A musty nose–feeling almost tired and rather flabby–wadded up paper and oily concrete along hesitant glimpses of heated berry and gristle. Not bricking terribly–still med-ruby and bright–but acting like an insecure chubster with very little freshness in the fight. Dull and one-dimensional in bouquet, bits of grainy mineral attempt to liven things up–but falling short.

Perception improves considerably on the palate, where the spicy pepper of Cab-Franc exposes itself for thankful consideration. Richly-fruited: gobs of blackberry and sizzling plum create a mouth-feel rather compelling and vaguely varietal with even vaguer regional typicity. Such is the dilemma with *North Coast* and while the wine is qualifiably delicious, it could be ANYTHING. Best use would be crowd-pleasing BTG offer or Art-After-Dark plastic-cup pour, as it contains too many issues for careful consideration. Hot in finish, which–considering the stated 13-5–could be merely CF doing it’s *thing*. Your call.

2017 HERZOG ‘Winery Reserve’ Cabernet Franc North Coast California 13.5

https://herzogwine.com/