2021 Cellar13 Cabernet Franc – Gold Medal Winner at SF Chronicle Competition
Photo ©Michael Kelly
The Wine – “Wine is bottled Poetry” – Robert Louis Stevenson
Photo ©Michael Kelly
First time tasting this 2021 Cabernet Franc and was extremely impressed! The wine is 100% Cabernet Franc from the White Cat vineyard in Livermore. The barrel treatment was 50% new being with 60% being Hungarian and 40% French barrels. The balance was neutral barrels. It was aged 18 months in the barrels and another 18 months in bottle before being released. It has already won the Gold Medal at SF Chronicle and at East Meets West another Gold Medal with 92 points. It will be released mid-April and will go for $63/bottle for wine club members only.
First on the eyes a unique purple coloring in the glass and maroon edges with medium-heavy viscosity. On the nose, blackberries and plums waft into the senses creating an anticipatory excitement. Once on the palate, raspberries and both minerality with earthy notes swirled in harmony in the mouth. On the finish, initially strong tannins but quickly settled down to provide a smooth and velvety conclusion. Best served between 65 and 68 degrees.
This wine will make my annual Best Wines Tasted list for 2025. Once it is released, I will be standing in line to purchase a few bottles for the cellar!
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
Paired this evening with a marinaded Carne Asada Tri Tip steak. The marinade includes garlic, onion, tomato, bell pepper, salt, cumin, smoked paprika and citrus juice. First seared for a few minutes at 1500 degrees and then BBQ’ed to medium rare. Served with fresh cilantro and limes to be squeezed onto the meat. Accompanied by Mexican rice and a fresh salad. The wine had sufficient tannins to engulf the meat, and the fruit of the wine was paired beautifully. The lime juice was a bit much for the wine, so had some of the meat without the lime juice.
The Winery
Darin Winton came from the public water services at a local municipality and while not necessarily turning water into wine he is now producing many award-winning wines! Even before retiring, Darin got his start doing volunteer work at 3 Steves Winery on his vacation, since he enjoyed their wines in Livermore and even volunteered for two weeks in Chile during harvest. There he learned “old world” techniques in winemaking, especially for Carménère. The fascination of harvesting by hand and using gravity to move wine around aroused his curiosity. In 2017, the winery where he was doing his training, allowed him to make a few small batches of wine with Livermore Valley fruit. He is indebted to 3 Steves Winery for allowing him to experience winemaking from the ground up and their subtle oversight and tutelage. Pictured below is Darin and Gail Henderson, his fiancée who assist in the marketing and sales for Cellar 13.
Photo from Cellar13
His vast number of awards are listed on his website and in a previous story at: https://californiawinesandwineries.com/2024/11/17/2019-cellar-13-cabernet-sauvignon-with-filet-mignon-steak/
Sláinte,
Michael