Mission Codename Pride of the Etruscans
We’re in love with today’s wine - and we’re so certain that you’ll love it that we’ll buy it back from you if you don’t! Trust us, though, at this price, you’ll want to purchase at least a case. You’ll want plenty on hand to last you through the year.
Unbelievably, we’ve never featured a Charbono. Oh, how we LOVE today’s incredible Eclectic 2013 Suisun Valley Charbono. This grown in California wine is one of the most delicious and unique wines we’ve featured in these eleven years. This wine is a lush, dense treat was made by Mike Trotta of Elyse Winery. Mike’s considerable talent is apparent at first sip of this fantastic, unique wine.
Mike was nice enough to record a short video for us to tell us about Eclectic in his own words:
This wine is beautiful in the glass, with a deep dark heart of garnet with a thick band of mauve around the outer edge. Before even taking a sip, Eclectic will have you falling in love with Charbono. Its fascinating bouquet of wintergreen, tobacco, peony, potpourri, boysenberry, and raspberry will hook you immediately. It follows through tremendously on the palate with a lush spread of rhubarb, cola, cherry, tobacco, sage, and allspice. Just very tasty all around. In addition to the wonderful flavors and aromas, it’s the structure of the wine that really ties it all together. It’s wonderfully balanced, with robust, yet smooth, tannin that creates a wonderfully full and textured mouthfeel for the phenols to sit on top of. A different wine calls for a different meal - Get off the beaten path and try some Senegalese Yassa (a spicy chicken dish).
Charbono, also known as Douce Noir, Bonarda or Corbeau, is an Italian wine grape varietal this was originally planted in the Savoie wine region (which shifted from Italian to French control in 1860), but today is more widely planted in Argentina. The earliest mention of the grape dates from when Etruscans first planted Bonarda some 3.000 years ago in the Padana Region. It arrived in Savoie in the early 19th century, and by the end of the century, it was the most widely grown red wine grape in the region. In California, Charbono is produced in very limited amounts with the grape having been described as a “cult wine” for its scarcity and devotion of its connoisseurs.
What the Winery Says
2013 Suisun Valley Charbono
- Winemakers
- Mike and Wendy Trotta
- Alcohol
- 13.1%
- Varietal
- 100% Charbono
- Vineyard
- Babcock Vineyard
- Region
- Suisun Valley, Solano County
- Harvest Date
- September 9, 2013
- Harvest Brix
- 23.3°
- pH
- 3.74
- Malic
- <0.1 g/L
- TA
- 5.7 g/L
- RS
- 0.6 g/L