2020 Boneline Waipara Amphitheatre Cabernet Franc

94 Points Cameron Douglas MS
In stock
A serious Cabernet Franc that scored a coup by winning trophies (in the 2016 vintage) for Champion Wine of the show and Champion Emerging Red Wine at Bragato. It has serious bones, with classic leafy berry fruits and a mineral core. A great wine to decant or even better, age in cellar, the Amphitheatre Cabernet Franc is a leading local version of this rare single varietal.
$71.99 in mixed 6+ or $80.99 per bottle

Grape

Cabernet Franc

Its Origins

Boneline are a Waipara operation with a serious focus on terroir. Waipara’s lime-rich soils and nearly identical climate to Chablis allow Boneline to explore stylistic bridge points between the more restrained French and more brightly fruited characteristics of New Zealand terroir wines. The name Boneline itself invokes a network of ideas linking their wines and terroir to the primordial history of the site, directly referring to fossilised fish bones that have been found around the Waipara River - which also appear on their labels - and indirectly referring to the lime in the soil, itself a residue of fish calcium that forms the various bone-like substrata of many Waipara vineyards and makes the region such a special place for wine. Bringing to their work a broad range of human and marketing as well as winemaking talents, Boneline look set to define new possibilities for their exceptional place and its offerings.

What The Critics Say

94/100 Cameron Douglas MS

"Youthful and complex, varietal and new. Aromas and flavours dark berries and black olive, a fine savory, dried herb core, baking spices and toasty barrel spice layers of clove and vanilla. Fabulous texture on the palate with fine through frimish tannins and refreshing acid line. An excellent mouthfeel and flavour profile, varietal and fruity with violets and spices, well made and lengthy. Best drinking from 2023 through 2029." Drink 2023 - 2029

94/100 Parker's Wine Advocate, Erin Larkin

"The 2020 Amphitheatre Cabernet Franc opens with an incredibly fruit-sweet, luscious nose—it's all mulberry and cassis, graphite, tobacco, raspberry pip, rosehip tea and black pepper. In the mouth, the wine is silky and ripe, with supple, ductile tannins and a seamless flow of fruit and flavor across the tongue. It's ripe but elegant, a supremely wonderful wine and highly recommended. Pleasurable mouthfeel 101. Chalky, it has a Nebbiolo-esque asphalt leaning—a most attractive feature. 14.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap. Drink 2023-2035"

Variety Cabernet Franc
Region Waipara
Closure Cap
Volume 750ml
Maturity 2023 - 2029

This Wine Goes Well With

with GAME
with LAMB
with VENISON

Taste

3

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