"Our little brothers blend"

2013 marks the second vintage of our newest wine in the Betz Family line up, Cuvée Frangin. The concept originally came to life in 2012 during our annual blending trials. The perennial question was raised “how do we push quality further? Looking at our efforts in the vineyard and cellar, the decision was made to perform an even stricter selection process of barrels that would make it into our flaship wines. If effect, we raised the bar for quality and character needed to make it into our final blends. At the same time, we utilized barrels that had historically found a home in our premium wines, to create Cuvée Frangin.

This year’s Cuvée Frangin offers a strong introduction to the 2013 vintage. Cut from the same cloth as our flagship wines, the Cuvée Frangin shares the vibrant fruit, silky texture, and sense of freshness that has us all excited about the vintage.

A greater amount of Cabernet Sauvignon was available to us at the blending table in 2013, which is immediately noticeable in the aromatics; Red currants, raspberries, and blackberries all compete for your attention, while more subtle notes of cedar spice and crushed herbs are expressed with time in the glass.

The palate offers plush fruit flavors, and this is where the Rhone varietals show their presence. Flavors of plum, pomegranate, and strawberry are supported by crisp acidity, and velvety tannins. The palate is deep and layered, but above all showing the mouthwatering structure of the’13 vintage. The finish is sweet, and reflects the marriage of Bordeaux and Rhone varietals.

The Cuvée Frangin is certainly capable of improving with bottle age, but is irresistible now.

Blending Detail and Aging Profile

Blending Detail:

• Cabernet Sauvignon
• Petit Verdot
• Merlot
• Syrah

Aging Profile:

• Best Now through 2019
• Serve cool, 60-62°F

AVA & Vineyard Detail:

The wine is a blend of Bordeaux varieties and Syrah sourced from some of the most famous vineyards in the Columbia Valley, includung Ciel du Cheval, Kiona and Klipsun on Red Mountain, Red Willow, Du Brul, Boushey and Olsen in Yakima Valley, Alder Ridge in the Horse Heaven Hills and Upland on Snipes Mountain. 

Acclaim

91 Points: Robert Parker's Wine Advocate:
Made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Syrah and aged 15 months in 30% new French oak, the 2013 Cuvee Frangin is a terrific value that gives lots of Betz character in its ripe blackberry fruit, violets, wild herb and underbrush aromas and flavors. Medium to full-bodied, elegant and downright pretty, it's delicious now, but should evolve gracefully as well.

These latest releases from Betz Family Winery are flat out great, and as I said last year, the 2012s are the greatest wines I've tasted from this estate. While the winery was sold to the Griessel family in 2011, Bob Betz has remained firmly involved and there's certainly been no dip whatsoever in quality; if anything, the wines show another level of texture, purity and structure. While assistant winemaker Tyson Schiffner has moved from making wine to brewing beer, he's been replaced by Louis Skinner, who was the assistant winemaker at Delille for a number of years. In short, readers who want to see the best of Washington State need to check out these latest releases!