Matt Morris 'Shypoke Vineyard' Charbono 2015Calistoga

Out of the 1,000 plus wines we taste each year, Cabernet Sauvignon is the most frequent varietal as you would suspect considering where we’re located. So, it is a special day when we get the chance to taste an exciting new project highlighting a non-Cab varietal done exceptionally well. Matt Morris Wines is brought to us from local famed photographer and video producer Matt Morris and winemaker Benoit Touquette. Most know of Benoit for his efforts at Realm Cellars and his own wine brand, Fait Main but this smaller project is unique because it is all about Charbono and more importantly, Charbono being produced with the same attention to detail and expertise as the Cabernet Sauvignons Benoit is most known for producing. Fifty-two acres of Charbono is planted in Napa Valley today, with a mere twenty-seven acres planted in other regions of California. In contrast, there are about 18,000 acres currently planted to Cabernet Sauvignon in Napa Valley and that number is obviously growing.

This 2015 Charbono comes from Shypoke Vineyard in Calistoga and offers rich, expansive notes of dark red and black fruit with a long, focused finish. Aged for 18 months in neutral French oak, this delicious Red will benefit with time in the bottle but is already a beautiful representation of the heritage grape. Kudos to Matt and Benoit for producing something worthy for all of us to get excited about and enjoy. 30 cases were produced.