2005 Childress Vineyards Cabernet Franc Reserve, North Carolina

This was given to me by a good friend when I lived back in Ohio. She and her family visited North Carolina, and she brought some wine back to try. This is the first from the Carolinas I’ve had the opportunity to try. While three-quarters of the bottle is Cab Franc, it also contains 20% Syrah and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. Medium garnet red color. A medium intensity nose with red fruit, oak, and earthiness. On the palate it was clean, and relatively light to medium in structure, tannin, flavor, and acidity. Juicy red fruits. While I wouldn’t call this a stellar bottle, it wasn’t bad by any means. More importantly, it definitely has me intrigued to try other wines from the Eastern sea board!

WHO: Childress Vineyards
WHAT: Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon
WHERE: North Carolina
WHEN: 2005
HOW MUCH: $25