Dear Bryan,

One of the hazards of making great wines is that your delighted customers are prone to writing to you with the consumption of each miraculous bottle.

Such was my experience tonight with 2011 Charbono.  This is just the second night this summer I can be alone at home after parking my wife comfortably at our summer home. She loves the beach, but I don’t.

When on my own, I love cooking the way I like best, without constraints (“not so much olive, too much salt, no Aleppo pepper, serve everything hot, I don’t like beets or vinegar”).  So dinner tonight was pan-fried Halloumi cheese with beets and red wine vinegar plus Lucque olives, a baked Greek vegetable dish (Briami), toasted flatbread, and the Charbono.

I was transported.  The match was perfect, and the fruit in the wine was so alive, it seemed as if it were still fermenting.  I loved it all. Here are the photos.

Thanks again.

dgourmac