Cline Live Oak Vineyard Zinfandel 2023

Concentrated and complex flavours of sweet fresh berries, dried figs and prunes, roasted coffee and liquorice. Well balanced with good acidity which harmonises with the ample body and alcohol. It finishes with good length and smooth, silky tannins. This is a big wine which maintains surprising elegance alongside its obvious charms.

A stunning old vineyard in Oakley, COntra COsta County, was planted over a 120 years ago when California was a very different place. Urbanisation has strung up around this historic vineyard and the railroad which took grapes to the east coast during prohibition still runs through the vineyard to this day. It remains as a testament to the perseverance of winemakers and produces wine which are uniquely Californian. The vineyards, which run adjacent to the road, consistently make some of Cline’s most complex, concentrated and unique lots of Zinfandel. Cline Cellars has chosen to dry-farm the ancient, head-pruned vines, a practice employed by the Italian and Portuguese immigrants who planted this vineyard well before the turn of the century.

The Oakley terroir is characterized by the hot sun, sandy soil, and a unique band of air that flows from the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers, producing a stunning and concentrated Zinfandel. The grapes from the Live Oak Vineyard were harvested at high natural sugar levels and treated gently in the cellar to emphasize the explosive fruit characteristic of the block. The fruit was almost entirely de-stemmed and lightly crushed, with a large proportion of whole berries remaining in the must. Fermentation occurred at moderate temperatures in stainless steel tanks, using a selection of cultured yeasts. After eight days of gentle “pump-overs” and near dryness, they drained and pressed the wine from its skins. The Live Oak Zinfandel was minimally handled before being put down to barrel. The wine was aged for 15 months in 40% new, medium toasted, French oak barrels.