Chateau Buena Vista Cabernet Franc, St. Helena Reviews

Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2021 Chateau Buena Vista Cabernet Franc prances out with showy notions of redcurrant jelly, Morello cherries, and wild blueberries giving way to hints of rose oil, pencil shavings, and iron ore. Full-bodied, intense, and impactful, the palate has a rock-solid frame of grainy tannins and seamless freshness supporting the tightly wound fruit, finishing long and fragrant.

The 2019 Chateau Buena Vista Cabernet Franc, with 3% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend, is medium garnet-purple in color. It offers up notes of kirsch, fresh blackberries, and black cherries with hints of dried Provence herbs and pencil shavings. The full-bodied palate delivers a good intensity of red berry and earthy layers with a chewy texture and peppery finish.

A solid red with cherries, violets and earth on the nose and palate. Medium body with chewy tannins. Herbs and wild berries on the palate and a savory finish. Try after two to three years to soften the tannins.

A floral nose of ripe red cherry, suede and ripe strawberry. Medium-to full-bodied with fine, silky tannins. Very juicy, with a mineral and herbal backbone that adds pleasant complexity. Drink or hold.

The 2019 Cabernet Franc Chateau Buena Vista is also outstanding and has a pretty, floral, sappy herb, and red and blue-fruited style as well as medium-bodied richness. I love its balance as well as its sense of freshness and elegance.