It’s time for another double-header review. Today it’s from Cline Cellars located in the Los Carneros AVA in Sonoma, California. The Cline Cellars winery was founded by Fred Cline in 1982 with an inheritance from his grandfather Valeriano Jacuzzi (one of five brothers who created Jacuzzi Spas). The winery was originally in Oakley, California and relocated to its current 350 acre estate in 1991.
Earlier this year Cline Cellars was recognized for sustainable business practices. They were given the Sustainable 6 Award for generating 100% of the winery’s electricity with solar power and for following organic and sustainable farming practices.
Cline Cellars is best known for creating Rhône-style wines and Zinfandel. They produce several different labels of Zinfandel ranging in price from $9 to $34. We checked out the two Zinfandels offered by Cline for under $20.
Cline 2006 Zinfandel (red label)
“Oh my, this is too jammy,” was the thought that kept echoing through my head as I tasted this wine.
Blackberry jam, fruitcake, vanilla and a wisp of leather make up the nose. And as I said, the palate is REALLY jammy. This would be good if it were slightly thicker so that I could spread it on some toast. It seriously tastes like blackberry jam. Good blackberry jam, but it’s too much in a glass of wine.
There’s a bit of plum and cherry on the palate too. There’s not enough earth or spice to give it much character. It’s very syrupy—in fact, the legs in the glass are thick and run like honey. There are mild tannins and tart fruit on the finish.
This wine has characteristics that resemble a Zinfandel, but it’s not a great Zin and I can’t recommend it. In fact, it was too sweet for me to finish it.
Wine: Cline 2006 Zinfandel
Varietal: Zinfandel
Vintage: 2006
Alcohol: 14%
Rating: 78
Price Paid: $8.99
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Cline 2006 Ancient Vines Zinfandel
This is a much better wine than the red label. It has a hot leather characteristic to it. The nose is mostly cedar and black pepper. But there is also leather and cherry. While there is some cherry aroma, the fruit on the nose is fairly subtle.
On the contrary, the palate is full of fruit (but it’s not overly jammy like the entry-level Cline Zin). Cherry, blackberry and plum are all in there with a nice peppery high note. There is some vanilla, blackberry and cedar on the finish.
Overall, I enjoyed this one.
Wine: Cline 2006 Ancient Vines Zinfandel
Variety: Zinfandel
Vintage: 2006
Alcohol: 14.5%
Rating: 85
Price Paid: $14.99
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