2024 Lo-Fi Cabernet Franc Santa Barbara County

Michael Roth and Craig Winchester, college friends turned winemakers, built Lo-Fi Wines around a simple idea: let the vineyard speak. No additives beyond minimal sulfur, native fermentation, neutral vessels — the name Lo-Fi is the method. The result is Cabernet Franc that tastes like fruit, not a formula.

This is 100% Cabernet Franc from Coquelicot vineyard in Solvang, hand-harvested from CCOF-certified organic vines. Whole cluster, twelve-day carbonic maceration in sealed oak tanks, then six months split between concrete, Austrian oak, and neutral French barrels. 883 cases made. The mild, balanced 2024 vintage delivered vibrant reds with aromatic lift across the Central Coast — and this bottle shows it.

Santa Barbara County Cabernet Franc is a sleeper category: coastal air, long hang time, the kind of bright acidity that makes Loire comparisons inevitable. At $26, this drinks against $40 bottles from everywhere else. Crunchy red cherry and raspberry, bell pepper, tobacco leaf, wild herbs. Medium-bodied, soft tannins, a refreshing finish that makes the second glass mandatory.

We taste 100 wines a week. We buy four. This one made the cut because it punches above its weight and because the approach — whole cluster carbonic, organic fruit, native yeast — delivers texture and aromatics mass-market Cab Franc never will. Pull the cork tonight or cellar it through 2028. Either way, you're drinking well above what you paid.