This increasingly important Bordeaux variety is now thought to have originated rather further south in Spanish Basque country (although its origins are so distant that hypotheses as to its origins are bewildering and disparate). With Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Franc is one of the parents of Cabernet Sauvignon. Climate change making Merlot of diminishing interest in parts of Bordeaux, plantings of Cabernet Franc are expanding in the region, its structure helping to retain focus in ever-riper clarets. It is also used to produce the red wines of Chinon and Bourgeuil in the Loire Valley.
