Ehlers Estate, St. Helena – Napa Valley (California) Cabernet Franc 2019

 It has been slow in coming, but more and more premium Napa Valley producers are beginning to use Cabernet Franc as a varietal wine and not just as a blending grape, and, while Cabernet Sauvignon’s domination of the Valley is not threatened, the diversity at the high end of red wine offerings is welcomed.  The approach here is interesting.  Rather than trying to maximum the fruitiness of the grape or, conversely, making the wine light and lean, Ehlers has produced a sinewy wine, very tight, muscular and concentrated without being overly tannic.  The flavors are there and are delightful, but they have to be teased out – tart blackberries, violets, Baker’s chocolate, a little brittle meatiness, a little graphite.  It’s a wine that says, “Take me as I am,” and a day, even two, later the flavors and structure are largely unchanged.  And it doesn’t beg for a bloody strip steak as Cabernet Sauvignon might, but it certainly would accept lamb shanks or a confit with a side of mashed potatoes.