2018 Kern & Co. King Street Cabernet Franc | 91pts

This King Street Cab Franc is pretty and elegant. Made from two vineyards on the Twenty Mile Bench, the Cuesta Vineyard (67%) and the Foxcroft Vineyard (33%) and aged for 21 months in French oak (33% new). This might be the most ageable Cab Franc from the 2018 Kern & Co. collection due to brighter acidity. On the nose, it offers aromas of red currant, blue plum, red licorice and violet. Meanwhile the palate offers a defined Adam Kern signature texture - plush and sumptuous. Flavours of red cherry, red currant, ripe crushed strawberries, savouriness, a little bit of pencil shavings, with a beautiful graphite and chewy tobacco sensation on the finish. I perceive a bit more Loire style in this one. (Carl Boucher, December 4, 2025). 

Winery Notes:

Farmed by Wismer Vineyards.

Hand harvested on October 23rd and 25th, 2018.

Hand sorted, de-stemmed and fermented on skins for 18-27 days, then cellared in select French oak barrels (33% new) for 21 months.

The first pour exudes strong notes of kirsch, red plum and cocoa; when given time to open up, layers of tar, pencil shavings, and wild roses are revealed. Gravelly minerality and leathery tannins are accompanied by flavours of fresh red cherries and plums, leading to a sweet tobacco finish that lingers on the palate.

129 cases & 330 half-bottles produced, sealed with individually screened natural corks.