Cabernet franc N
French appellation
Cabernet franc
Use
Wine grape variety
Phenology
Bud burst: 5 days after Chasselas.
Grape maturity: mid-season, 2 weeks and a half to 3 weeks after Chasselas.
Technological potential
Certified ENTAV-INRA® Cabernet franc grapevine produces elegant red wines with moderate color and balanced acidity. Best on clay-limestone soils. The bunches are medium in size and the berries are small. This variety is used to produce quality aromatic wines with average ageing potential. However, the ‘sugar’, ‘acid’ and ‘polyphenol’ (coloring intensity and tannic structure) potentials are moderate.
Cultivation and agronomic skills
This fairly vigorous variety must be trained with moderately long pruning or short pruning in more favorable climatic zones. In terms of terroir, best results are generally achieved on clay-limestone soils, but good results may also be achieved with sandy soils in the absence of water stress. Cabernet franc is moderately resistant to grey rot. It is susceptible to vine leafhoppers.
Description elements
The identification is based on:
– the greenish-red young leaves with bronze spots,
– the pentagonal adult leaves, with three or five lobes, lateral sinuses with often a tooth inside, a petiole sinus with slightly overlapping lobes, medium teeth with straight sides, a hammered, shiny leaf blade, and on the lower side of the leaves, a low density of prostrate hairs,
– the round-shaped berries