Wine Review - 2009 Tinhorn Creek Cabernet Franc: This Ain't Your Mama's Cab Franc....

We recently came to be in possession of some wine from this winery ('nuff said).  We have a variety of their wines but this one was most exciting for us to try (as we are Cab Franc fanatics).  We have not had as much Cabernet Franc from British Columbia as we have had from Ontario so we were especially interested to compare and contrast.  We really like the Ontario version so we had high hopes.  To our delight our hopes were confirmed.

This is an excellent version of Cabernet Franc.  As we started out in the glass, it is a dark wine of a medium body.  When we swirled it in the glass, it stuck to the sides and meandered down on the legs, but at 14.8% that is no surprise (more on that in a minute).  We would characterize the colour as garnet (which to us is a deep red).  Up to the light, you cannot see through it.  Overall, very nice.

We stuck our noses in the glass and there it was....wonder of wonders....the barnyard.  We love that nose with the vegetal green pepper tones though it isn't as barnyard-y as others we have had.  However, this wine has its fair share of fruit in the glass as well.  We get burnt sugar, black pepper, black currents, and tobacco notes happening as well.  We would also characterize the nose as a peppered cherry cobbler.  This wine has a complex bouquet with an elegance to it.  Well done.

We decanted this wine for a little bit which allowed it open up a bit, but we must say at 14.8% this wine is not overly hot on the nose or on the palate.  Though it did take a few minutes for that initial boldness to settle out.  Beyond those first few minutes this wine has balance.  We get more black pepper than green pepper on the palate until you aerate the wine in your mouth and then it is green pepper city....wicked.  The fruit components fall on the cherry and blackberry end of the spectrum, again with a healthy dose of black pepper on the finish.  Such a great wine!  The really benefit of the flavour profile is the elegance.  It is well balanced and makes for a great tasting experience.  We do recommend decanting to release that initial volatile alcohol components but as we said those are gone in mere minutes.

	Tasting Notes:	Score:
Sight (0-5)	Medium bodied red wine that sticks to the glass. Deep garnet that makes your want to try it.  Very nice.	4.0
Smell (0-5)	Green pepper, black pepper, barnyard, black currents, tobacco, burnt sugar and the list goes on.  Very complex and elegant...awesome.	4.5
Taste (0-10)	Cherries, blackberries, green pepper and black pepper again.  Delicious and inviting red wine.  Well balanced and luscious, so great.	8.5
	Total:	17.0 / 20 (85%)

This wine comes in at $19.99 which is an awesome price for the caliber of this wine.  It has that Quality to Price Ratio (QPR) that makes the experience even better.  We highly recommend this wine if you can get your hands on it.  If all else fails, take a trip to the Okanagan Valley and visit Sandra Oldfield and her staff at Tinhorn Creek...someday we will. :)

Keep on tasting!

Chris & Shannon