Pride Mountain has always done well with Bordeaux varietals and the 2008 Cabernet Franc is another beauty. The most elegant red in this portfolio, it offers up aromas of blue fruits intermixed with raspberries, tobacco leaf and violets. Medium-bodied and stylish with sweet tannin and a long finish, it comes from the Sonoma side of the vineyards. Drink it over the next 5-7 years. This brilliant estate, whose vineyards straddle the Napa/Sonoma county line at the top of Spring Mountain, continues to turn out a bevy of exciting wines that first made headlines when Bob Foley was the winemaker. The transition from Foley to the current winemaker, Sally Johnson, has gone flawlessly.Tel. (707) 963-4949; Fax (707) 963-6039

Shows the flamboyant, extracted cherry fruit of this variety, with a spicy, oaky envelope and soft, easy tannins. It’s elegant, but a bit one-dimensional. Drink now.——S.H.(8/1/2011)—— 87