Day 8 of our 12 Days of Wine found us doing a late night pairing.  We met Leah Jørgensen of Leah Jørgensen Cellars this summer and had a wonderful conversation with her about her wines, cabernet franc and so many other things.  You can find all that info here.

One of the unique wines that she makes is a Blanc de Cabernet Franc.  She had run into one of these in the Loire Valley and decided to make one from Oregon.

What to pair?

We searched and found a recommendation thanks to Opening a Bottle https://openingabottle.com/blanc-de-cabernet-franc/ 

Tasting notes: A most unusual white wine that first comes across as quirky, but then mellows into a truly distinctive beauty. Offers aromas of lemon, rosemary,beeswax and gradually gives way to deeper fruit aromas as it is exposed to air— ripe nectarine, blood orange and honey. There is even a note that recalls lilacs. Ultra-smooth texture and medium body, with some minerality on the finish. A wine with a lot of grace. Drink young.
Recommended for: Summer sipping on the back patio. With food, I’d aim for roasted chicken or cedar-planked salmon.

Opening a bottle – What is Blanc de Cabernet Franc Like? May 11, 2016

While it wasn’t summer, we wanted to enjoy this bottle young.

I had to work, but when I returned at almost midnight, Michael had a feast set with a cedar-planked salmon in maple and spices, rosemary bread with goat cheese, and a fruit and cheese plate complete with two goat cheeses, one honeyed, the other herbed, gouda, grapes, prosciutto, blood orange slices and some of that lovely gooey haymarket goat cheese.

The wine

This wine is really fascinating.  You put your nose in the glass and you get tart citrus and pith.  It was blood orangey, but after tasting my blood oranges, it was a little more tart, drifting toward pink grapefruit. And then you get peppers, green, but not bell. It really is that a roasted pickled poblano pepper.  On the back there was a bit of salinity, and there is that touch of tannins.

This is a wine that starts like a white and ends like a red with a lingering finish.

The pairings

Maybe it’s just channeling the Loire Valley traditions, but I found that this wine went spectacularly with all the goat cheeses most especially the honeyed goat cheese.  With the gouda?  Not so much. With the salmon it was great, holding it’s own against the heavy spices on the salmon, the wood, with the maple helping to round and soften each bite. 

Want some?

You can find her wines available on her squarespace site

And this beautiful bottle will set you back only $30.

Or check out her page with her distributors to find a place near you.

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