2023 SVS Ghielmetti Cabernet Franc - Livermore Valley

I wrote a year ago about the 2022 vintage that it was one of the most difficult in my 30 years of winemaking. The usual hot weather of Labor Day became a hellscape with temperatures over 110^o for nearly a week. That story had a happy ending eventually, and the wine turned out to be beautiful; the 2023 version of Ghielmetti Vineyard Cab Franc could not have been born under more favorable circumstances. Dry conditions throughout the harvest seasons and cooler than normal temperatures in September and October led to a very lengthy harvest with low sugar levels and perfectly ripe fruit.

This release is a shining exemplar of the overall world-class quality of the 2023 vintage. From the piquancy of smoked paprika-scented and dark fruited aromas to the freshness of acid-driven Cab Franc fruit, the 2023 Cab Franc – Ghielmetti Vineyard is an exciting wine that showcases how beautiful Cab Franc can be when minimal-intervention winemaking is brought to bear on gorgeous fruit. 

Fruit Sources

The Ghielmetti Vineyard is located in the eastern foothills of the Livermore Valley and is still the finest site in the appellation. Gifted with the daily cold winds that come from the San Francisco Bay, this site provides for the longest growing season of any major vineyard here. Often, harvest will begin just before Thanksgiving, many weeks after Napa is finished, and, thus, putting the lie to the old myth that Livermore Valley is a very warm growing area. The 3.8-acre Cabernet Franc block runs downhill east to west, is planted to the Bordeaux ENTAV clone 332, and makes for red fruited, paprika-scented, acid-driven, elegant wine.

Vinification

The wine was fermented in open-top vessels, hand-punched for about 10 days then pressed off to neutral French-oak puncheons for 18 months.

Alcohol: 13.7%

Cases: 143

Released: January 8, 2026