Matt Morris Heritage Blend Napa Valley 2020

In 1976, the victory of a Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon over a French Bordeaux in the Judgement of Paris changed the course of the Napa wine industry. Prior to this, Napa was a bucolic scene of diverse farms, orchards, and vineyards planted to a wide variety of fruits and nuts. Once Cabernet was crowned as king, wineries across the valley began to pull out heritage varietals in favor of more lucrative Cabernet vines. As a result, many of Napa’s old varietals are hardly recognized by even avid wine drinkers. Of all the heritage varietals, Charbono has perhaps suffered the most. Once widely planted and highly regarded, it’s since been relegated to obscurity in the last few decades; fewer than 50 acres remain in Napa Valley. 

Vintner, Matt Morris, remembers the day back in college - while studying filmmaking and photography - when he first came across a bottle of Charbono that had been produced in 1980 by Francis Ford Coppola to be given as a Christmas gift for family and friends. Matt’s interest in it was not entirely wine related. “Here, on one label, were some of my favorite filmmakers, and a grape varietal I’d never heard of. I opened it that Christmas and was shocked at how well the wine had held up. Despite endless sleuthing, the grape remained enigmatic. Was it French or Italian in origin? Exactly how many acres remain? If you asked ten different people, you’d get ten different answers,” he recalls. The wine carried such a thought-provoking sense of mystery that Matt guarded this memory of the wine. In 2014, driven by a decade of curiosity, Matt Morris partnered with Benoit Touquette, the acclaimed winemaker behind celebrated brands Realm and Fait-Main, to make a small batch of Charbono as an experiment to see what the varietal could be if given the kind of respect and treatment usually reserved for Cabernet Sauvignon. Thrilled with the results, Matt Morris began his own wine brand by producing vineyard-designated Charbono. The role of winemaker has been passed over to the lovely and incredibly talented winemaker, Françoise Peschon, who was the long-time winemaker for the famous Napa Valley winery Araujo and is now the consulting winemaker for three small, exclusive estates: Cornell, Vine Hill Ranch, and Accendo (the Araujo family’s newest project in Napa Valley). 

The 2020 Heritage Blend is comprised of Charbono, Petite Sirah, and Malbec. The inspiration for this blend came from a chance encounter with a famous Argentinian chef named Francis Mallmann. Charbono is still widely planted in Argentina, and after tasting Matt’s wines he suggested that Matt include a bit of Malbec. The resulting wine was exciting and very outside of the box for Napa! It opens with aromas of coffee, tobacco, and leathered red fruit. The palate is a harmonious continuation of the nose, with deep red fruits like pomegranate, plum and raspberry. The tannins are soft yet structured, and there is short but bright acid that hits on the mid palate and lifts everything up. A smoky finish is the quintessential stamp of Malbec and Charbono. 125 cases produced.