What You're Stepping In With Stepping Stone Cab Franc and Grenache

Recently I took part in an online tasting for the vintage release of Stepping Stone wine (full disclosure: they sent the wines for me to taste, but I'm still going to give you the truth). Cornerstone is a Napa Valley winery and Stepping Stone is their new "drop down" tier -- a bit more affordable than the $100 for their regular label. I had the opportunity to taste two wines: a Cabernet Franc and a Grenache. True to form of many Cali winemakers, subtle is not a descriptor you could use for Stepping Stone. Both wines were bursting with flavor, high in alcohol, and very fruity. They screamed California in every sip. Since they are from separate regions, I'll give a little background on each area and then give a quick review.

1. Stepping Stone Cabernet Franc. This wine is from the Carneros region that spans the southern length of Napa and Sonoma Valleys. It is a big area that is cooler, owing to the fog that blankets it from the San Pablo Bay in the south everyday. You'll find Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and therefore lots of sparkling wines (Pinot and Chard are the primary grapes in sparklers, so this stands to reason) there and it's kind of a hot spot these days, as people have been seeking wines that have more nuance and are less...um...overbearing, I guess you could say. Huge wines are very typical of Napa and sometimes Sonoma, so Carneros presents a good alternative to those whom are seeking a little more than just jammy fruit.

A word on Cabernet Franc, which is an interesting grape. It's used as a blending component in red Bordeaux and is made as a standalone wine in the Loire Valley (Chinon and Saumur to name two places). It is generally earthy (think mushroom and the smell of a forest) and sometimes minty, and it tends to be lighter than Cabernet Sauvignon (which is it's love child with Sauvignon Blanc, BTW).

Trying this wine, I had to throw out what I knew about Cabernet Franc though, since this was not what I expected...let's review
The Wine: Stepping Stone Cabernet Franc
Where It's From: Carneros, Napa/Sonoma Valley
The Grapes: 90% Cabernet Franc, 10% Merlot
Vintage: 2007
Price: $30.00 Color: Much darker than what I'd think a Cab Franc would be, the wine was a blood red color with an orange rim that was a little watery. Just from looking at it, you could tell this thing was going to have juicy flavor.

Smell: There was a great waft of coffee right at the start, some pretty floral/herbal notes, and a touch of vanilla creaminess. I was pretty pleased, but on second whiff, to my nose, there was also a really distinct smell of ham or even bologna. It sounds odd, but meat scents can sometimes pop up in red wine, so I was willing to roll with it.

Taste: This was, indeed, a fruity wine but not without great structure -- most likely helped by the addition of that 10% of Merlot, which adds some muscle to the Cab Franc. It tasted like a basket of fruit -- black plums, black raspberry, and pomegranate. There was an amazing vanilla essence too. A few sips more and it reminded me of chocolate with roasted hazelnuts. The wine had a good amount of tannin and a zesty bite from them. Even though it's virtually a brandy (I kid, but 14.9% alcohol is unbelievably high for a wine), the wine didn't taste "hot" like high alcohol wines often do.

Drink or Down the Sink?: Drink. With this, you are stepping into goodness. It had a nice complexity to it and was a delicious sipper. You would need very flavorful roasted or grilled food to stand up to this wine (and to coat your stomach so you don't get completely hammered from all that alcohol!), but I think it's a keeper and worth a try.

2. Stepping Stone Grenache. This wine is from Red Hills in Lake County. As background, Lake County isn't known for the best quality wines and the grapes are often used in blending for lower tier wines rather than as standalone bottles. The issue is that it's hotter than hell there, so the grapes don't benefit from the cooling influence of fog that is prevalent in Napa and Sonoma. Hence, the wines usually have less acid and structure and can be flabby fruit bombs. That said, there are some producers who do good work there and make fine product.

So without further ado,
The Wine: Stepping Stone Grenache
Where It's From: Red Hills, Lake County California
The Grapes: 96% Grenache, 4% Zinfandel
Vintage: 2007
Price: $20 Color: Viscous, heavy and purple in the center. I could tell this was going to be another high alcohol fruit bomb just by looking at that dark color and the thick tears on the glass.

Smell: Grenache from southern France or Spain tends to be a lighter and aromatic, but in Australia and the US it's a different story. This wine was similar to some Australian Grenache I've tried -- big black fruit, a Coke/cinnamon character, and coffee and vanilla notes. I smelled a delicious basil thing going on too -- unusual in a good way! Black pepper from the bit of Zinfandel was prevalent here too.

Taste: That basil flavor morphed to mint and with the blackberry and cranberry fruit flavors. There was an herbal, peppery character as well. The wine had strong acid and, for me, it seemed slightly unbalanced. It was a bit too alcoholic -- like grain alcohol punch you get at a college frat party-- and that made the wine bitter for my palate.

Drink or Down the Sink?: Not the best Grenache in town. For me, I'd "step away" and go for a juicy Australian or Spanish Grenache instead. Too much alcohol and a bitter tinge made me want to pass.

If you're interested in getting these wines, They're available online if you want to give them a try. So there you have it. My thanks to TasteLive and Cornerstone for including me in the tasting!