TN: 1968 Inglenook Charbono. Really Special

[Drew_Goin]

Very cool! Very happy to see some love for the old Inglenook Charbonos, which can be strangely spectacular.

In the late 90s, we (Frog’s Leap) got a call from a guy named Ken McGill, who until a few years ago owned a 4-acre parcel of old Riesling on Manley lane in Rutherford, right next to the Inglenook property. Some idiot had stiffed him on a contract, and we helped him out of the jam. Took his grapes for our Leapfrogmilch for a couple years, then helped him find a buyer.

Is that vineyard the one next to Swanson? I used to enjoy the “Leapfrogmilch” (in the late '90s/early 00’s), initially as it was a hilariously clever name for a wine, but was a delicious, sweeter CA white.

Years later, my dad gets a call from Ken, asking if he’d be interested in buying some old wines in his cellar…

Good on your dad for getting some classic juice! I have yet to taste a Charbono that moved me, but my sample size has been tiny.

[Chris_Seiber]

I had a magnum of 1986 Inglenook Charbono in July of last year, and it was fantastic, one of the most notable wines of the year for me. I think I bought it for $40-50.

[Drew_Goin]

Thanks to the Wayback Machine from the Internet Archives, I was able to access this 2019 article on Napa Charbono…


SF Chronicle (archived)
“The Fight to Keep Alive Charbono, Napa’s Nearly Extinct Heritage Grape”
by Esther Mobley
June 26, 2019


"…For decades, Inglenook alone kept most of Calistoga’s Charbono vineyards in business. The Heitzes, who had been supplying Inglenook with Charbono since Prohibition, ripped out all their other grapes in favor of Charbono in 1987 at Inglenook’s request. That same year, expecting a steady customer in Inglenook, Tofanelli planted Charbono for the first time in his family’s 90-year-old vineyard. But by 1996, with Inglenook out of the Charbono game, both farmers were scrambling to find buyers for their crop.

“Eventually they both started making the wine themselves, and the Tofanelli and Shypoke Charbonos are two of the best examples available…”.

[Rory_Williams]

Is that vineyard the one next to Swanson? I used to enjoy the “Leapfrogmilch” (in the late '90s/early 00’s), initially as it was a hilariously clever name for a wine, but was a delicious, sweeter CA white.

Yeah, just up the street from Swanson. I think it’s been ripped out recently, but it was a funky old vineyard. If you’re able to track it down, Jake Stover of Sans Wine Co. made a varietal Riesling from that vineyard quite recently, and it was really good! The wine was canned rather than bottled, so I’m not sure if it’s still available. The old Leapfrogmilch wines were pretty fun–I actually tasted the 1997 (which was 88% Chenin, 12% Riesling) the other day and it was still humming along and very fresh! We definitely left in a tiny bit of RS to keep things thematic.

[Rich_Brown]

My birth year is 1968. I’ve been reading about how it was not a good vintage worldwide. Glad a great bottle exists.

Another bulletproof wine is the 68 Mayacamas Late Harvest zin. Very hard to find but a delicious, probably immortal wine! Let me know if if you’re ever in AZ (post COVID) and I’ll open one with ya!

[Rory_Williams]

Now that…is an AWESOME story!! I love hearing how that bottle of Inglenook inspired you to plant charbono and make your own wine. I can absolutely see why as the 68 I just had was without a doubt one of the more interesting and memorable wines that I’ve had in a while. I’m going to make an effort to find some of your Calder Wine Co Charbono as I’d love to try it. Have you by chance popped an older bottle lately? Curious how they have aged so far.

Oh…and 10 cases of C. Krug and Inglenook wines from the 50’s/60’s??? If you ever get another one of those calls and need any help with drinking those wines…you know how to reach me

Thanks again for posting!

Thanks Rich, it’s always fun to have folks try the wine! My versions definitely trend toward the lighter side of the grape, especially the 2016. The forthcoming '17 has a little more stuffing. My bottlings from 2013 onward use fruit from the piece in Rutherford that we planted, and I have a bias toward them. The '13 is tasting really nice right now, still youthful. I don’t know whether they’ll ever reach the heights of wines made by John Daniel, but a guy can dream, right?

The grape’s had a bit of a renaissance in recent years, which has been great to see. The avg. price per ton in Napa has gone from $1900/ton in 2011 to nearly $4000 last year–a very good thing if excellent grower-producers like Shypoke and Tofanelli are going to continue to be successful with the grape.

And yeah, safe to say it’s not hard to find thirsty folks when you’ve got an old bottle of Inglenook open!

[Rich_Brown]

I had a magnum of 1986 Inglenook Charbono in July of last year, and it was fantastic, one of the most notable wines of the year for me. I think I bought it for $40-50.

Oh man, a well stored magnum must have been crazy-good! Love that Chris! You have any pics by chance?? Would love to see what a maggie looks like.

