Wine of the Week: Ravines Wine Cellars 2022 Cabernet Franc
April 28, 2025: At $25 this might be one of the best values in East Coast cab franc
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I’ve tasted so many outstanding cabernet francs this month that four “Wine of the Week” posts—this Ravines Wine Cellars 2022 Cabernet Franc ($25) being the fourth —just aren’t going to cut it. I’ll deal with that later this week, though. For today, let’s talk about a wine that is probably as close to my Platonic ideal for a warm-vintage Finger Lakes cabernet franc as I’ve come across.
The nose is ripe with lots of mixed berry fruits—blackberry, cranberry and pomagranate—with notes of savory herbs, woodsy spice, and earthy leaf tobacco.
Medium-bodied and deeply concentrated, the palate leans more into the darker fruits—blackberry, cassis, and a little plum—with similar layers of herbs, spice, and earth, all framed by grippy, dusty-feeling tannins and a nice bit of fresh acidity, too. I don’t do drinking windows, but this wine should age beautifully for many years to come.
And at $25, it’s an incredible value in East Coast cabernet franc. This wine would probably cost twice that much if it were many other eastern regions.
Ravines Wine Cellars 2022 Cabernet Franc
Region: Finger Lakes AVA (New York)
Vineyard(s): 71% White Springs Vineyard, 29% 16 Falls Vineyard
ABV: 13%
Winemaking: Aged a year in six-year-old, 2000L Austrian oak casks
Rating: 93 pts
Price: $25* (Available here)
*Sample Provided by Winery