1995 Ancient Vines Mourvedre- Contra Costa County Cline Cellars
1995 Ancient Vines Mourvedre
Contra Costa County

Technical Notes
1995 Ancient Vines Mourvedre
Contra Costa County
HARVEST DATE: 5 to 9 September
BRIX AT HARVEST: 25.2 to 26.7
TOTAL ACIDITY: 0.72 g/100ml
FINAL pH: 3.32
RESIDUAL SUGAR: 0.020g/100ml
ALCOHOL: 14.0%


VINTAGES NOTES
1995 was an exceptionally long growing season in California. A wet winter and cool summer months allowed for ample water in our dry-farmed Contra Costa County vineyards as well as an even ripening, preserving intense varietal flavor and fine acid structure. Harvest was particularly late, and the added hang time lent our wines an incredible level of concentration. For Cline Cellars, 1995 is another in a string of exceptional vintages and will be noted for wines of intense, forward fruit.
VINEYARDS
The 1995 Ancient Vines Mourvedre draws from a wide selection of our oldest, most historic and shyest-bearing Mourvedre over 100 years in age--consistently produce fruit of stunning concentration. The lots that we hand-selected for the 1995 blend showed an added degree of ripeness and dimension that is the result of sensitive farming practices, the singular Oakley terrior and a unquie cooling band of air that flows in from the San Joaquin and Sacramento Rivers. By restricting yields to a minuscule 1.5 to 2 tons per acre, we have achieved sublime expression of the dark, dusty cherry fruit quality that is so characteristic of old vine, Contra Costa Mourvedre.
FERMENTATION AND AGING
Individual lots of fruit for the 1995 Ancient Vines Mourvedre were harvested separately according to ripeness and balance of acidity. The grapes underwent near total destemming and a very gentle crushing to ensure a large proportion of whole berries in the must--contributing to the explosive fruit character of the wine. Fermentation was carried out in stainless steel with select cultured yeasts after a 48 hour cold soak to extract color and flavor early on. The wines were pressed off their skins at dryness and racked twice before being laid down to a complement of small American and French cooperage--approximately 25% new American. Prior to bottling, separate lots of Mourvedre were blended together to achieve a balanced and harmonious wine, exhitbiting firm structure, ripe tannins and plush fruit.
WINEMAKER'S COMMENTS
Mourvedre, once widely planted in California at the turn of the century, has dwindled in acreage to just under 300 acres in 1997. Of this remaining acreage, Cline controls a full 90%, making us the sole bearers of an important and historic Californian viticultural tradition. An interesting grape to work with in the cellar. Mourvedre is particularly resistant to oxidization and is capable of producing wines with firm structure and rich, dark fruit that will age for over a decade. The 1995 Ancient Vines Mourvedre, our first release under this new label, is a beautiful example of how well our 100 plus year old Mourvedre vines respond to modern wine making techniques. Redolent of dark cherry, chocolate, eucalyptus, exotic spice and earth character, the 1995 Ancient Vines Mourvedre is delicious presently and will age for well over a decade.

Back to Cline Cellars' Wine List
History | Tasting Room | Cline Times | Special Events | Home | Comments
Copyright © 1997 Cline Cellars Inc., All Rights Reserved