Frank Family Vineyards – 147
Thursday, August 25th, 2005
I’ve had a lot of friends asking me to head to Frank Family Vineyards for some time. One reason is that I am especially drawn to historical locations. In this case, while the Frank family themselves have only been in the wine industry since the early 1990s, the location and some of the remaining buildings date back to the early 1880s.
It is the front building that has been ‘plaqued’ as an historic landmark, having once been the Larkmead Winery (which now has me on an investigative journey to go and visit the new home of Larkmead as it seems the patriarch sold this estate in the 1950s).
During my visit, the historical building in the front was closed down. I was there on a weekend so I can only assume the building is used for winemaking in some fashion, but I did not get to peer inside and who knows – maybe it is just there for storage these days… There is a smaller, house-like structure behind the stone edifice which now acts as the hospitality suite and tasting room.
The entrance to the tasting is somewhat of an anteroom that acts as the location of the cash register as well as where some bubbly is tasted first. After a bit of sparkling, you wander through a hallway of some several thousand photographs of friends and family. The second tasting room lies in the back of the house and not only contains memorabilia of Rich Frank’s former life as chairman of Walt Disney’s musical division (this means there are gold records on the wall). The grounds are lovely to walk around and some picnic tables sitting behind the back building seem inviting as they were already half full.
2000 Champagne Reserve – Yep, they call it Champagne and not "sparkling wine." Four months on French oak and five years on yeast, finished with Remi cognac (that would actually be Carneros-based RMS Alembic that went out of business several years ago and sold off barrels of their product). Very smooth and nice with flavors of apple and hazelnut. Decent combination of sweetness and yeast. $55.00
NV Rouge – 100% Pinot Noir. Light almondine garnet colored. Slightly fishy aroma with bright cranberry flavors and a metallic finish. $27.75
2004 Chardonnay – They call it liquid creme brulee in a glass. At a 100% malo having spent two months in French oak, this wine has pretty thick banana aromas with some caramel and toffee. Viscous and vanilla-flavored, the wine was still tight and possibly suffering from bottle shock. $32.50
2003 Zinfandel – From Browns Valley. They call this the Velvet Hammer. (Seems they name all their wine). At 16% alcohol, this is a pretty heady wine showing strong black plum and blackberry aromas with a back-nose of chocolate. The mouth entry was relatively soft but explodes with black licorice. Spice and chocolate present themselves before the dark plummy finish. $34.95
2001 Cabernet Sauvignon – An initial tease of green bell pepper subsided with a swirl and produced more pronounced mushroom and dark fruit. Distinct cedar taste on first taste which evolved to produce dusty cocoa and a hint of eucalyptus. The tannins were balanced and even and the core finish was meaty blackberry. $39.75
2000 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon – From Rutherford. Dark, inky purple wine that seemed mostly comprised of chocolate. Huge, brawny tannins brightened to chewy cranberry flavors. Needs time. $65.00
Frank Family Vineyards ~ 1091 Larkmead Lane ~ Calistoga ~ CA ~ 94515 ~ 800-574-9463