Image from WikipediaThis month, the King of Wine Video World is our host of Wine Blog Wednesday, Gary Vay-ner-chuck. Two weeks ago, Gary put forth on his tiny Wine vlogging project the theme of this month’s WBW would be Cabernet Franc from France. “Not too difficult,” we thought rather glibly. “It’s only a Cab Franc from the other side of the border. I’m sure the wine shop will have at least something from France!” But alas, they did not.

Because we live in Spain, a wine bottle from our neighbor not 400 km away can seem like the other side of the planet. Spaniards drink Spanish wine, period, so a 100% Cab Franc was out completely out of the question. And because we’re saving the planet with our fuel efficient feet, we were unable to cross the border to pick up a bottle of the fabulous French stuff. Consequently, we settled on a Spanish Cab Franc instead; however, unbeknown to us, even Spanish Cab Franc is as hard to find as French Cabernet Franc, with only a handful available for purchase.

In the end, we chose the 2004 Augustus from Cellars Puig i Roca in D.O. Penedes. Yet, trying to find information on this innovative winery through Google is like trying to find a needle in the haystack, impossible! Sure you can find a story here or there, but in the end this was the best we could find on the winery (Please click the link. It’s hilarious, and/or sad). And since Gary Vee is the also the King of Internet Wine Marketing, we figured that he might find this amusing enough to mention! Hey Gary! Why not do an episode on favorite winery websites, and why wineries are hurting themselves by not taking the web seriously?!

As for the wine? It’s absolutely delicious! You can read our tasting notes below:

Gabriella

• 2004 Cellers Puig i Roca Cabernet Franc Penedès Augustus – Spain, Catalunya, Penedès (4/1/2008)
  Intense and opaque dark burgundy in color with a slight cranberry rim. On the nose, the wine is bold and aromatic showing green pepper, black earth, bitter chocolate, sour cherry and dark floral notes. Nice firm, fine tannins immediately grip my tongue, followed by a bright acidity that immediately lifts it right off and down the sides. Light in body and refreshing, leaving elegant flavors of black cherry, black pepper and dark chocolate on the finish. Great spring wine for the grill! 4/5

Ryan

• 2004 Cellers Puig i Roca Cabernet Franc Penedès Augustus – Spain, Catalunya, Penedès (4/1/2008)
  Dark red color with a light core to this wine. Lot’s of green pepper with this nose, though also full of fruit and a clover honey component that seems to float over the whole wine like a cloud on a mountain top. Definitely some vanilla touches, and some good red fruit too help to round out the nose. In the mouth this is a weedy wine with plenty of green too it, and a nice helping of raspberry too. Fine medium weight tannins, and a medium to light acidity round out this medium bodied wine. 13% is just right for this wine, and I would highly recommend it for roasted/braised meats, where you have a sprig or two or rosemary involved. 4/5