Deep ruby-black color; black cherry, cinnamon on the nose; black cherry, blackcurrant, raspberry, licorice, chocolate, cinnamon, baking spice, pepper on the palate.
Dry; very ripe, rich, rustic. A brawny pour, as zins often can be. Typically restrained, silky zin tannins. Soft acidity (3.76 pH). Ripe fruit gives it illusion of sweetness. Almost jammy. Medium-plus body. Adds up to lush easy drinker with a dollop of earthy attitude. Makes for a zinner winner with many palates. 14.5% ABV
Grapes hand-harvested at night, gently destemmed, then transferred to closed-top stainless steel tanks and warm-fermented with wild yeasts. Wine stays on the skins for 18 days with twice-daily pump-overs, except at peak fermentation when pump-overs are three times a day. Malolactic fermentation follows in separate fractions. Aged 15 months in 40% new French oak. Cline Cellars are zin masters; this is example of their skill.
The Dry Creek Valley in Sonoma County is one of the smallest AVAs in California. Fertile, well-drained soils engender varietal character, while its long, hot days are followed by cool nights, allowing grapes to achieve full phenolic ripeness and balance. The valley is home to family-owned vineyards and wineries. Many of the zinfandel vineyards are more than a century old. Cline may have the most acreage of such old vines in California. Their vines are head-trained with eight spurs and rooted on old, gnarled, own-rooted vines. Such low yields yield wines of marvelous concentration.
Fred Cline marches to different drummer. While some of his generation frolicked in the 1960s, Fred learned the ways of soil and farming from Valeriano Jacuzzi—Fred Cline’s maternal grandfather and one of seven Jacuzzi brothers who pioneered in American aviation and water pumps. When you turn on the Jacuzzi in your hot tub you are enjoying his family’s work. Eschewing aircraft and whirlpool devices, Fred and his wife, Nancy, decided to go into the wine business in the 1980s. Today, two of their children, Hilary and Henry Cline are active in the business.
Cline’s first mission was restoring old vines and vineyards growing Rhone-style wine vines, such as syrah and mourvèvdre. Later came attention to ancient—some more than a century old—zinfandel, and Cline became famous for its zins. This wine is in that tradition.
In cooperation with legendary farmer Bob Cannard, the Clines founded Green String Farm, a 150-acre working farm that produces a variety of fruits and vegetables grown on soil that is tended and nurtured without toxic chemicals. Green String and Cline’s vineyards go “beyond organic.” They use no pesticides and herbicides. They incorporate sheep and goats for weed control (see link to video below), apply compost teas, encourage beneficial insects, apply ground volcanic cinders to replenish soils, and use whey to feed the microbiome. Cline wines are vegan, gluten free, and the vineyards are Certified California Sustainable.
Cline Family Cellars Eight Spur Zinfandel, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County 2020 is smooth, luxuriant expression of old vine Dry Creek Valley zinfandel. Rich, ripe almost to the point of jammy—but pulls up short of that boundary. Pair with beef; lamb; veal; poultry—rotisserie, baked, broiled, grilled chicken; comfort foods—pizza, meatloaf, spaghetti and meatballs, barbecue, burgers and sliders. Cheese—gorgonzola, romano, cheddar, raw milk manchego, asiago—cheese with bold flavors. $25-30
