This Cab Franc Pairs Well with Party Subs and Basically Everything Else
In Unfiltered, Bon Appetit's wine editor Marissa Ross shares her latest favorite bottles and—you guessed it—unfiltered thoughts on natural wine.
The wines I love the most are rarely the ones I have for dinner. Instead they’re ones like Les Vignes de Babass’ “Roc Cab” Cabernet Franc, which I drank on a bright Saturday afternoon over a long lunch with good friends and a party sub my husband made with homemade ‘nduja, mozzarella, arugula, and zucchini. The wine and the sandwich paired surprisingly well, and I didn’t have to think too hard about it: just good people, good wine, and good times. (Yes, I know that sounds like something that should be—and probably is—emblazoned in glitter on plastic goblets, but it’s true.)
I love Cabernet Franc and have drank a lot of it. No joke, I had a 30-minute one woman show called “From Franzia to Cab Franc” back when I was performing comedy. What I’ve found with many Cabernet Francs is that they’re either yawnable, with the textbook-taste of green bell pepper (thanks to aromatic compounds called pyrazines), or they are wild as hell. The latter type still have pyrazines, but they drink like off-roading through rocky cow manure with splashes of cheap red wine vinegar. What I’m saying is: It isn’t easy to find a Cab Franc that is both interesting and well-balanced.
But Les Vignes de Babass’ “Roc Cab” is. With its flirting acidity that hits you on the tip of your tongue to its velvety vibrato finish, “Roc Cab” is Doris Day serenading with a big band. It begs you to sway with it, to lose yourself in its flavors of smashed, ripe blueberries and diced jalapeño while waltzing down a winding gravel drive sprinkled with white flower petals. It would kill with whatever you’re cooking for dinner, I’m sure. But while there are plenty of wines to pair with roast chicken, I can only think of one wine that can hold up to a 2 p.m. party sub...and this Cab Franc is it.
Les Vignes de Babass’ “Roc Cab” Cabernet Franc is imported by Camille Rivieré and was purchased at Psychic Wines in Los Angeles for $36.
Buy it: Les Vignes de Babass’ “Roc Cab” Cabernet Franc, $31.
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Originally Appeared on Bon Appétit
