This wine is made by a guy named Matt Cline. He is a savant as far as winemaking
goes. And the terroir he grows his wine
in is so special you won’t believe it.
First a little about Matt; Matt's winemaking career began in
1982 helping his brother at his Oakley winery; in 1985 he began as winemaker
and creative director at Cline Cellars. In addition to his position at Cline in
1986 he joined Conn Creek as the assistant winemaker which lasted through 1989.
Over the course of his 16-year career at Cline, Matt was responsible for
branding Cline Cellars' unique style of winemaking. Matt continues to focus on the historical
California varietals (Carignane, Mataro, and Zinfandel), specifically in Contra
Costa County. These vineyards and varietals represent the last maps of what the
California wine industry was trying to do prior to prohibition in the 1920s.
Matt values the advancement of a diverse and copious number of varietals, as he
pushes to move away from the singular varietal trend that is both unsustainable
and not historically accurate. To Matt and thousands of years of winemakers
before him, blending varietals and finding a perfect balance between the
grapes, is what winemaking is all about.
What a cool guy, huh?
With an average vine age of over 125 years, growing in a low
vigor soil type, and combined with dry farming, results in smaller cluster and
berry size. This Old Vines Zinfandel is sourced from, not just old vines, but
ancient vines. This wine is a blend of 75.1% Zinfandel, 12.0% Petite Sirah,
9.3% Carignane, and 3.6% Alicante Bouschet.
Each grape contributes to the total finished wine in a particular
way. According to Matt here are the players
in this wine The 2018 OV Zinfandel shows
a concentration of ripe blackberries and other red fruits, spice, with a
minerality (dusty-berry) sneaking through. The Alicante Bouschet & Petite
Sirah adds a lot of color, a firm tannin backbone, along with boysenberries and
pepper, while the Carignane adds a pronounced fleshy mouth feel along with dark
cherries and coffee notes. Overall, his blend has complex phenolic structures
that enhance the overall mouth feel and age ability of this wine. Enjoy now or
cellar in a cool location for 5-7 years or more.
My take, the wine is a beautiful dark to the edge purple
hue. The nose jumps black pepper, Black fruit,
with a hint of baking spices. The mouth
feel is very complex and large. This is
a mouth full of wine. Lots of berries, cherries,
coffee, nice aggressive tannins which really make the finish of the wine
special. A wonderful glass of wine,
share this one with friends and family for sure. You will be the hit of the night.
Not bad on the wallet either cost is $21.00
Cheers,
The Villages Wino
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