Showing items 1
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31
Shypoke 2007 Reserve Charbono (Calistoga)
- Cellar Selection
- $40
Shows the rugged tannins and acidity of this old variety, with a full-bodied mouthfeel. Really delivers on the fruit, with dark flavors of mulberries, plums, blackberries and blueberries, as well as an earthy richness. Bone dry and completely balanced, it will develop for more than ten years.
— S.H.
(8/1/2011)
Robert Foley 2009 Charbono (Napa Valley)
- Cellar Selection
- Online Exclusive
- $35
A dark, big, tannic young wine, with blackberry, cassis and grilled meat flavors, and a dry, impressively long finish. Could be confused with Cabernet Sauvignon in a blind tasting, and it’s an interesting alternative to Cab. But the acidity is high, which makes the wine potentially long-lived.
— S.H.
(7/1/2011)
Shypoke 2008 Charbono (Calistoga)
- Online Exclusive
- $40
Charbono is an old-fashioned grape that almost nobody makes anymore, but Shypoke is giving it some love, and good for them. This is a really nice wine. It’s as full-bodied, dry and tannic as a Merlot, but with different flavors, of black cherries, grilled meats and mushu plum sauce, with dusty exotic spices and a touch of funky smoke. It’s soft enough to drink now.
— S.H.
(6/1/2011)
August Briggs 2008 Frediani Vineyard Charbono (Napa Valley)
- Online Exclusive
- $38
A rich and sweetly fruity wine with many of the same flavors as Cabernet Sauvignon, except there’s something meaty and piney lurking behind the blackberries. It’s very dry, and softer than other Charbonos, with a creaminess that may limit its cellar life. But it’s a robust, full-bodied wine for drinking over the next 4–5 years with a good steak.
— S.H.
(7/1/2011)
Robert Foley 2004 Charbono (Napa Valley)
- Cellar Selection
- $35
Bob Foley has championed this heirloom variety, which so many others long ago abandoned. The wine shows an old-fashioned ruggedness and the kind of in-your-face tannins and grapeskin astringency you don’t see much anymore. Yet it’s massively fruity and will age well. Six to 10 years should soften and sweeten it, and it will hold for another decade beyond.
— S.H.
(12/1/2006)
Casa Nuestra 2008 Old Vines Charbono (Napa Valley)
- Online Exclusive
- $32
Lots of zippy acidity in this dry, full-bodied Charbono. It’s tannic and earthy, with tobacco-laced blackberry and mushroom flavors and something grilled and meaty. Bone dry, it should develop over many years, without gaining a great deal of complexity.
— S.H.
(7/1/2011)
Pacific Star 1996 Venturi Vineyard Charbono (Mendocino County)
- $32
They say there are only 47 acres of Charbono still planted in California, and this wine from 100-year-old vines, proves there should be more of it. Intense, rich and full-bodied, it has deep flavors of plums and spices, and the most wonderfully mellow tannins. Try it as an alternative to Zinfandel.
— S.H.
(12/1/2001)
Summers 2009 Villa Andriana Vineyard Charbono (Calistoga)
- Online Exclusive
- $28
If you’re unfamiliar with Charbono, it’s kind of like Petite Sirah in its inky color, thick tannins and full-bodied mouthfeel. Summers’ 2009 is a big wine, bone dry and modest in alcohol, with deep blackberry, grilled meat and black pepper flavors. It’s a good barbecue wine that will probably live for 20 years.
— S.H.
(4/1/2012)
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