Gallica celebrates ‘moment’ for Cabernet Franc with awards success

Gallica owner Rosemary Cakebread believes often-overlooked Cabernet Franc is having “a well-deserved moment” in California.

Gallica is well-practised in growing Cabernet Franc. The Napa Valley producer has been using the grape in its much admired range since 2007. Initially, it formed a small but vital element of the winery’s Cabernet Sauvignon, before winemaker Rosemary Cakebread deemed it worthy of its own cuvée starting with the 2014 vintage.

Thanks to previous jobs across California, Cakebread has been working with Cabernet Franc since 1997. Her experience was recently vindicated at the inaugural Global Cabernet Franc Masters, where the Gallica Cabernet Franc 2019 won a Master medal. She believes the accolade matches a pattern across the region: “Cabernet Franc is really hitting its stride in California.”

It is an impressive story for a grape that has often been relegated to the status of blending partner. Cabernet Franc is an ancient variety, most likely originating in the Basque Country, though known for migrating to western France. It is a parent variety and blending partner of Cabernet Sauvignon. Although plantings of the two in Bordeaux were approximately equal in the late 1960s, Cabernet Sauvignon is now twice as widely planted as its parent.

A similar narrative has emerged in California. There, Cabernet Sauvignon is even more dominant: it has more than 38,000 hectares compared to around 1,400 planted with Cabernet Franc. As in Bordeaux, the older grape had been pigeon-holed as a blending partner.

The tide, however, may well be shifting. As quality minded producers like Gallica gain recognition, the grape has become more sought after by wine lovers. In a surprising turn, it now commands a higher price than Cabernet Sauvignon.

“I’ve always felt it is a variety that stands alone and can make wines worthy of ageing,” says Cakebread. While a historical trend for powerful, rich reds may have helped Napa’s Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot-led fruit bombs, a trend towards fresher red wines may be aiding Cabernet Franc’s chances. Certainly Cakebread appreciates the grape’s less punchy charm. “I find it the most compelling and interesting at the intersection of fruity, savoury and floral notes, and refined tannin,” she explains.

For the Gallica Cabernet Franc, and indeed its whole range, this complexity comes from a focus on terroir. The winery has made its name with organically farmed single-vineyard expressions. From its estate vineyards, which make concentrated expressions in very limited quantities, to the partner vineyards it works with year in, year out, Gallica has committed itself to exploring some of California’s best sites.

The varietal Cabernet Franc, in fact, comes from just one block in the Oakville Ranch vineyard. Cakebread describes the variety as “finicky”, needing a suitable site and “astute farming” that limits yields. In Oakville, the proportions of stones and clay in the soil prove ideal for the variety, as does the gentle southern slope that shields it from afternoon sunshine.

As more and more consumers focus on terroir, that finicky quality may become an attribute. Cabernet Franc can make a compelling case for the importance of matching soil to variety. In expressing a specific site, like the Gallica Cabernet Franc, it is increasingly favoured over all-rounder varieties.

Yet if it remains a niche interest, perhaps that is no bad thing. In a world where overproduction has proved a thorn in the side of several famous wine regions, a focus on quality rather than quantity is a sensible endeavour. As Cakebread demonstrates, there is no substitute for finely crafted wines.

The Gallica Cabernet Franc 2019 won a Master medal at the Global Cabernet Franc Masters 2024. The wine profile is published below, with a tasting note by Patricia Stefanowicz MW.

Gallica Cabernet Franc 2019

• Producer: Gallica
• Region: Oakville, Napa Valley, California
• Country: USA
• Grape varieties: 98% Cabernet Franc, 2% Cabernet Sauvignon
• ABV: 14.5%
• Vintage: 2019
• Approx. retail price: £150

Winemaker extraordinare Rosemary Cakebread is the proprietor of Gallica, located in Oakville, Napa Valley. The Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes for this wine are sourced from the organically-farmed Oakville Ranch Vineyard and co-fermented to create this Bordeaux-style blend. Exhibiting a deep purple-ruby hue, the wine’s bouquet has dark black fruits and morello cherry with cedar wood and hints of sweet bell peppers and lavender. Textured, layered and well-defined, the wine has a long savoury, sappy finish redolent of baking spices and vanilla pod. A ripe yet elegant style to match the likes of beef with parsnip purée and braised chard accented by a dash of quatre épices.