Month: June 2022

Braganini Reserve Cabernet Franc, 2017

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Maker: St. Julian, Paw Paw, Michigan, USA

Grape: Cabernet Franc (at least 85%)

Place of origin: Sandland Farms (Nathan & Julie Nitz), GDN Estate (Ron Nitz), Lake Michigan Shore AVA, Michigan, USA

Vintage: 2017

ABV: 13%

Purchased for $23

Appearance: Dark ruby.

Nose: Blackberry jam, black cherry, a whiff of oak.

Palate: Crushed bramble berries, pink peppercorn, leather.

Finish: Balanced with fruit, acid, and tannin.

Parting words: Cabernet Franc is one of the great workhorse red wine grapes of the world, but as longtime readers know, it can make excellent varietal wines as well. This is a great example. There’s loads of fruit and acid with a little spice as the only trace of the infamous bell pepper aromas that can show themselves in poorly made Cab Franc.

St. Julian puts too much energy into making a bewildering assortment of forgettable wines, but the Braganini Reserve line is almost always a good glass of wine. This is no exception. This wine is probably at its peak now, but it could probably go for another year or two if you are so moved. Braganini Reserve 2017 Cabernet Franc is recommended.

Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Barrel Proof

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Maker: Jack Daniel’s, Lynchburg, Tennessee, USA. (Brown-Forman)

Style: Tennessee Whiskey.

Age: NAS

Barrel information: 19-02550, rick L-27.

Proof: 127.9 (63.95% ABV)

Michigan state minimum: $65

Appearance: Reddish copper.

Nose: Roasted corn, maple sugar, leather, anise.

Palate: Full bodied and hot. Some sweetness, then evaporates off the tongue. With water, less heat but more caramel and dry oak.

Finish: Big peppermint. Still hot with water, but more dry oak.

Parting words: Long time readers will know that I, generally, hate Jack Daniel’s whiskeys. Out of the three JDs I’ve reviewed over the years, I’ve only given one a positive review. That was the rye. The most disappointing was the Single Barrel Select, which was expensive trash. The standard JD was just regular trash.

So why did I buy this? I don’t know. Maybe optimism, maybe self-loathing, maybe both. Surprisingly, though, I don’t regret this purchase too much. It’s not too expensive for a big distillery single barrel barrel proof offering, and it doesn’t taste terrible. Its only real flaw is that it’s a little boring compared to its high proof single barrel competitors like those from Four Roses, and Wild Turkey.

It’s a low bar to be sure, but Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Barrel Proof is the best JD expression on the market right now. So I do in fact have to hand it to them in this instance. This whiskey is recommended.