Cline Cellars
1999 Côtes D' OakleyVin Blanc
California
TECHNICAL NOTES
1999 Côtes D' Oakley Vin Blanc
HARVEST DATE: August 30th - October 1st
BRIX AT HARVEST: 24.4°
TOTAL ACIDITY: 0.52 g/100ml
FINAL pH: 3.49
RESIDUAL SUGAR: 0.643 g/100ml
ALCOHOL: 14%
SUGGESTED RETAIL: $8.50
VINTAGES NOTES
The last harvest of the millennium proved to be a year to remember. The 1999 harvest brought on both patience and
courage. This harvest will go down in California's winemaking history as one of the latest and longest, with spring
rains and cool weather pushing harvest back four to six weeks. Fortunately, Mother Nature began to cooperate in
late September with a warming trend, thus ripening our vineyards to full maturity. Despite the lateness of the
harvest, wines from various regions of the state showed a consistently forward fruit character and stunning acidity,
giving our Vin Blanc its lively, floral personality.
VINEYARDS
A wine such as our Vin Blanc, made from so many diverse varietals and appellations, is necessarily the product
of a multitude of different terriors and micro-climates. What we consider to be the heart and soul of the Vin Blanc
program is a small vineyard of head-trained, old vine Palomino and Semillon planted in the unique sandy soils of
Contra Costa County. Low yields and the warm Contra Costa summers give the wines a special sense of power and richness.
Additionally, Sauvignon Blanc from a hillside vineyard on the western mountains of Sonoma Valley adds crispness
and lush fig notes. The Gewürztraminer adds a dense and exotic bouquet of spice and floral notes. Other grapes
including Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Roussanne, Marsanne and Viognier from our Carneros ranch; Muscat Canelli from
Sonoma Valley; fill out this wine's charming and multi-faceted personality. First and foremost, when selecting
grapes and wines for the Vin Blanc program, we are particularly conscious of good acid balance, intensity of fruit
and what a single varietal will offer to the blend as a whole.
FERMENTATION AND AGING
Our 1999 Côtes D'Oakley Vin Blanc is a true winemaker's cocktail. The production techniques used to create
this unique blend were diverse, as each grape varietal was made separately, undergoing fermentation and aging best
suited to its character. Chardonnay underwent full barrel and malolactic fermentation in new, heavy toast American
oak barriques, while Palomino was aged in 1,970 gallon French oak upright tanks. For a large portion of the blend,
cold-fermentation in stainless steel and blocking of malolactic fermentation provided wonderful freshness and forward
fruit. Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier were barrel-aged on their fine yeast lees and stirred bi-weekly to add
complexity and richness, while Gewürztraminer, Pinot Gris and Muscat Canelli were cold-fermented, adding tingling
acidity and a faint hint of sweetness. Most importantly, extensive measures were taken to prevent oxidization of
the juice and wine, ensuring that the 1999 Vin Blanc tastes fresh and lively. The finished wine was bottled in
early May after a light filtration to preserve as much freshness, fruit and varietal characters as possible.
WINEMAKER'S COMMENTS
The Côtes D'Oakley Vin Blanc now in its fifth year of production, I have set out to increase production of
this unique wine without compromising its sophisticated quality. New to the blend this year are Gewürztraminer
and Pinot Gris, both varieties from France's Alsace region. I am extremely pleased with the outcome of this vintage,
as the blend offers an added degree of complexity, nice, rich tropical notes and great acidity. We intend this
wine to be a uniquely Cline interpretation of an everyday table white--adventurous, affordable, delicious and always
a "Best Buy"! I recommend that you enjoy the 1999 Côtes d' Oakley Vin Blanc well chilled as an
aperitif and with all means of summer cuisine, pasta salads and appetizers such as vine ripe tomatoes and fresh
mozzarella drizzled with your best extra-virgin olive oil.
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