[Blake_Brown]

Love the post and happy you had such a great bottle as I’ve also enjoyed some really good stuff from them. Most recently, I had the:

1968 INGLENOOK CASK H-12 CABERNET SAUVIGNON NAPA- I purchased this earlier in the year from a friend who had acquired it soon after release so I knew the provenance was good and with no signs of a cork push, good color and high neck ullage, I hoped we had a viable bottle and it was just that and more; the color was a red purple with maybe hint of bricking; the nose had dark ripe fruit which on the palate was black currant, blackberry and plum with accents of leather and earth; it was full bodied with nice depth and most amazing, it actually became more expressive with time.

Cheers,
Blake

[Rich_Brown]

Now that…is an AWESOME story!! I love hearing how that bottle of Inglenook inspired you to plant charbono and make your own wine. I can absolutely see why as the 68 I just had was without a doubt one of the more interesting and memorable wines that I’ve had in a while. I’m going to make an effort to find some of your Calder Wine Co Charbono as I’d love to try it. Have you by chance popped an older bottle lately? Curious how they have aged so far.

Oh…and 10 cases of C. Krug and Inglenook wines from the 50’s/60’s??? If you ever get another one of those calls and need any help with drinking those wines…you know how to reach me

Thanks again for posting!

Thanks Rich, it’s always fun to have folks try the wine! My versions definitely trend toward the lighter side of the grape, especially the 2016. The forthcoming '17 has a little more stuffing. My bottlings from 2013 onward use fruit from the piece in Rutherford that we planted, and I have a bias toward them. The '13 is tasting really nice right now, still youthful. I don’t know whether they’ll ever reach the heights of wines made by John Daniel, but a guy can dream, right?

The grape’s had a bit of a renaissance in recent years, which has been great to see. The avg. price per ton in Napa has gone from $1900/ton in 2011 to nearly $4000 last year–a very good thing if excellent grower-producers like Shypoke and Tofanelli are going to continue to be successful with the grape.

And yeah, safe to say it’s not hard to find thirsty folks when you’ve got an old bottle of Inglenook open!

Perfect, thanks for the feedback! I’ll see if I can’t get my hands on a 13 and will definitley report back

[Rich_Brown]

Love the post and happy you had such a great bottle as I’ve also enjoyed some really good stuff from them. Most recently, I had the:

1968 INGLENOOK CASK H-12 CABERNET SAUVIGNON NAPA- I purchased this earlier in the year from a friend who had acquired it soon after release so I knew the provenance was good and with no signs of a cork push, good color and high neck ullage, I hoped we had a viable bottle and it was just that and more; the color was a red purple with maybe hint of bricking; the nose had dark ripe fruit which on the palate was black currant, blackberry and plum with accents of leather and earth; it was full bodied with nice depth and most amazing, it actually became more expressive with time.

Cheers,
Blake

Great looking bottle, and as always, an amazing note Blake! Thanks for sharing!

[Patrick_Taylor]

Another bulletproof wine is the 68 Mayacamas Late Harvest zin. Very hard to find but a delicious, probably immortal wine! Let me know if if you’re ever in AZ (post COVID) and I’ll open one with ya!

By the time I get to Phoenix…

Srsly, though, thanks! I hope to be able to take you up on that.

[Wes_Barton]

My birth year is 1968. I’ve been reading about how it was not a good vintage worldwide. Glad a great bottle exists.

Another bulletproof wine is the 68 Mayacamas Late Harvest zin. Very hard to find but a delicious, probably immortal wine! Let me know if if you’re ever in AZ (post COVID) and I’ll open one with ya!

'68 was a good year in CA. I’ve had quite a few great wines.

[Drew_Goin]

I read in a few articles online that the 1968 Inglenook Charbono was the wine that inspired (then 16-year-old) Robert Foley to become a winemaker.

[Rich_Brown]

I read in a few articles online that the 1968 Inglenook Charbono was the wine that inspired (then 16-year-old) Robert Foley to become a winemaker.

Yep, someone commented the same thing on my insta! Pretty awesome and just makes it that much more of a special experience!

[CF_Binnig]

Very cool! Very happy to see some love for the old Inglenook Charbonos, which can be strangely spectacular.

In the late 90s, we (Frog’s Leap) got a call from a guy named Ken McGill, who until a few years ago owned a 4-acre parcel of old Riesling on Manley lane in Rutherford, right next to the Inglenook property. Some idiot had stiffed him on a contract, and we helped him out of the jam. Took his grapes for our Leapfrogmilch for a couple years, then helped him find a buyer. Years later, my dad gets a call from Ken, asking if he’d be interested in buying some old wines in his cellar (“I don’t drink much anymore, and I don’t want my kids to have them.”) The cellar of old wine turns out to be 10 cases of pristine C. Krug and Inglenook from the 50s and 60s–totally crazy. Mostly Cabs, but also some Krug Pinots and a few bottles of Charbono. At the time that we bought the wines, neither of us had ever heard of the grape before.

