Chilean Cabernet Franc is the Red Wine You Need Right Now

If more people were aware that Cabernet Franc is a parent of Cabernet Sauvignon (Sauvignon Blanc is the other one), it might get the respect it deserves.

Cabernet Franc tends to be a bit more reserved than its offspring. Whereas Cabernet Sauvignon is most often bold, dark and richly fruited, Cabernet Franc is lighter and adds a savory, aromatic element to its bright red fruit.

France, of course, is its birthplace, and it has thrived in the Loire Valley and Bordeaux for centuries. Cabernet Franc can achieve stratospheric heights of greatness in its homeland, as it is the main grape in the legendary Chateau Cheval Blanc, which releases each year at several hundreds of dollars per bottle.

Cabernet Franc doesn’t like extreme heat, which is why it has rapidly found a home in many of Chile’s cooler microclimates. Several years ago the winemaker of the globally exported producer Viña Santa Rita remarked, “I believe the future for Chile is Cabernet Franc.”

As far as we’re concerned at GVI Wines, the future of Chilean wine has arrived. We’re incredibly fortunate to carry the wines of Viña Maquis and its sister property Calcu, two of Chile’s most prominent Cabernet Franc specialists.

Viña Maquis’s estate vineyards in the Colchagua Valley are bordered by two rivers that together funnel coastal breezes inland. Their Cabernet Franc vines occupy the coolest site on the estate, and the two wines that come from them share a remarkable freshness and vibrancy of fruit.

The best introduction to their Cabernet Franc is the bottling from their younger vines, which retails for $20. Calcu’s is also a worthy foray into the category, with its 90-point score from Robert Parker to boot.

Then there is the Maquis “Franco” Cabernet Franc, which many are already calling a Chilean — and even a New World — icon. It is a bolder and age-worthy style, but it retains all of Cabernet Franc’s most sought-after characteristics. If you’re serious about Cabernet Franc, this wine is a must.

As good as these wines are today, they will only get better as producers gain better understandings of their vineyards. That is a future for Chilean wine we can’t wait to experience.