Palate
The Quest Cabernet Franc is an unassuming wine with depth and flavors of black fruit and dark chocolate. On the finish, supple tannins evolve into a lush balanced wine. The perfect blend of discovery and tradition.
Growing Conditions
The 2023 growing season was cooler and wetter than recent years. Near-record rainfall filled soil profiles while a cooler spring and summer facilitated good vine growth but slowed berry and cluster development. The result was a later harvest. Fortunately, the autumn weather was warm and consistent which helped to fully mature berries. The result was a balanced crop with ripe fruit, high tannins and anthocyanins, all indicators of high quality.
Our Cabernet Franc is sourced with intention. Not all soils or vineyards sites are ideal for Cabernet Franc. This variety needs plenty of temperate weather and good exposure for quality. So, we sought out the best vineyards, even planting or grafting new vineyards to the varietal because Cabernet Franc was the right choice for the site. The Creston district (1100’ elevation) is home to the largest planting of Cabernet Franc for us. Here the loamy soils are well integrated with calcareous matter, helping to control vine vigor and allow for very even ripening. The Geneseo district (1100’ elevation) is home to the second largest vineyard of Cabernet Franc for Quest. The sandy loam with calcareous integration in the heart of the AVA
is a perfect place to grow great grapes. The third largest vineyard of Cabernet Franc for Quest is in the San Juan Creek district (1200’ elevation) located on the eastern side of the AVA with alluvial, loamy soils. This is the first year of production for this vineyard.
Bottling
Summer 2024
Winemaking
The Cabernet Franc is harvested and fermented individually by vineyard lots and then aged in used
American oak barrels.
Aging
The lots were racked twice during barrel aging, blended together and put into 65% New American oak barrels for an additional 3 months. Just prior to bottling the wine is crossflow
filtered. The 2023 Quest Red Wine was aged for a total of 12 months in oak, blended in early Summer of 2024 and bottled.
