WTN: An excellent Cabernet Franc from Kansas!

First off, sorry for being AWOL on all of you since last summer. New job, new house, etc. (which is going very well and we are very happy). So, needless to say I've got a backlog of notes from Christmas onwards that I am working on. But just tonight, I had something remarkable that deserved immediate attention.

I've heard that there are some excellent wines being made in the southeastern part of Kansas, and that a winery called Somerset Ridge in particular was having success with some vinifera! They are located in Paola, Kansas, and the soil down there is all limestone/sedimentary (note that the Flint Hills are farther west, but I've heard there are some good wineries there too). At any rate, this Cab Franc that I had tonight does not need to apologize at all for being from Kansas - it is simply an excellent Cabernet Franc by any standards, and I suspect would make the Loire-heads very happy.

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Somerset Ridge, Cabernet Franc, Barrel Reserve, Kansas 2013
Medium ruby. Exceptional nose, aromatic and slightly heady, with sweet raspberry, red and black currants, cigar tobacco, cedar, and touch of toasty oak on top of smokey mineral and earth; very impressive nose. On the palate, sweet black raspberry, followed by fleshy red currant and a touch of slightly tart black currant, sweet damson, pleasant herbaceous notes and tobacco leaf, and chocolate, and on the finish, a nice touch of oak on top of stoney, slightly smokey earth, and mineral-laden tannin. Medium-full bodied, lush, and juicy, with a lovely, succulent texture. Blind, I might have guessed that this was from Sonoma, and it compares favorably with California Cab Francs in the same ($25) price range. An extremely impressive effort. Drink now or in the next 3 years. 3.5 Stars [5/23/16]

[David M. Bueker]

Hmm...never would have thought about that.

Brownback apparently hasn't driven out producers of demon alcohol.

Hmm...never would have thought about that.

Brownback apparently hasn't driven out producers of demon alcohol.

Nope...he's intent on driving out demon teachers and students.
Tom

Thanks for the note, Ryan. Who'd thunk. Looks like I'll need to
make a drive down to Paola next trip to KC.

See that they also make an off-dry Riesling. You haven't tried that, have you??
Tom

Thanks for the note, Ryan. Who'd thunk. Looks like I'll need to
make a drive down to Paola next trip to KC.

See that they also make an off-dry Riesling. You haven't tried that, have you??
Tom

It was my cousin (who works in crop insurance, for a company that has gotten into insuring vineyards) who picked the bottle up at the winery, and tasted their range, and IIRC he said that the Riesling was very good. I will be going with him sometime this summer to taste at Somerset and at a few other wineries down there that he says are excellent.

Hmm...never would have thought about that.

Brownback apparently hasn't driven out producers of demon alcohol.

Nope...he's intent on driving out demon teachers and students.
Tom

Never tried wine from Kansas, but I have had a decent Cab Franc from Missouri, from Amigoni Winery, just outside of Kansas City. This was about 5-6 years ago, but I recall it being around $25 and very pleasant.

The Paola area looks "pretty" on Google Streetview. At least the slightly rolling countryside!

The Paola area looks "pretty" on Google Streetview. At least the slightly rolling countryside!

I haven't actually been down there, but based on Streetview, that is very typical eastern Kansas scenery.