Winter came in wet and cold, with heavy rain and temperatures that sat below average for weeks at a time. It kept the vines dormant longer than usual, which turned out to matter later. Spring arrived slowly too, starting with light snow and scattered showers before finally warming up by mid-April. Bud break came April 24th.
Summer never really rushed. Mornings stayed cool and gray, afternoons ran below average, and the vines took their time through bloom on June 13th. Then, at the end of June into early July, a heat wave broke the pattern and pushed things forward. Veraison followed on August 21st.
By September, temperatures had cooled back into the mid-80s, and there was a stretch of real concern, the kind of cool that makes you wonder if the fruit will get where it needs to go. Then October warmed into the mid-90s, and everything caught up at once. That late-season heat gave us the dehydration and concentration this vintage needed. And where the Cabernet came off October 6th, the Franc hung on — nearly three more weeks on the vine, through the October warmth and a little rain, until we picked on the 24th at perfect maturity.
The blend is 91% Cabernet Franc (Clone 348) with 9% Cabernet Sauvignon (Clones 685 and 7), farmed the same way we always farm, then aged 18 months in barrel with 50% new oak.
It's a vintage that tested patience more than most. A long, cool season with a real question mark in the middle of it, answered by two weeks of October heat. What came out of the tank is a riper Franc than usual — but only in the depth of the fruit. The tannins are resolved, the acidity is intact, and the whole thing is seamless in a way that showcases just how good 2023 was. We think this one's going to be remembered.
