TN: 1995 Cline Cellars Carignane Ancient Vines

WINE TALK
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  • 1995 Cline Cellars Carignane Ancient Vines - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Contra Costa County (1/4/2025)
    A very pretty wine

    Red fruited , still some fading tannins, spicy nose

    A bargain purchase from winebid

    This is from the era when I loved the cline Zinfandels (up through 1997) so I thought it was worth the chance. It’s in a good place now

    B+

Posted from CellarTracker

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Blast from the past! I used to enjoy stopping at Cline - it is one of the first wineries one encounters on the drive North from Marin County (hwy 37 to 121) - and I especially liked their Zins and the old-vine Mourvedre wines from that period. I haven’t had a Cline wine from the 21st Century! What happened in 1997?

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Fun! I was also a big fan of Cline in the 90s, especially the Mourvèdre. I remember fondly buying a case of the 94 old vine red blend for like $4.50 a bottle with the discount, and it was very tasty.

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Oh yeah, the Small Berry mourvedre :+1:t2:
It’s spensive now :grimacing:

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I have blurry - but fond! - memories of various bottlings from the 90’s era too. I think they are making a number of ‘Buyers Own Brand’ efforts now, so their vinous vision is still getting expressed … if not in under the same label.

Good to hear that aged Carignane didn’t come across as liquid leather…

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Crazy, but CT lists a 103 separate wines made by Cline Cellars.

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That might be - if anything - an undercount. Maybe @TomHill can opine?

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I think it must be, because I couldn’t find a few from the early 90s.

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I don’t recall the exact dividing line. I loved the 1997s but somewhere around 2000 or so the oak went through the roof. And I usually tolerate oak in zin more than in other varieties

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Cline suffered the same “we need to make 1997 every year” disease that afflicted so many California wineries.

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I remember visiting Cline many years ago, and what I liked was that the tasting fee was $1 per wine. And I got to select the wines. Such a great deal! Do they still do it that way?

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I remember now that it was a 1999 that I found overoaked. I have no idea how the wines are nowadays

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Was up there last July and will be there again in late June for our Rhone Rangers Not Cal event.

Beautiful space and a very talented winemaker - and what a history. Fred Cline was one of the original Rhone Rangers and was honored with a lifetime achievement award in 2023.

I cut my teeth in their old vine Mourvèdre - they were instrumental in saving some of those Contra Costa vines.

Cheers

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