2019 Callaghan Vineyards Cabernet Franc – Good News, Bad News & Good News!
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Photo ©Michael Kelly
The first good news is that Callaghan Vineyards won the Best of Show at the 5th Annual International Cabernet Franc Wine Competition from the People’s Choice Judges. As is customary, a story is written on each Best of Show winner, but the bad news is that the Cabernet Franc vineyards were ripped out and replanted with new varieties. And the 2019 Cabernet Franc is completely sold out. The other good news is that Callaghan Vineyards makes many more award winning wines! Two noteworthy ones that caught my attention were the 2019 Caitlin’s Blend receiving Best of Class at the 2023 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition and also his Tannat winning a Gold Medal at a previous SF Chronicle Wine Competition. For a complete listing of the awards and accolades check out this link: https://www.callaghanvineyards.com/story
The first vintage was in 1991 by Kent Callaghan. The white wines produced include sparkling, Petit Manseng, white wine blends and dessert wines. His extensive red wines are: Aglianico, a variety of blends, Cabernet Sauvignon, Graciano, Grenache, Montepulciano, Mourvedre, Petit Verdot, Tannat, Tempranillo and red dessert wines.
I have not tasted any of his other wines but look forward to having the chance in the near future.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
The winery is located at 336 Elgin Road in Elgin, Arizona. This is located in the Sonoita sub-AVA about an hour southeast of Tucson. The Sonoita basin is surrounded by four mountain ranges, the Huachuca Mountains, the Santa Rita Mountains, the Mustang Mountains and the Whetstone Mountains. The vineyards range from 4,500 to 5,000 feet elevation and are some of the highest in the USA. The soil is alluvial fans with gravelly loam accumulating from the mountain run off. The soil and temperature is similar in many ways to the Sierra foothills in California in a recent conversation with Kent.
The Food and Wine Pairing – “Food without wine is a corpse; wine without food is a ghost. United and well matched, they are as body and soul: living partners” – Andre Simon
Photo ©Michael Kelly
The 2019 Cabernet Franc was paired with a seared and BBQ’ed ribeye steak served medium rare. Accompanied with halved roasted Brussel sprouts and roasted sliced potatoes. The wine was extremely well matched with the food pairing.
Looking forward to reviewing many of his other award winning wines!
Sláinte,
Michael