Antinori Antica Napa Valley Cabernet Franc 2022 (750ML)

Antica’s Cabernet Franc comes entirely from the Antinori family’s mountainside estate on the climb to Atlas Peak, where four south-facing parcels sit on gravelly loam. It is 100% Cabernet Franc, all of it the French Entav clone 214, a low-yielding selection prized for its aromatics. Elevation made the difference in 2022: while heat spikes pushed much of Napa Valley, this later-ripening site held on to its freshness. The wine pours an inky purple and opens on violets, dark cherry and cassis, with wild strawberry, bay leaf, cracked black pepper and a charcoal edge. Full-bodied and generous through the middle, it rests on ripe, firm tannin built for the long haul; critics suggest two or three years in bottle and see it drinking well toward 2040. Serve it with duck breast in a cherry jus, herb-crusted rack of lamb, or grilled portobellos.