I've been a QPR fan of Cline's Old Vine Zin in some years, so when I saw
this on the shelf it seemed worth a try. And it was - OK, these folks are
pretty mass-market, but I really like a lot of their wines.

Anyway: initially a slight sharpness (that's a good thing in this case)
followed by a 'widening' in the mouth to give plenty of body; that
combination of immediate palate-cleansing followed rapidly by
mouth-filling (and I apologise for not having a better/more universal
vocabulary here!) persisted over the next hour, and earth tones became
more pronounced (the most of any wine I recall - this was really damp
leaves and truffle/fungus, all in a pleasant way).

At $15, very good value and, for me, an experience-widening different
taste vs. my usual Zins or meritage blends. I'm off to find some more
this evening; maybe a B+.

Ewan McNay wrote:
> I've been a QPR fan of Cline's Old Vine Zin in some years, so when I saw
> this on the shelf it seemed worth a try. And it was - OK, these folks
> are pretty mass-market, but I really like a lot of their wines.

Interesting comment, Ewan. Cline and Seghesio seem to be pushing for
much greater market penetration, as evidenced by my seeing their wines
on grocery shelves here in Indiana. (Still not on a par with seeing
Ravenswood wines in Target, though) However, AFAIK neither winery is
really mass-market in the sense of a Mondavi or Beringer. Fred Cline
was almost bankrupted a decade ago by legacy cleanup issues for some of
their land in the delta; unless they've been bought up by a mega-corp,
I'm not sure where this massive expansion is coming from.

>
> Anyway: initially a slight sharpness (that's a good thing in this case)
> followed by a 'widening' in the mouth to give plenty of body; that
> combination of immediate palate-cleansing followed rapidly by
> mouth-filling (and I apologise for not having a better/more universal
> vocabulary here!) persisted over the next hour, and earth tones became
> more pronounced (the most of any wine I recall - this was really damp
> leaves and truffle/fungus, all in a pleasant way).

That sounds familiar. I have some bottles of the '99 Cline Small Berry
Mourvedre that I purchased at the winery a few years ago. I remember it
as having a sappy, intense berry quality that bore no resemblance to
Bandol or Beaucastel, but which was still quite appealing. I'll have to
open one up soon and see how it's doing.

>
> At $15, very good value and, for me, an experience-widening different
> taste vs. my usual Zins or meritage blends. I'm off to find some more
> this evening; maybe a B+.
>

Thanks for the notes, Ewan.

Mark Lipton

I tried this wine in September, and I agree it is a good value. These
are my tasting notes on it and the small berry Mourved

2003, Cline, Mourvedre, Ancient Vines, Contra Costa County
Medium dark garnet color. The nose has aromas of raspberry and
chocolate with hints of pepper and species. The forward fruit had
flavors of cherry, chocolate and peppery spices, high acid, soft
tannins, and a long spicy finish. I think this is a delightful wine for
drinking over the next few years, and good value. 18,000 cases
produced. List price is $18, Cline wine club price only $13.50. My
rating 89.

2003, Cline, Mourvedre, Small Berry, Contra Costa County
Dark garnet color. Nose has aromas of cherry and eucalyptus. Big
intense fruit flavors of cherry, mint, chocolate and spices, moderate
acid, big soft tannins, and a long fruity finish. This is big, fruity
wine that can be paired with strongly favored foods. Alcohol is 15% but
the wine did not taste overripe. List price is $36, Cline wine club
price is $27. My rating is 90
-------------------------------------------
Mike's Wine Blog
http://mikeswinecellar.blogspot.com

wrote:

> I tried this wine in September, and I agree it is a good value. These
> are my tasting notes on it and the small berry Mourved
>
> 2003, Cline, Mourvedre, Ancient Vines, Contra Costa County
> Medium dark garnet color. The nose has aromas of raspberry and
> chocolate with hints of pepper and species. The forward fruit had
> flavors of cherry, chocolate and peppery spices, high acid, soft
> tannins, and a long spicy finish. I think this is a delightful wine for
> drinking over the next few years, and good value. 18,000 cases
> produced. List price is $18, Cline wine club price only $13.50. My
> rating 89.

Interesting to compare the terms used. Could you try to define what you
mean by 'species' here? Thanks.

On Mark's comment - I guess I just see the Cline name a lot when
wine-browsing, and assume that anything making it through to my cortex
that often must be mass-market (in contrast, while I like the Seghesio
stuff also, they're not as prevalent at least here in CT). 18,000 cases
seems like a lot to me, especially for an 'ancient vine' wine, but when
Mondavi is producing over 120 *million* bottles in a given year, perhaps not.

"Ewan McNay" > skrev i melding
...
>
>
> Interesting to compare the terms used. Could you try to define what you
> mean by 'species' here? Thanks.
>
spices, I guess
Anders

In article >, says...
>
>I've been a QPR fan of Cline's Old Vine Zin in some years, so when I saw
>this on the shelf it seemed worth a try. And it was - OK, these folks are
>pretty mass-market, but I really like a lot of their wines.
>
>Anyway: initially a slight sharpness (that's a good thing in this case)
>followed by a 'widening' in the mouth to give plenty of body; that
>combination of immediate palate-cleansing followed rapidly by
>mouth-filling (and I apologise for not having a better/more universal
>vocabulary here!) persisted over the next hour, and earth tones became
>more pronounced (the most of any wine I recall - this was really damp
>leaves and truffle/fungus, all in a pleasant way).
>
>At $15, very good value and, for me, an experience-widening different
>taste vs. my usual Zins or meritage blends. I'm off to find some more
>this evening; maybe a B+.

Thanks for the TN's. I too have been a fan of the Cline offerings. I've had
several tastings of older vintages of the OVM. With about 3-5 years, I've
found that the edges "round off" a bit. I've not tasted any fresh. Because of
the various varietals that Cline does, I try and find as many as I can. What a
wonderful array. I probably need to try some upon release, just to have a
control.

Hunt