Tasting - Anthony Road Cabernet Franc

 On the evening of January 23rd, 2023, a man attempted to cook dinner and drink wine. This is his story.

Little date night action with me and the missus - pan roasted lamb chops in ghee, fresh garlic, thyme, rosemary, celery, baby bella mushrooms and carrots. Served with oven roasted yellow potatoes and broccoli, tossed in olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, rosemary and thyme.

First time cooking lamb, wasn't aware of the ability of the fat to render out so completely. Should have allowed it to cook on the fat side for longer, but we were impatient. Also, undersalted the potatoes and the lamb veggies, but some post-cooking salt and all that garlic made up for it.

About the wine: Anthony Road Winery's 2020 Cabernet Franc. Grapes grown in the Finger Lakes of NY in America, on the West side of the Seneca Lake (vineyard slopes facing east). We had tried this in a wine tasting back in December at the winery, and it was her favorite, so I brought a bottle back to Blacksburg. Wish we had taken notes at the tasting, but all that is lost to the ether now. 10/10 experience though, recommend the past/present/future white wine flight.

Online it is listed at ~$27 for a bottle, but I believe we paid a lower price at the in-person shop. Don't have a receipt but I remember it being closer to $21.

Couldn't find much online about tasting notes, but was rushed trying to get dinner put together.

The Comprehensive Guide to Cabernet Franc | Wine Folly We consulted this site while waiting for things to cook, and sipping on our first glasses of the wine. Concerned about how to avoid placebo when reading about what you are supposed to be tasting versus actually tasting those things.

My disagreements with Wine Folly: no strawberry, no bell pepper (she tasted some but this is my review), no "crushed gravel". I know what crushed gravel smells like intimately - my driveway at home is gravel and I know what it smells like in any weather or time of year. I did agree with the raspberry, and a little bit with the chile/spiciness, but only faintly.

Color: DARK red. Almost purple in thin layers when held up to the light.

Smell: before dinner, smelled of red fruits (raspberry, blackberry, dark plums). after dinner: maple syrup very clearly on the nose! Reading the winery's page, this wine was oaked, so maybe it is the oak characteristic I picked up as "maple". I don't know what oak wood smells like. Wondering if the change in smell for me was affected more by the food or by the wine sitting out?

Taste: more dark red fruits, cherries, bruised flavor!! Like if you've had a smushed raspberry or blackberry at the bottom of a carton, it tastes different than a pristine, unblemished berry.

Mouthfeel: less tannin than I would expect from something this dark colored. Didn't coat my whole tongue in that texture, mostly the front 1/3 of my mouth. More enjoyable to take a big swig when it had sat a little while.

Note of changes over time: wine was probably not changing in temperature, but certainly getting more oxygen. I don't have a decanter bc I am a poor college kid and it looks pretentious, but it was cool to have the wine get more airflow and change flavor. Definitely felt sweeter all over my tongue when it had sat out longer. Didn't finish the bottle so might compare tomorrow or something too.