Cline Cellars Ancient Vines Zinfandel, Contra Costa County

Description

Cline Cellars Ancient Vines Zinfandel is made with very old vine grapes sourced from very old vines in Contra Costa County. The wine is a blend of 97% Mourvedre and 3% Carignan.

In 1982, on leaving university, Fred Cline returned to his hometown Oakley, Contra Costa County (equidistant between Sacramento and San Francisco) to found the company that would become Cline Cellars. There he started producing wines and restoring ancient vines. Today, Zinfandel, Carignane and Mourvèdre produced from these vines are some of the most unique and historic wines made in California – the coming together of the climate, the soil and the landscape are the epitome of Oakley terroir. In 1991, the winery relocated from Oakley to the Carneros region of Sonoma County on a historic 350-acre estate with new vineyards and facilities. While much of the cool Carneros region is planted to Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Merlot, Fred Cline pioneered the planting of Rhône varietals including Syrah, Viognier, Marsanne and Roussanne. In 1997, Cline ventured further west into an even cooler growing area in eastern Petaluma and again planted more Rhône varietals.

The grapes for the Cline Cellars Ancient Vines Zinfandel are sourced from a wide selection of Clines oldest, most historic and shyest-bearing Zinfandel blocks in Contra Costa County. These 100 year old, dry-farmed vineyards consistently produce fruit of stunning concentration. Lots were harvested separately according to ripeness and balance of acidity. Grapes underwent near total destemming and a very gentle crushing to ensure a large proportion of whole berries in the must — contributing to the explosive fruit character of the wine. The grapes, juice, skins, and seeds along with some added yeasts were fermented in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks at the optimum temperature to extract rich flavors and provide excellent colour. The wine was pressed off its skins at dryness and racked gently before being laid down on American oak (38% new) for 10 months.

Cline Cellars Ancient Vines Zinfandel is a vegan and vegetarian friendly wine.