Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Pelee Island Winery 2005 Cabernet Franc - $10.95

Cheap and cheerful, that’s the best way to describe this red – especially the way it was served to me. When I visited Pelee Island this summer they served it slightly chilled to demonstrate how some reds could be drunk that way. “We chill our younger reds,” retail manager Melissa told me, “because it softens their tannins and makes them easier to drink in the heat of summer.” This wine has a great fruit forward taste, because it wa chilled the usual green pepper taste and smell you find in Franc had dissipated - though I seem to enjoy those usual flavours in my Cab Franc, I find them as comforting as a warm blanket. Returning to room temperature, the pepper returns on the nose. Chilled or at room temperature there is some cedar and the taste has lots of berry flavours … as for those youthful tannins, they begin to show through as the wine warms up. Available at the winery and the LCBO.

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