For a history of the Charbono grape, please read the review of the Foley Charbono.  There are not many producers of high quality Charbono.  I can think of only three;  Robert Foley, Turley, and T-Vine Cellars.  The Tofanelli Vineyard Charbono from Turley Wine Cellars may be the best I have had.  Although Turley is none primarily as a Zinfandel producer, they started to make a Charbono in the late 1990's.

The 2001 Turley Charbono has a saturated dark purple color.  The bouquet has more fruit than many other Charbonos, but still has spice, pepper, leather and smoked meats.  There is plenty of fruit on the palate, and the finish was smooth.  If you taste this wine blindly, you will have a hard time deciding what it is.  You will probably end up guessing that it is some sort of Cab-Zin-Syrah blend.  It is not.  It is 100% Charbono, and it is delightful.  Although other critics find these wines drinkable in their youth, I find they drink best about 5 years after their vintage.

3.5 stars

retail price roughly 25 dollars

 

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