1998 Cline Mourvedre Ancient Vines Contra Costa

[raggedy1]

Popped this open last night. My initial impression was that I would not pay for more of this at 12 bucks. Then after 20 minutes or so I had other thoughts: A good food wine. Dark fruit, light-med spice and hints of vanilla on the smooth, medium length finish. If I didn't know better, I would have guessed I was drinking a Chateaneuf du Pape. Granted, this wouldn't fool me into thinking I was drinking a 30 dollar CdP, but maybe a 20 dollar one. With that in mind, I may buy more and use this to satisfy my CdP cravings while my 98 Rhones sit and mature...

[mrdutton]

All of Cline's 1998 releases seem to be especially good! Unfortunately, besides us wine drinkers taking notice, the folks at WS also took notice and managed to rate Cline with a couple of 90+ point wines.

Hopefully this discovery will be short-lived, so we can continue to enjoy Cline at a reasonable price.

My daily drinker when I can get it is the Cline Cotes d'Oakley. Their Zinfandel and their Mourvedre are really quite good.

As you may know, I've been giving praise to Cline for a couple of years (ever since I "discovered" them). Cline Vineyards is a member of the Rhone Rangers.