The cellar

Top-rated Cabernet Franc

Every wine

The highest-rated Cabernet Franc bottlings we have reviewed, one per producer.

5.0 Bordeaux Chateau Ausone Chateau Ausone 5.0 Bordeaux Chateau Cheval Blanc Chateau Cheval Blanc 5.0 Valpolicella Giuseppe Quintarelli Alzero Giuseppe Quintarelli 5.0 Tuscany Sassicaia Tenuta San Guido 4.9 Bordeaux Chateau Angelus Chateau Angelus 4.9 Loire Valley Le Bourg Clos Rougeard 4.9 Tuscany Ornellaia Tenuta dell'Ornellaia 4.8 Alto Adige Castel Campan Manincor

Good value

Cabernet Franc under €25

The best-rated Cabernet Franc bottles we have reviewed that sell for under €25, one per producer, from every region we cover.

4.5 Loire Valley Brut Reserve Langlois-Chateau 4.3 Loire Valley Domaine Domaine Bernard Baudry 4.3 Loire Valley La Source Domaine Yannick Amirault 4.3 Penedes Petit Mas Comtal Mas Comtal 4.3 Loire Valley Royal Brut Maison Ackerman 4.3 Loire Valley Trinch Domaine Catherine et Pierre Breton 4.2 Loire Valley Chinon Tradition Domaine Philippe Alliet 4.2 Loire Valley Cuvee Terroir Domaine Charles Joguet

At the table

What to eat with Cabernet Franc

Food pairing guide

The dishes our editors pair with Cabernet Franc, grouped by kind of food, each with the bottle it comes from. Cabernet Franc food pairing →

Region by region

Where Cabernet Franc is made

21 regions, with their best Cabernet Franc bottles and the estates that make them.

Wine and cheese

Cheese with Cabernet Franc

Every cheese
Sainte-Maure de Touraine Our pick The consortium lists Chinon among the red Loire wines for this cheese. A medium-bodied Chinon raised in tank or old wood keeps Cabernet Franc's fresh fruit and high acidity, which sit well against the tangy, hazelnut paste of a young log. Chinon (Cabernet Franc), medium-bodied, no new oak, Loire Valley: Les Picasses · Les Grezeaux · Le Clos Guillot
Queso Castellano Our pick A longer-matured Castellano turns more intense, salty and slightly piquant. Ribera Reserva, full bodied with dark fruit from longer oak ageing, has the weight to stand beside it, and the cheese's fat rounds off the tannin. Ribera del Duero Reserva (Tinto Fino), Ribera del Duero: Hacienda Monasterio Reserva
Pecorino delle Balze Volterrane Our pick The stagionato and da asserbo are firm with a peppery finish. Bolgheri reds, built mainly on Bordeaux grapes, bring tannin and high acidity, enough structure for a wheel of 6 months or more. Bolgheri (Cabernet and Merlot blends), Tuscany: Sassicaia · Ornellaia · Matarocchio
Pecorino Siciliano Our pick Aged Pecorino Siciliano is salty, with heat that builds over 4 to 8 months. Full-bodied Sicilian reds, from native blends to Syrah, Cabernet and Petit Verdot, bring the concentration and tannin to stand up to it. Full-bodied Sicilian reds beyond the classic appellations (blends and international varieties), Sicily: Planeta Burdese
Pecorino di Norcia Our pick Pecorino di Norcia is piquant. Full-bodied Umbria IGT reds built on Cabernet, Merlot or Syrah, with medium to firm tannin, have the weight to meet an aged wheel without being flattened by its sharpness. Full-bodied Umbrian IGT reds (Cabernet, Merlot, Syrah), Umbria: Armaleo
Ossau-Iraty Our pick These Pauillac reds are Cabernet Sauvignon-led, full-bodied, with firm to high tannin, high acidity and blackcurrant fruit. INAO describes the cheese as firm and melting, salted without excess. Its syndicate suggests structured reds, naming South-West ones such as Madiran. Cabernet-led Pauillac, full-bodied with firm tannin, Bordeaux: Chateau Mouton Rothschild · Chateau Pichon-Longueville Baron · Les Forts de Latour

Plan the trip

Taste Cabernet Franc where it grows

Tastings and tours in the regions above, and somewhere to stay.

Booking links go to our partners (GetYourGuide, Viator, Zen Hotels), who may pay us a commission. It never decides what we cover. Editorial standards.

More regions are in research. Want Cabernet Franc covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to drink.

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