2023 SVS Sachau Cabernet Franc - Livermore Valley

2023 CAB FRANC, SACHAU VINEYARD — One of our original sites for the introduction of L’ Autre Côte in the 2017 vintage, Sachau Vineyard comprises about 8.3 acres of clone 5 Cab Franc, currently the most widely planted clone in the Livermore Valley. The vineyard is planted southeast to northwest at the top of a knoll, 775 feet above sea level.

AS WITH THE 2023 VINTAGE, this vineyard tends to produce wines with dark plum and cherry notes, accented by a structural rusticity that separates it from the more refined Ghielmetti Vineyard offerings (Ghielmetti was the other vineyard offering in the 2017 L’ Autre Côte). In the nose, 5-spice powder and fennel seed surround a core of dark but acidity-leavened fruit. The wine attacks with gorgeous brambly fruit, swells in the mid-palate, and runs to a very long finish with abundant and savory acid. Properly stored, one should expect this wine to evolve beautifully over the next ten years and to pair beautifully with cassoulet, pork, lamb, and leaner beef dishes. 

THE SINGLE VINEYARD SERIES IS a set of offerings (both Cab Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon) that explores the intricacies and nuances of individual sites. Each vineyard is chosen with great care as an exemplar of what constitutes world-class quality and what gives our wines their intrinsic Livermore Valley signature.   

The MIRASSOU FAMILY is the oldest family of winemakers in the US and the First Family of Cab Franc. Seven generations have been fortunate enough to have worked in the vineyards and cellars of California to produce wines that, even if in only a small way, change people’s lives.  

HARVEST & PRESS DATE
October 20

PRESS DATE
November 11

BLEND
100% Cab Franc

VINEYARDS
Sachau Vineyard

FERMENTATION
Open-top fermenter, 22 days

pH
3.60

TA
.60 g/l

ALC
13.5%

AGING
16 months in neutral & second use French oak puncheons

PRODUCTION
67 cases

RETAIL PRICE
$70

RELEASE DATE
MAY 21, 2026

INGREDIENTS
Hand harvested grapes, cultured yeast, water, tartaric acid, minimum effective SO₂