FWIW, I’ve also tasted some Iberian Bastardos, and while some wines have been surprisingly Jura-like, it has been almost impossible to identify the variety as Trousseau with others.
And then again, it can be quite hard to believe a cool-climate Serine from Côte-Rôtie is the same variety as a huge and jammy Shiraz from Barossa. It’s crazy how different wines just one variety can produce when it is taken from one place to another. I’m sure Douce Noire / Bonarda / Charbono is no different in this respect.
FWIW I’ve become a big fan of Matt Morris charbono. The story and novelty of a new grape varietal for me was the appetizer for this. The remarkable quality of these wines has caused me to repurchase a bunch of times now and it is consistently the wine i bring to wine geek events that gathers the most enthusiasm.
Not sure if Françoise Peschon is winemaker or consultant but multiple vintages have been fully consumed in my house with pleasure.
I’ve been drinking Tofanelli and shypoke vineyards but just bought heritage. I’ll post a note when i drink it.
The California Charbonos I’ve had have almost all been angular and granular, the few exceptions being old bottlings from Inglenook that had some finesse.
Many cheap Argentine Bonardas correspond somewhat to the Charbonos, but some better ones with moderate (~10 year) bottle age have been solid, round and fine.
I’m super thankful to you for sharing this article with me. What an incredible story. Makes me appreciate what I already was a fanboy of even more.
I really vibe with the idea that is led here - make something that eveyone likes and no one will care about it. I’d love to know who else is following such a path and would really be interested in trying their stuff - which if I were doing correctly I expect some I’d dislike…
Always liked the Tikal Patriota Malbec/Bonarda Blend at the restaurant gig.
August Briggs 2018 was a #winebid win for $15.
Lucky to enough to taste quite a few Matt Morris wines during my retail days.
Have an '85 Inglenook that I need to pop.
Most recently, my wife and I shared our 2023 Charbono Old Vines from Frediani Vineyard at the Napa Barrel Auction.
Usually our CB goes into a mixed-blacks co-ferment, but in '23, we just had to vinify some separately. 20 days on skins and a 5 year air-dried American Oak barrel. We are excited to release that wine to our mailing list later this year.
At Grosgrain we make Charbono from Windrow Vineyard in Walla Walla and also, starting this year, from a new planting at Ciel du Cheval Vineyard on Red Mountain, which are the only plantings that I am aware of in the Pacific Northwest. The Windrow planting technically sits just outside of the Rocks district in Oregon (near Cayuse’s vineyards) but still really displays that distinctive savory signature from the area, very different from Cali Charbono. I’m looking forward to seeing how the grape expresses itself on Red Mountain this year, which is a much warmer site.
