red grape · regional specialty
Charbono
Savoie, France
Say it
shar·boh·noh
Hard 'Ch' as in charcoal, not the French 'sh' sound; stress on second syllable BOH
On the palate
Body
medium full
Acidity
high
Tannin
low
Aromatics
medium
black plumblack cherryblackberryvioletfigtobacco
How you spot it blind: Inky-purple depth with improbably soft tannins and laser-bright acidity
The story
First written down · 1803, Saint-Pierre-d'Albigny, Savoie, France
DNA analysis by Carole Meredith at UC Davis in 1999 confirmed that California Charbono, French Douce Noir, and Argentine Bonarda are genetically identical; France had banned the variety in 1958, pulling ~500 ha.
Where it lives
Mendoza, Argentina · San Juan, Argentina · Napa Valley (Calistoga), California
Shows up as
still redrosé