Behind the Cork™ - Cline Family Cellars Ancient Vines Zinfandel

2020 Cline Family Ancient Vines Zinfandel ($16)

Fred Cline founded Cline Family Cellars in 1982 in Oakley, California, which is part of Conta Costa County. With this 40th year vintage, they have created the special anniversary bottle design shown in the photo.

The 2020 Ancient Vines Zinfandel draws from their oldest, most historic Zinfandel blocks. There, the soils are deep sand from the banks of the San Joquin and Sacramento River delta’s which have been depositing the sand from the Sierra Nevada mountain range for millennia. Their ancient, dry-farmed vineyards have survived through phylloxera and prohibition and consistently produce great fruit.

The Zinfandel grapes for 2020 vintage underwent near total destemming and a very gentle crushing to ensure a large proportion of whole berries in the must which contributes to the fruit character of the wine. The grapes were fermented in temperature-controlled open-top concrete tanks. The wines were pressed off their skins and aged in 40% French oak for 15 months before being blended and bottled.

This 2020 Cline Family Ancient Vines Zinfandel is deep ruby in color with aromas of black berry and black plum with herbal notes. On the palate it is medium-bodied with flavors of black and red fruits, some spiciness and finishes with sweet tobacco and chocolate.

This 40th anniversary Cline Family Ancient Vines Zinfandel is a great value and widely available, making it a great fit as the Behind the Cork™ wine of the week. Look for this one at your favorite wine seller and check them out on the web at clinecellars.com Cheers!

---

Disclosure of Wine Sample Submission: I received this sample at no cost for review. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Sample Provided by Cline Family Cellars (via Donna White Communications)

Behind the Cork™ - Rombauer El Dorado Twin Rivers Zinfandel

2017 Rombauer El Dorado “Twin Rivers” Zinfandel ($42)

Rombauer’s El Dorado (“the golden”) Vineyard is located 1,650 feet above sea level in the Sierra Foothills of El Dorado County, California. Its sandy soils, high elevation, and warm days and cool night air are ideal for growing Zinfandel.

The grapes were carefully de-stemmed and sorted to ensure only perfect fruit made it into the wine. A cold soak extracted color and flavor before primary fermentation began. The wine was then gently pressed, racked to oak barrels to finish primary fermentation, malolactic conversion, and aging in French and American oak for 15 months.

The Rombauer Twin Rivers Zinfandel is composed of 85% Zinfandel and 15% Petite Sirah.

This wine is medium ruby red with plum, black cherry and hints of wood on the nose. On the palate it has rich dark fruits flavors along with notes of smoke and oak. The tannins are very light and smooth. The wine finishes light and easy.

I’m a big fan of wines from El Dorado and this Twin Rivers Zinfandel from Rombauer is a great one! Cheers!

Behind the Cork™ - Silvia Cellars Old Vine Zinfandel

2013 Dry Creek Old Vine Zinfandel Reserve ($35)

The inspiration for Silvia Cellars began in 1885 on a family owned vineyard in Sicily. Striving to create quality wine for his dinner table, Nonno Silvia shared a passion for vendemmia (harvesting) of his vines with the members of his family. Over a century later, Antonio Silvia carried on his Grandfather’s legacy by starting his own winery with the same values. Silvia Cellars, a family owned winery, was born from the desire to capture the best of California appellations from seeking growing sites that fit their Sicilian winemaking style.

This Silvia Cellars Old Vine Zinfandel is produced from vines that are more than 50 years in age and in some cases, more than 90 years old. It is comprised of 90% Old Vine Zinfandel 5% Petit Syrah 5% Carignane. The Zinfandel in this wine comes from a blend of 87% Dry Creek valley grapes, 6% from Alexander Valley and 7% from Mendocino County. It was aged 14 months in American and Hungarian oak, 15% of which was new oak.

This Zinfandel is medium purple in color with aromas of dark red fruit and soft floral perfume. On the palate it’s very smooth with low tannin and peppery hints. It’s finish is most notable being long and complex with notes from the oak aging.

You can find Silvia Cellars wines on https://silviacellars.com

---

Disclosure of Wine Sample Submission: I received this sample at no cost for review. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Sample Provided by Antonio Silvia, Managing Director of Silvia Cellars LLC

Behind the Cork™ - Rockpile Winery Zinfandel

2016 Rockpile Winery Zinfandel ($47)

This Rockpile Zinfandel is produced by Mauritson wines in Heldsburg CA.

The Rockpile Ridge Vineyard is located at nearly 1,200 feet in elevation in the Rockpile appellation. This vineyard has sweeping sun exposures from southeast to northwest and consists of nine distinctly different blocks of Zinfandel. The blocks are harvested at different times and fermented separately to ensure the integrity and uniqueness of the individual blocks. The winery’s notes state “Working with the different sun exposures, soil compositions, slopes and drainages is a winemaking dream come true.”

This Rockpile Ridge Vineyard Zinfandel gets a bit of a boost from the addition of 5% Petite Sirah.

It’s pale ruby in color with aromas of blue berry, blackberry and boysenberry jam. It’s easy on the palate with soft tannin and a light, peppery finish. This is truly an outstanding wine that deserves to be included in the Behind the Cork™ “Exceptional Wines” feature.

Checkout all the Mauriton Family wines on www.mauritsonwines.com or visit the Mauritson Family Winery at 2859 Dry Creek Road in Healdsburg California. Cheers!

Behind the Cork™ - Alexander Valley Vineyards Primitivo

2013 Alexander Valley Vineyards Primitivo ($45)

This week’s Behind the Cork™ feature is a special one. During my last visit to Alexander Valley Vineyards I had the pleasure of spending time in the tasting room with Denise Gill, their Tasting Room Manager. And, I got to taste a bunch of really great wines.

This Alexander School Reserve Primitivo was one of several that I brought home.

The grapes are from their Wetzel Family Estate, located on the property settled in the 1840’s by Alexander Valley’s namesake, Cyrus Alexander. And, the Alexander School Reserve wines focus on some of the best and most unique lots of grapes that they harvest each year.

If you know Primitivo, you know that its DNA analysis proved that Zinfandel and Primitivo are the same variety. But, at the Wetzel Family Estate, they grow both side by side in a tiny hillside vineyard planted high above the winery, and they claim that flavors of each are dramatically different.

They state that the Primitivo has “loads of black fruit with great acidity, while the Zinfandel has jammy raspberry flavors and lots of spice.” I have to strongly agree!

This is a special one. Next time you are in Alexander Valley, you must stop at Alexander Valley Vineyards. In addition to a great bunch of wines offered in their tasting room, they have extensive wine caves that can be toured upon special request.

This Primitivo was a real pleasure. Look for it. Cheers!