This Cabernet Franc presents a captivating deep purple hue in the glass. Aromas of blackberry cobbler, vanilla, violets, and lavender entice the senses. On the palate, it delivers a dense mouthfeel with flavors of chocolate-covered strawberries, cocoa, blood orange, and brown sugar, accompanied by a hint of clove smoke. Balanced acidity reveals notes of strawberries, citrus, cocoa, clove, and brown sugar, supported by plush tannins, leading to a lingering, perfumed finish.
Released — February 1st, 2024
88 cases produced
Tech Sheet
It is an absolute stand-out wine that is just seamless, with a purity of dark fruit flavors and spices balanced by threads of distinct minerality, freshness, and tension. Pure blackberry and black cherry fruit notes are tinged with bright capsicum. The depth and intensity of this wine are just as bewildering as the freshness conveyed on the palate. The dusty tannin backbone, a classic quality of the Beckstoffer Dr. Crane vineyard in St. Helena, frames a panoply of savory spices, crushed herbs, licorice, and black ironstone minerality, delivering a perfect Cabernet Franc in the heady, rich, opulent and mineral-driven style Lithology is known for, but with tremendous energy in the 2021s, which conveys a real elegance to match this wine’s intensity.
Perfectly situated on the west side of Saint Helena with Sulphur Creek running along its northern border, the Dr Crane vineyard is the perfect example of how gravelly, free-draining, benchland soils produce some of the most compelling, age-defying wines in all of Napa Valley. These wines are elevated, high-toned, and extraordinarily complex.
Cabernet Franc
Cabernet Sauvignon
Chardonnay
Cabernet Sauvignon
