Tonight, with a dinner of braised lamb shoulder, I decided to open a
wine that had been languishing in the cellar for some time:

1999 Cline Cellars Mourvedre "Small Berry"
nose: MINT! LICORICE?!! and lurking beneath some berryish fruit
palate: medium weight, moderately acidic, dark fruit and a cooling blast
of menthol

This wine was purchased at the winery in Dec. '01. At the time of
purchase, the mint/eucalyptus notes in the wine were an interesting bit
of complexity atop the fruit, acids and tannins. Now, 8 years later,
those volatile elements (might some think of it as VA? possibly, as it
does remind me of ethyl acetate now and again) have come to the fore,
nearly overtaking any sense of fruit or tertiary elements, at least for
this taster. While not an unpleasant taste, it is too monolithic and
insistent a flavor to hold my interest or pair particularly well with
food. File this wine away under "novelty act." Since I find this same
element present in most of Cline's wines, I fear that this might be the
last Cline wine I cellar for the foreseeable future.

Mark Lipton
--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.cwdjr.net

Mark Lipton wrote:
> Tonight, with a dinner of braised lamb shoulder, I decided to open a
> wine that had been languishing in the cellar for some time:
>
> 1999 Cline Cellars Mourvedre "Small Berry"
> nose: MINT! LICORICE?!! and lurking beneath some berryish fruit
> palate: medium weight, moderately acidic, dark fruit and a cooling blast
> of menthol

In the interests of full disclosure, I will note that after 3-4 hours, I
can tell that, apart from the mintiness, what I'm getting in the nose is
a huge whack of cedar, the most I've ever got in a wine's nose. Quite
the 1-2 punch, that is.

Mark Lipton


--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.cwdjr.net

On Apr 22, 11:19*pm, Mark Lipton > wrote:
> Mark Lipton wrote:
> > Tonight, with a dinner of braised lamb shoulder, I decided to open a
> > wine that had been languishing in the cellar for some time:
>
> > 1999 Cline Cellars Mourvedre "Small Berry"
> > nose: MINT! LICORICE?!! and lurking beneath some berryish fruit
> > palate: medium weight, moderately acidic, dark fruit and a cooling blast
> > of menthol
>
> In the interests of full disclosure, I will note that after 3-4 hours, I
> can tell that, apart from the mintiness, what I'm getting in the nose is
> a huge whack of cedar, the most I've ever got in a wine's nose. *Quite
> the 1-2 punch, that is.
>
> Mark Lipton
>
> --
> alt.food.wine FAQ: *http://winefaq.cwdjr.net

Mark,

My wife & I stopped in at Cline this past November and tried the 2007
version. I didn't take notes at the time, but I liked it enough to
purchase a bottle. I'll wait a bit to see how it develops.

I've always liked Cline, especially their single-vineyard Zins. Have
you tried Big Break or Live Oak recently?

dpm

dpm wrote:
Mark,
>
> My wife & I stopped in at Cline this past November and tried the 2007
> version. I didn't take notes at the time, but I liked it enough to
> purchase a bottle. I'll wait a bit to see how it develops.
>
> I've always liked Cline, especially their single-vineyard Zins. Have
> you tried Big Break or Live Oak recently?

Nope, haven't tried any of Cline's wine for a few years now. Matt
Cline, former winemaker during the years that I tried their wines, left
to form his own winery (name of which I've forgotten). Since his
departure, wines at Cline have IMO become less interesting -- or my
tastes have changed, or both! ;-)

Mark Lipton


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alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.cwdjr.net