HOT TIP

[Randy Caparoso]

Wow, Curm! I liked the wine, but I guess I'm a stingy scorer. My VG- translates to about an 86. But I'd give it an 89 for drinkability.

While I don't think it's a world beater, I agree with you on its cellaring potential. I remember about ten years ago, a connoisseur/friend of mind brought me a bottle of Franciscan Burgundy from the late '70s (can't recall exactly, except the wine was about 11-12 years old at the time). It had a beautiful fragrance -- woodsy, dried flowers and fruit -- and gentle, velvety, layered, almost neverending flavors. Since he was a business acquaintance of Justin Meyer's, he told me that he'd been cellaring and drinking cases of the stuff over the years because he knew that it was 100% Charbono.

But I wasn't really that surprised. In fact, during the earliest years that I worked as a sommelier (from '79), I just loved selling the Inglenook Charbonos. I also remember reading an old Esquire article (from around '72) by Roy Andries de Groot (a strong, early inspiration) recalling the finest California wine he ever drank -- a '48 Inglenook Charbono. I think he rated it something like a 98 (although his standards were different, you have to remember that de Groot was absolutely the first to have used the 100 point rating system).

At any rate, I've always had a weakness for the grape, which is why I've embraced the Via Firenze so readily.