Michael-David Inkblot Cabernet Franc 2013: Very dense, full body with bushels of black cherry, plum, blackberry, some graphite, a tingle of blackcurrant tang; touch of pepper on the nose; smooth tannin, soft acidity, oaked (but not obnoxiously so—18 months in French). Lodi hardly is a cab franc capitol, but Michael-David regularly defies convention to make plush, bold, big flavors from their ripe Central Valley grapes. You encounter cab franc more often as a blending grape to contribute its inky color (M-D got the name right), and more often in America as a varietal from Washington-Oregon or the Finger Lakes of New York, but M-D pulls it off, as they typically do with all their offerings. If your fancy drifts to delicate and ethereal, M-D efforts likely are not for you. If you enjoy wines you can chew and fruits that flood every cell in your mouth with juicy flavor, this Lodi leader has your back again. $35
