Naked Mountain Cabernet Franc 2007

Bottle of Naked Mountain
 Cabernet Franc 2007

Naked Mountain 
Cabernet Franc, 2007
Blend: Cabernet Franc 80%, Merlot 9%, Petit Verdot 8%, Tannat 5%
Virginia, USA
19.00 USD

This is a medium bodied red wine with a nose that comes alive with aromas of bright berries, red currant, and a hit of spice. The well rounded tannins on the palate are accompanied with flavors of blueberry, dark cherries, plum and a hint of white pepper. A long finish with hint cocoa and toasted nut, pair it with lamb chops, breaded veal, Mediterranean cuisine, or a dark chocolate raspberry mousse. (Naked Mountain Winery)

So it's Thursday and everyone knows that tonight is family dinner night and the Office.  We were having a delicious veal stew, biscuits and rice and Marie and I thought it would be a nice pairing if we brought over our bottle of Cabernet Franc we got this winter from a Winery named Naked Mountain that is located in Markham, Virginia.  Also, this was a thank you from me to Derek for helping Marie pin-up her drawings for her big review tomorrow.  He has been saying he has wanted to have a Cabernet Franc soon.

 Anyways, on to the review:

 The first smell was a bit spicy on the nose.  It wasn't the same kind of alcohol burn but more of a strange mixture of spices.  There was a slight sweet, oaky body to it as well.  It just seemed like a thick wine just from the smell.  The sweetness I think was partly some cherry coming though but I'm still not entirely sure on that it was really the only red fruit smell that I could come up with.  I did, however, jokingly mention something about red current mostly because that was the only other thing coming to mind but again I have no idea what it actually smells or tastes like.  Ironic that it was actually in the description above.  The first sip was a bit strong.  Lots of tannins and some fruit with a slight peppery burn towards the end of the sip and lingering after in the back of the mouth and throat.  After a while Derek and I decided that the slight fruity taste was cherry but were unable to really nail it down.  I'm not sure about the plum or blueberry (maybe if I go back and try it again with that in mind I would be able to pick that up) but for sure the pepper.  It was awesome!  The wine with the stew was great.  The stew itself was very rich and full of pepper (we can thank Carl for that) and strangely enough it smoothed out the wine while enhancing the pepper.  I mean the first time I took a sip after eating some of the stew it was like drinking silk with an explosion of pepper at the end.  I didn't really get a huge flavor difference other than maybe some of the fruitiness coming out a bit more.  All in all it was a lot of fun to drink this wine and experience it with the food we had.