TN '96 Bonny Doon Charbono

[Karena Shannon]

What to have with Cioppino???? Particularly if it’s a rather spicy one, the relatives want red wine, and you don’t have any Beaujolais or rose? We decided on this wine, as the relatives thought it was Italian and I was fresh out of options. (Now, I know this isn’t Italian, but since most of the examples you see nowadays are from former…how do I delicately put this…”Dago Red” properties in California…Hence, into the Italian folder it goes. <wink> )
When we tasted this at the winery a year ago, the aromas were light, and predominantly of cola, plum, and bay. Supposedly, Charbono is Charbonneau, a blending grape now fallen out of favor in S. France, though I remember one oddball account of it actually being a clone of Dolcetto. Whatever…it’s supposed to make a “rustic” red that blossoms into something fairly nice after eight–ten years or so, provided that you are sage (or forgetful) enough to age a cheap red wine that long.
The year of age that we did give it proved immensely useful. The nose was much more effusive, with the aforementioned cola and overripe plum scents, no detectable oak, and a mouthfeel as Jake put it, “like hi-octane Beaujolais.” Despite the high alcohol content (~13.5), the wine didn’t accentuate the heat of the cioppino; it actually worked rather well. Maybe there is something to this Dolcetto thing…
$18 at the winery, but that’s Bonny Doon nowadays and is the reason we’ve stopped buying their wines. Again, like their DEWN Zin and Barbera I’ve posted on before, they’re not worth making an all-out effort to find at these prices, but they’re not bad wines either.