfully minimal. The wines have been described as having moderate-to-high alcohol levels, with sophisticated tannins and aromatic qualities favoring elegance over raw power. The Wine Advocate rates the 2019 vintage for the Right Bank 95 points.

Château de Ribebon's 2019 'Cabernet Franc' Bordeaux Supérieur invites you with live aromas of dark cherries, wildflowers, spices and herbs. The palate is driven by a medium body and structured with silky tannins and a touch of acidity that glides into the cuvée into the finish with a mastered sense of elegance carried by a strong, structural backbone.

 "The 2018 Cabernet Franc from Château Ribebon begins with fresh, inviting aromas of dark cherries and cassis followed by spices, loam, wild flowers and herbs which all take shape. Palate is medium-bodied and structured with silky tannins framed by a beautiful touch of acidy providing a wonderful sense of freshness through the finish. Showing a lovely sense of elegance, this is also has the structural backbone to age beautifully for at least a decade" International Wine Report 92 pts

Château Ribebon Cabernet Franc 2019

As I mentioned, we had tried this wine months ago and fell in love with it. We were curious to taste it again to find out if we still had a love affair with this wine. All I can say is judging by our wine geeks' reactions, the love was still there. Antique dark garnet in color, aromas of red currant, Trappist boysenberry jam, bitter cherries. In the mouth, it was soft and round, drinkable to a fault, fresh earth and mushroom. Moderate tannins and balanced acidity to keep the redberry fruit popping. This wine screamed for a juicy hamburger from the grill. In my opinion, it is the best Cab Franc we have at this price by far. Again, only 23 cases are available, so get your order in soon so as not to be disappointed. There is no more to be had, and who knows if we can get it again in future vintages.

Regular Price: $19.99

*Sale Price is on 6 or more bottles

Wine is packed in a 12-bottle case

*Wine pricing for these wine promotions are held for two weeks after the email offer.

We can hold wines in unpaid reserves for two weeks to allow you time to pick up your wine. If it takes you longer than that to pick up your wines, give us a call, and we can process your wine and move it to paid reserves.

Orders must be done by replying to this email. The reason is that I need to keep control of the inventory in one central spot. Emailing or calling your favorite wine geek at one of our four stores may not get your orders in on time to be counted or processed and this creates a helter-skelter for us to get you the wine. For the same reason, ordering on our online Web Store is linked to our regular price, and this sale price is only offered on the email platform. It is also why it takes me some time to respond due to the deluge of orders that I sometimes get. We haven't reached the efficiency or volume of Amazon yet. Thank you in advance for your patience.

Let me know your preferred store for pickup: Attleboro, Norwood, Sturbridge, or Swansea. If you don't state the store, I will assume you are picking up in Sturbridge.

Place your order now while you've got everything in front of you. Reply to this email along with your name and which store you want to pick it up.

I will confirm your order via email when it is ready for pickup. Please give us at least 48 hours to respond.

Cheers!

—John Hannum, Fine & Rare Wine Specialist

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