Planeta Cabernet Franc Didacus 2016 750ml

The finest dark chocolate, roses, cedar, sage, dried red currants, spiced orange peel; you can go on and on with a new note each time you tilt the glass as the 2016 Cabernet Franc Didacus slowly blossoms. Its textures are like weighted velvet, yet the expression is medium-bodied in feel, with a polished display of black fruits lifted by vibrant acids as hints of white pepper give way to dark inner florals. This is still youthfully dense, leaving a fine coating of tannin under a savory display of dried plums and blackberries. There's a sheen to the 2016 that allows for an early peek into its evolution today, yet the cellar potential is remarkably high as well. This is the first release of the Didacus Cabernet Franc from a single vineyard at Planeta's Menfi property.

This is the inaugural vintage of a new wine, Didacus Rosso made with Cabernet Franc, that partners up perfectly to the white version of Didacus, which showcases Chardonnay. The Planeta 2016 Sicilia Menfi Cabernet Franc Didacus works a little harder to win you over compared to its white wine sibling that proves to be an effortless, love-at-first-sight proposition. From a classic vintage and a long growing season, this Cabernet Franc is slow to open and reveals a long range of aromas to coincide with various intervals one hour after the bottle is open, six hours later and even two days later. Give it time. Didacus reveals textbook varietal purity with dark fruit, bramble, white pepper, crushed stone and rosemary essence. There is little sweetness to the fruit, and the wine's personality embraces a more tonic or focused style with inner tension and verve. It focuses on length, not textural width. Compared to the Chardonnay, which is full-on Mediterranean with a kaleidoscope of bold fruit intensity, this wine is more reserved and timid. It adopts the silent, noble and insular side of the Sicilian persona and is a wine that succinctly relays its intention and uses few words to do so.

A pure beam of ripe black cherry fruit is laced with delicate graphite and star anise accents, pulling you into this graceful red. A smoky underpinning is subtle, layered with roasted plum and dried thyme notes on the midpalate, while fine tannins define the finish. Cabernet Franc. Drink now through 2028. 371 cases made, 14 cases imported.

Deep, intense purple in color. A complex nose with vibrant aromas of leather, exotic spices, cocoa and sandalwood complemented by ripe red fruits, blueberry and plum, mint and Mediterranean herbs. On the palate, full and intense with an elegant balance of velvety yet dense tannins, and soft yet evident influence of oak. Fresh acidity coupled with the weight of the wine balance the alcohol. An age-worthy wine, can be held for decades.