The Cline Ancient Vines Zinfandel 2022 is a wine I found at Trader Joe’s, selling for $13.99. A check of the web saw prices between $14 and $20.
The Story
Cline Family Cellars was founded in the early 1980s and is still expanding while owned and operated by the Cline Family. Cline started as a Zinfandel producer.
The grapes for the Cline Ancient Vines Zinfandel 2022 came from estate vineyards, some over 100 years old, in the Contra Costa AVA.
Contra Costa is east of the San Francisco Bay and south of the San Pablo Bay. In the early 1900s, this was the wine hot spot in Northern California.
Prohibition caused many vineyards to close up and move north to Sonoma and Napa, which were not developed in those days.
Old grape vines are not unlike old folks; everything gets harder as you age. The vines over the decades have a difficult time bringing nutrients from the roots to the grapes. This struggle makes for nuanced grapes; the vine does not produce as many grapes, but what is harvested can be world-class grapes.
The Cline Ancient Vines Zinfandel 2022 was fermented in open-top concrete tanks. Open-top fermentation is risky because a cap of pressed grapes must form on top to minimize air contact. Concrete vats are useful in maintaining stable temperature and humidity.
The Zinfandel is then aged for 16 months in French oak barrels of various ages.
The alcohol content is 14.5%.
The Cline Ancient Vines Zinfandel 2022 Tasting Notes
The color is black cherry red with black highlights. The nose is red berries, spice, and a savory note—also mint, cashew, and faint chocolate brownies. The Cline Ancient Vines Zinfandel 2022 is both smooth and spicy and has a pleasing flavor.
This Zinfandel tastes like raspberry and sharp spice, herbs, and plums. Ripe blueberry, cranberry, bitter chocolate, oak spice, dried strawberry.
The tannis do not bite, and the acidity does its job well. This is a wine that receives 90+ points in reviews.
The Summary
- The Cline Ancient Vines Zinfandel 2022 is a tasty, well-priced Zinfandel.
- It drinks more expensive than its price.
- Rich, spicy, and fun.
