Simon of Larchmont Wine, Spirits & Cheese has this pick for November. It’s $14.99 and you can pick it up there. Call (323) 856-8699 to order. Simon says…

As the calendar races towards Thanksgiving (with a vengeance), it is again time to contemplate what to drink as the nights draw in, and what will match well with your groaning feast on the 27th. We featured a Beaujolais last year, which is a natural choice for turkey and other fowl, but this juicy and complex Cabernet Franc from Anjou (in the Loire valley in western France) deserves its place here.

The fruit is sourced from vineyards with an abundance of schist and quartz in the soils, giving the wine a pleasing streak of minerals that balances the wonderful ripe fruit. Raspberry, red plum, crushed violets and rose petals abound on the nose and the wine has a pleasing supple texture on the palate. It is pure and bright, revealing crushed red cherry and raspberry fruit and just the right amount of vibrant acidity.

A wonderful wine to match with all manner of fall-friendly foods; braised meats including game, goats milk cheeses, hearty stews and of course your bird of choice, be it Turkey, Goose or Duck.

Happy Thanksgiving! –SC

Here’s one for both the wine geeks and for the masses - it’s fairly obscure (a sparkler made from 100% Cab Franc, from importer Jon-David Headrick) and it’s delicious. It’s got some sweet-tart red fruit and great texture. And it’s affordable at $18 a bottle. Franc-ly, I’d like to try a sparkling Cab Franc!

I’d been planning to price check a couple of Chateauneuf-du-Papes I saw the other day at Bristol Farms. But those can wait, since I happened upon the bargain of the week today and thought you should know about it.

On close-out at The Wine Hotel on West 3rd Street in LA you’ll find a scant three bottles of the 2006 Lang & Reed Cabernet Franc, for a mere $9.95 a bottle. Beats our price by a long shot. Apparently it’s not to the taste of the new owners, along with some Mollydooker and some other wines that are priced Crazy-Eddie-low.

You can call the Wine Hotel at 323-937-9463 to snare these. Though, honestly, your chances are better if you show up to the 5800 West Third Street location in LA to pick these up in person, as they’re not really set up for phone orders (yet).

Oh, since this is a Price Check…here’s what others (including us) sell this for:

Wine Library: $18/bottle (damn you, Gary Vaynerchuk!)

Wine House: $20/bottle

d547: $23/bottle (drat! It’s Caronne-Ste-Gemme all over again)

Englewood Wine Merchant: $25/bottle

There’s a good article in this morning’s Food section of the LA Times, on Cabernet Franc. It would be better, of course, if it linked to the three included wines available through d547 (Chateau Hureau Saumur-Champigny, Chateau Vieux Clos, and the Lang & Reed). But we still think you should read the piece — and then you can come back here and buy a sampling of this fantastic and under-appreciated grape variety. And we’ll give you 10% off your entire order should it include any of these wines. Use code LATimes.