The American Vine Rating
Drink Window
2024–2032
Virginia's benchmark Cabernet Franc — the reserve bottling from the estate that owns the variety on the East Coast.
Tasting Notes
Appearance: Medium ruby with a youthful violet edge.
Aroma: Raspberry and red cherry layered with green herbs, cedar, and classic Virginia graphite.
Palate: Medium-to-full bodied with fine-grained tannins, savory red fruit, and the bright Mid-Atlantic acidity that keeps it lively.
Finish: Long and refined, with herbal complexity, red fruit, and a mineral thread..
Food Pairings
Roast pork, herbed chicken, lentils, goat cheese
About the Wine
The Reserve Cabernet Franc is drawn from Barboursville's best estate blocks in the Monticello AVA and aged in French oak. The 2023 vintage is aromatic and precise, capturing the cool growing season's freshness.
About Barboursville Vineyards
Barboursville Vineyards, founded in 1976 on the estate of Governor James Barbour's ruined mansion, is central Virginia's most historic winery. Under Italian-born winemaker Luca Paschina, it has set the standard for Virginia fine wine for decades.
The American Vine's Take
If you want to prove Virginia can make world-class reds, pour this — herbal, structured, and unmistakably Cabernet Franc at its Atlantic-coast best.
Explore more bottles in the collection.
Back to My Tastings