Cline Cellars Ancient Vines Mourvedre, Contra Costa County

Description

Cline Cellars Ancient Vines Mourvedre is made with 100% Mourvedre grapes sourced from very old vines in Contra Costa County.

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 fruit for the Cline Ancient Vines Mourvedre comes from some of the oldest, most historic blocks of low-yielding vines that Cline own. Individual lots of Mourvedre grapes were harvested separately according to ripeness and balance of acidity. The grapes undergo total de-stemming and a very gentle crushing to ensure a large proportion of whole berries in the must. Fermentation occurred in stainless steel tanks with select cultured yeasts. It was then maintained at the ideal temperature to aid in the extraction of flavor and colour. The wine was pressed off its skins at dryness before being racked to dark toasted American Oak (approximately 30% new) where it was gently aged for 10 months and then stored in neutral cooperage.

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