Jed Steele made only 400 cases of the Steele Cabernet Franc Rosé 2017, Lake County, and we are all the worse off for the short availability of this seasonal wine. It’s 100 percent varietal, made all in stainless steel tanks. The color is a beautiful, totally transparent copper-salmon hue; aromas of strawberry and raspberry open to notes of melon and peach, with the latter more dominant in flavor; boy, it’s a fresh, crisp rosé, whose bright acidity practically lights up the glass — or your palate, at the same time that it offers a balanced sense of silken texture. Hints of talc and lilac, orange rind and black tea emerge from the background, while a shelf of lightly dusted flint sustains the structure. 13.2 percent alcohol. Let’s not make too much of it, of course; the operating principle is delight. Excellent. About $17, representing Great Value.
A sample for review.
