Food match? 1974 Inglenook Charbono

"Bryan Gilmer" in news:zzSXc.4752$ snipped-for-privacy@twister.southeast.rr.com...

Speaking as no _sommelier_ but only an _amateur des vins_ I'll mention that decanting wines of this age is often done to isolate the clear wine from the sediment (concentrated in the bottom of the bottle because of your thoughtfully having stood up the bottle for a couple of days before opening). If the sediment or "mud" spreads into the wine, many people dislike the flavor. However with a wine of age or limited experience, some of the aroma and flavor may change rapidly too, so if you decant, plan to serve it without any delay.

I tasted some Charbonos of that era and earlier (in the 1980s, from an outstanding private cellar in California of a professor friend I've mentioned on the wine newsgroup, at least in past decades) but not sure about that specific Charbono. The varietal was taken seriously at a time when a few very dedicated firms and winemakers were making very good, serious California reds -- more serious, some might argue who've tasted them, than most premium California reds today, though much less fashionable back then.

Looking (unsuccessfully) for Charbono among my older tasting notes I saw a note from one 1982 tasting from the same cellar:

The notes reminded me that at the time, some of these wines, such as the

Finally 0.75 liter and 0.2 gallon are measures so nearly identical as to be usually within bottle-capacity tolerances, so in the US it was (for once) necessary only to change the language.

Thanks for sparking some memories! -- Max

Oh yes, the question: good old reds always go with good cheeses and breads and nuts.

It might surprise you, but I would plan on a mild beef dish of some kind. I just don't know what to expect from the wine, so I'd stick with a beef dish prepared in a more delicate way.

Decanting might be a good idea simply to avoid getting sediment into the glasses, but I would decant and serve immediately. Usually, older wines will have a little bit of funk, so give it a few minutes to open up, but it probably won't go a whole lot longer than that.

Enjoy! Dana

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Speaking of charbono: has anyone ever tried Turley's Charbono? My wine shop had a stray bottle of this a few years ago. I snagged it, as I've always enjoyed their Zins. I believe it's the 2000 vintage. Any comments? I've never had a charbono and a web search has been only minimally helpful. How long should I cellar this one? Thanks.