#15 (tied) on PRIMA's Top 25 Wines of 2025

When it comes to American versions of the Cabernet Franc grape, there seem to be two distinct camps. One looks at Cab Franc like Cab Sauvignon and aims for riper, silkier, more powerful wines that show a lot of texture, polish and class. Crocker & Starr, Kenzo and Dalle Valle are a few producers that immediately come to mind as doing a great job in that milieu. Far fewer producers follow a second school of thought: making American Cabernet Franc that more approximates the so-called ‘bistro’ style so prevalent in the Loire Valley appellations of Chinon and Bourgueil—lighter, less extractive and more fragrant versions of the grape that take advantage of its natural tendency toward making earthy, peppery wines that float across the palate rather than attack it.

One ardent advocate of classic expression of Cab Franc is Livermore’s Steven Kent. Steven is a huge fan of Loire Cab Franc, and he’s pushed all his chips in on Cab Franc in the Livermore Valley. Franc, he says, is much more capable of achieving finesse and nuance than Cab Sauv, especially where his vineyards sit. The results have been impressive. Darker and marginally more ‘dramatic’ than the Lang & Reed, the Steven Kent 2022 Cab Franc is aromatic of mulberries and darker fruit notes and has a little more body but still plenty of the lift and elegance one hopes for from the grape. Yummy!