Curious on the board’s take on Charbono - specifically aging it. I popped a 2005 Turley Tofanelli Charbono last night, and while it was enjoyable, nothing really stood out about it. Honestly I could have been convinced this was a generic (if well made) field blend of some sort. My recollection from drinking this same wine young was that it wasn’t much different that it is today, it doesn’t seem to have evolved much at all, other than maybe the tannins softening a bit.
I don’t have much experience with the variety, curious your thoughts. Do you tend to age Charbono? Do you find it improves with age?
I’ve only had a few of them and consumed them all within a few years of purchase. Never noticed much change over that short time span or felt there was any reason to expect much. I could be wrong but I found them enjoyable bistro type wines. Funny thing is that there seemed to be more of them available 5 or so years ago. I haven’t seen one on the shelves of the stores I frequent in some time.
T-vine makes a good one. The one we drank was about 3 years old. 2015 or 2016 vintage. Bought more when they had it available. I see no need to age those beyond 3-5 years.
The Charbono made by the winery that introduced it to California (Inglenook) used to be pretty decent in some vintages, but it was never a good aging candidate.
what stuck me about this particular wine was, what? 13-14 years in bottle, and I feel the needle didn’t move - at all. Not sure what I expected, but I guess I just expected some change
I’ve never heard of it improving with age. I’m sure if made the right way it will hold for some time.
The recent bottling from Ridge is pretty good. Compared to a bigger Beaujolais to me. As substantial as the fruit is nothing about it really made me think it will get better with age. It’s a good wine as it is though.
Not necessarily. Many old bottles are sold as collectibles and never opened.
I donated a bottle of 1965 Mouton to a local charity. The wine was foul - RP gave it a 50 rating and said unspeakable things about it (hard to find the review now, it seems to have been suppressed…). It was only worth anything because it was old and it had a hard to get label.
I stumbled on some 1975 Parducci Charbono a couple of years ago that had been well stored and they were absolutely delicious. I also opened a 1968 Inglenook that was equally surprising in 2017. I am assuming that the rustic nature of Charbono will allow it to age a long time if/when the grapes are taken seriously. What resonates with the original post, however, is the less obvious signs of aging than I was expecting with either wine. Both wines were impossibly young tasting. It is hard (in retrospect) not to think that they would have been hard as nails many years ago, but that I will never know. Maybe they just never budged.
Just to resurrect this and chime in- From 2014 to 2016 I produced Charbono with Benoit Touquette, and from 2017 onward with Françoise Peschon. Each year I host a “Charbono Society” dinner where we open any Charbono we can find throughout the year.
The variety itself is incredibly age worthy. In terms of some of the experiences above, I disagree that the wine doesn’t evolve or gain in complexity over time, I just think it takes a lot of time to do so. Charbono is very high in tannin and color, both antioxidants, and are usually lower in alcohol and well balanced. I’ve seen with our own wines that a year or two is needed to help it reveal itself, and beyond that, it just takes time. In past tastings my experiences have been similar to Jeff Stettner’s- 1975 Charbono from Central Valley has been stunning. 60’s Inglenooks stored properly are so fresh and fruity and vibrant, they have complexities but it’s not the pruney-dried fruit you can often see in older wines. That said, with other Charbonos from the 90’s and 00’s- often those wines were made down to a price point and not up to a standard. Quality amongst vineyards and producers can vary pretty wildly.
I’m a big believer in the variety and I think it’s been vastly misunderstood. Drought tolerant and heat resistant, I think it will become more important in the Napa Valley in the future as we continue to see the effects of climate change.
I vaguely recall him opening an older one (Inglenook?) 20 years ago or so and liking it. but that was a long time ago. I know he had planned a vertical but don’t know if it ever happened.
We had a mid-70s Charbono (I think Parducci) by the glass for something like $6-8 at Bern’s a couple years ago, and it was very much alive and tasty with a patina of aged complexity. Very surprising and good.
Like Jay suggests, Greg is the man (that I know) who knows aged Charbono best. Last I heard, he had a decent amount of it still.
Portalupi in Sonoma produced a Charbono the past several years. I haven’t opened one up yet, letting them sit, so glad to hear the can stand the test of time.
Interesting comment. Charbono excels in Calistoga. I’ve had excellent examples on the young to moderately mature side. Fully mature, just a few that couldn’t be expected to shine, like crap era Inglenook. Not so many data points. One producer I liked got heavy with oak. Checked in recently and they’re picking too late, too. Haven’t tried the Ridge yet, but maybe they’ll help give some attention. It’s hard to justify planting more, when the market pays top dollar for Cab. But, in a perfect world there’d be more Charbono planted where it shines.
Always felt sorry for Charbono - Sonny was such a mismatch for her…
I’d like to point out that there is a difference between aging potential and simple endurance. Many wines have some degree of durability, but they never develop into anything that is much more interesting than what they started out with.
You can generalize about which grapes have which sort of ageability, but it behooves one to remember that even the same grape from different growing areas may exhibit different characteristics with age. Example - many Australian cabernets and syrahs age very well, but very few if any develop the sort of secondary and tertiary characteristics that a Bordeaux or Northern Rhone is capable of.
I’m not saying that Charbono falls into the ‘gets older but not that much better, just different’ category, as my experience with really old ones is limited, I am happy to listen to those with greater tasting experience. I just thought it was worth noting the different sorts of ageing.
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