The 1964 Inglenook Charbono from that cellar is a life-changing wine for me–it inspired me to start making Charbono on my own, and it inspired us to plant 1.5 acres of Charbono in Rutherford. My memories are of a very intense, fresh, complex wine that was almost weightless–it blew my mind viz. what was possible in Napa. I’m not sure whether it’s possible to replicate whatever made these old Charbonos so good, but it’s still fun for me to contemplate how the boundaries of great wine are often bigger than I realize.

Very happy to see that you were blessed with a good bottle!

That is one terrific story. If my memory is not completely shot, I believe the guy who was an assistant winemaker for John Daniel at Inglenook continued to produce a Charbono for a number of years under a different label after John sold Inglenook. Charbono was this guy’s favorite grape.

[T_Welch]

Very cool! Very happy to see some love for the old Inglenook Charbonos, which can be strangely spectacular.

In the late 90s, we (Frog’s Leap) got a call from a guy named Ken McGill, who until a few years ago owned a 4-acre parcel of old Riesling on Manley lane in Rutherford, right next to the Inglenook property. Some idiot had stiffed him on a contract, and we helped him out of the jam. Took his grapes for our Leapfrogmilch for a couple years, then helped him find a buyer. Years later, my dad gets a call from Ken, asking if he’d be interested in buying some old wines in his cellar (“I don’t drink much anymore, and I don’t want my kids to have them.”) The cellar of old wine turns out to be 10 cases of pristine C. Krug and Inglenook from the 50s and 60s–totally crazy. Mostly Cabs, but also some Krug Pinots and a few bottles of Charbono. At the time that we bought the wines, neither of us had ever heard of the grape before.

The 1964 Inglenook Charbono from that cellar is a life-changing wine for me–it inspired me to start making Charbono on my own, and it inspired us to plant 1.5 acres of Charbono in Rutherford. My memories are of a very intense, fresh, complex wine that was almost weightless–it blew my mind viz. what was possible in Napa. I’m not sure whether it’s possible to replicate whatever made these old Charbonos so good, but it’s still fun for me to contemplate how the boundaries of great wine are often bigger than I realize.

Very happy to see that you were blessed with a good bottle!

That is one terrific story. If my memory is not completely shot, I believe the guy who was an assistant winemaker for John Daniel at Inglenook continued to produce a Charbono for a number of years under a different label after John sold Inglenook. Charbono was this guy’s favorite grape.

Maybe John Richburg who started Bayview Cellars decades ago?

[Dan_Kravitz]

I had this wine, but probably ~20 years ago. I remember it was wonderful, but my recollection is hazy.

My birth year is 1968. I’ve been reading about how it was not a good vintage worldwide. Glad a great bottle exists.

Patrick,

1968 was a very great year for red wines in the Napa Valley. Obviously they are now

1. thin on the ground, and
2. a risk, regardless of provenance or anything else. Not many 50 year old dry wines can be a safe bet.

But there are still bottles out there and the best can be as wonderful as the bottle Rich just enjoyed.


Dan Kravitz

[Mike_Evans]

My birth year is 1968. I’ve been reading about how it was not a good vintage worldwide. Glad a great bottle exists.

I was privileged to be a guest at a tasting where several 1968 birth year friends celebrated their 50th birthdays and Mike Grammer’s notes from the tasting can be found at TNs--Mike on Mini-Tour---the "50th party" day, Atlanta---visit with Anthony at PH Wines and 1968 at Randy & Cris' - WINE TALK - WineBerserkers. Napa and Spain are where I would look first for 1968s, the Unico is spectacular if just shy of the greatness of the 1970

[M_Nichols]

Very cool post - I hosted a “DOA” wine dinner a couple years ago where participants could bring wines that they had held on to but weren’t sure they were still alive. We have some fun surprises (and some duds) in the line up, although most of the wines didn’t go back further than the early 80s. I have had some great old school Napa Cabs at 40+ years of age and when they are on it’s such a delight.

[Rich_Brown]

Very cool post - I hosted a “DOA” wine dinner a couple years ago where participants could bring wines that they had held on to but weren’t sure they were still alive. We have some fun surprises (and some duds) in the line up, although most of the wines didn’t go back further than the early 80s. I have had some great old school Napa Cabs at 40+ years of age and when they are on it’s such a delight.

That’s a great idea - pretty sure most people have at least a few bottles in the cellar that they fully expect to be total shot.

And I 100% agree on older Napa cabs. I’m a 1980 birth-year (def not known as the greatest vintage) and more often than not I’ve been pleasantly surprised when opening a bottle.