This was a great vintage for the thinner-skinned varieties like Cabernet Franc and Merlot. The 2018 Cabernet Franc Blueline Estate from this talented team sports a vivid purple hue to go with a great nose of blue fruits, rocky minerality, violets, spring flowers, and a touch of forest floor, bay leaf, and herbal notes. A wine that grows on you with time in the glass (which can be common for great Cabernet Franc), it's medium to full-bodied, has flawless balance, and a pure, elegant, lengthy style. High fashion at its finest, this elegant, seamless beauty will keep for 15-20 years. It reminds me of the 2016, yet it might be even better.
96+ points, Jeb Dunnuck (Jan 2021)
This is really nicely done with currants, berries and hints of fresh herbs, but not too much. Spices, too. It’s medium-to full-bodied with creamy tannins and a flavorful finish. Focused and delicious. Drink or hold.
95 points, James Suckling (Feb 2021)
The 2018 Cabernet Franc Blueline Estate is a blend of 92% Cabernet Franc, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1% Malbec. Deep garnet-purple in color, it waltzes out of the glass with flamboyant scents of kirsch, black raspberries, wild blueberries and redcurrant jelly, plus touches of garrigue, cedar chest and red roses. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is wonderfully elegant and refined, delivering mouth-coating red berry and fragrant earth notions with a finely grained texture and seamless freshness, finishing long and perfumed.
94+ points, Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Wine Advocate (Issue # 253 - Feb 2021)
The 2018 Cabernet Franc is another fabulous wine in the range. This is the first vintage in which the Franc is pure Franc, with no blenders. The wine is gracious and aromatic, perhaps with a bit less heft than readers have come to expect from these wines, but with more elegance and tons of finesse. Sweet red berry fruit, cedar, cinnamon, dried flowers and mint add brilliant aromatics. The 2018 is a winner. It's as simple as that.
94 points, Antonio Galloni, Vinous (Jan 2021)
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