WTN: Two Clines (Viognier '19/Zin AncientVines '18)...(short

Been awhile since I've had some Cline wines, so cracked:
1. Cline Viognier NorthCoast/Calif (14.5%) 2019: Med.light yellow color w/ lots of small bubbles/dissolved CO2?; very attractive pear/peach/Viog/floral/gardenias quite pleasant nose; lightly tart/tangy slight spritz fairly strong pear/peach/Viog/foral refreshing/clean/bright quite attractive flavor; very long/lingering bit tart/tangy bright/floral/Viog/pear/bit spicy finish; far away from DollyParton territory; not a profound Viog and not a lot of depth but very attractive drinking at a great price; very well balanced & well made. $13.00 (KK)
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2. Cline Zin AncientVines ContraCostaCnty (14.5%; 100+ yr old vines) 2018: Med.dark color; strong blackberry/Zin/boysenberry/spicy quite dusty/OV classic ContraCosta/mushroomy/earthy/bit loamy light Am.oak quite attractive nose; soft slight tangy/tannic strong blackberry/Zin/licorice/spicy rather earthy/CC mushroomy/loamy rather dusty/OV light oak flavor w/ light smooth tannins; very long bit soft/lush strong blackberry/Zin/spicy rather earthy/CC loamy/mushroomy finish w/ light tannins; not the depth or intensity of a Carlisle/Bedrock Evangelho but quite an attractive/drinkable classic CC Zin w/ lots of dusty/OV character at a great price. $16.00 (KK)
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. When Matt & Fred Cline were partners, I used to see a lot more Cline around. The focus was on their old vines ContraCosta vnyds. When they split up, Matt got the bulk of the CC vnyds and Fred got the wnry south of the town of Sonoma and the Sonoma vnyds and those in the Petaluma Gap. Those wines I found much more interesting. When Fred hired Charlie Tsegelotus as winemaker, they took a real boost in quality. They also have the JacuzziWnry right across the highway that specializes in Italian varietals.
These two wines have always been two of my favorites, so I thought I'd revisit them. Just as good as I recall them being.
Tom

[David M. Bueker]

Do they still do the Mourvedre bottlings? I always loved those.

Do they still do the Mourvedre bottlings? I always loved those.

Yup, David...they still do ContraCosta Mourv. Believe it's still labeled "small berry".
My favorite Cline has always been the Syrah because most of the grapes are grown over in the cool-climate PetalumaGap.
Tom

Have always found some Cline wines to be a consistent, good value. Visited them pre-2000. The first time we drove by there was a tour bus. So we moved on and came back later that day.

Noted that Cline now has a series labeled Cashmere.

And, Menage a Trois has wines labeled Silk, Midnight, Decadence, Luscious, Lavish, etc. Saw some of those at Sprouts and the women in the checkout line were raving about them.

Coincidence? Further marketing to buyers who like wines like Middle Sister, Skinny Girl, Cupcake, insert cute name here....Inquiring minds.

We enjoy some well-composed red blends, but there are limits except for party wines. Not that we're doing any partying right now.

Cline's Sonoma tasting room is right next to Infineon Raceway (aka Sears Point). Back when I used to travel to the SF area to take in the Indy Car races at Laguna Seca, and later at Infineon, I always took a one-day tasting trip around Sonoma. Cline was always the first place I stopped. I always liked the wines. I didn't know that Fred and Matt had parted company. Matt now runs Three Wine Company. So Cline Cellars these days is Fred's wines?

-Paul W.

Per the website, no Matt was mentioned. Fred & Nancy Cline, daughters as second generation.

The land between Cline's Sonoma tasting room and Infineon Raceway is a pasture. One time when I was visiting I noticed a white bull on the hill and asked if it was a Charolais bull. They said yes, it was, and told me this story about it. There has been a lot of bickering between Cline Cellars and Infineon Raceway over the cattle in that pasture. "Your cattle keep getting onto our property." "That's because your race fans keep cutting the fence to sneak onto the raceway." One NASCAR weekend the tasting room staff noticed a group of fans sneaking across the far end of the pasture. The bull was on the top of the hill and was shaking his head and pawing the ground. A minute later he was chasing the race fans across the pasture. The Cline folks called this "the running of the rednecks."

-Paul W.

[David M. Bueker]

Per the website, no Matt was mentioned. Fred & Nancy Cline, daughters as second generation.

That makes sense, since it was not the most amicable split.