Cline Cellars Zinfandel California 2011

Old fruit, dried berries. Pepper.

Full flavored Zin with a peppery finish

One step up in price is the Cline Ancient Vines Zinfandel. A lot of producers have “old vine zinfandel” but Cline is the only one I know of that sells an “ancient vines zinfandel.” It sounds like a marketing name to me, and it is. Old vines are known to create fruit with more concentrated flavors than younger vines, and that’s the appeal of old vine zinfandel. But, it’s not a regulated classification. Old vines may be 30-40 years old or more, but there’s no official age that denotes a vine as old, much less “ancient.” UPDATE: According to Cline Cellars, the vines used for their Ancient Vines Zinfandel are 80+ years old. The fruit in this wine come primarily from Lodi (63% of the blend), with the balance coming from Mendocino, Sonoma and Lake County, California. This wine was aged for seven months in 30% new American oak, with the balance in neutral oak. There’s a lot going on in the nose of this wine. Cherry aromas, plum, coffee, vanilla and a wisp of smoke all swirl about. The palate is spicy, with blackberry and cherry flavors up front, a little bit of cocoa on the mid-palate and a spicy cherry finish. The acidity is perfect and soft tannins give the wine a nice mouth feel. This one is a little less jammy and more approachable than the other Cline zinfandel, but they’re both enjoyable wines.

I found this to be elegant; a zin to be enjoyed alone.

My Rating 88. Nice nose of fruit and oak. Taste a little too much rest sweetness. otherwise very pleasant, smooth and full of Berries. If you would not know this is a Zinfandel, you would never guess it.

Tasted at UNLVino 4/10/10

Nose of sharp pecorino and dusty earth. Nice hints of bacon up front. Rich red and black fruit on the palate. Sage and pepper in balance with the fruit. Nice. - Blind tasted at Schreiner's Winers zin tasting 9/18/10