1996 Ancient Vines Carignane Label Cline Cellars
1996 Ancient Vines Carignane
Contra Costa County

Technical Notes
1996 Ancient Vines Carignane
Contra Costa County
HARVEST DATE: August 19 to September 23
BRIX AT HARVEST: 22.4° to 24.9°
TOTAL ACIDITY: 0.77g/100ml
FINAL pH: 3.50
RESIDUAL SUGAR: 0.102g/100ml
ALCOHOL: 14.0%
SUGGESTED RETAIL: $18.00

VINTAGES NOTES
At Cline Cellars, we will remember 1996 as an exceptionally warm and short growing season--particularly, as one that favored our old Carignane vines, which we use for our Ancient Vines and vineyard designated bottlings. Late May rains reduced crop size, significantly concentrating sugars in the grapes, while consistently warm summer weather thickened skins, endowing our wines with dark, vivid colors and rich flavors. A maritime cooling trend influenced our Contra Costa vineyards in 1996, maintaining good acidity and balance in the fruit. Overall, '96 will be noted for wines of rich forward fruit and supple tannins.
VINEYARDS
The 1996 Ancient Vines Carignane draws from a wide selection of our oldest, most historic and shyest-bearing Carignane over 100 years in age--consistently produce fruit of stunning concentration. The lots that we hand-selected for the 1996 blend showed an added degree of ripeness and dimension that is the result of sensitive farming practices, the singular Oakley terrior and a unique 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 Carignane.
FERMENTATION AND AGING
Individual lots of fruit for the 1996 Ancient Vines Carignane 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 Carignane were blended together to achieve a balanced and harmonious wine, with plenty of ripe berry fruit, spicy earth and supple tannins.
WINEMAKER'S COMMENTS
Carignane is one of the world's most planted yet under-appreciated varietals. Cultivated extensively in Spain, France's Rhône Valley and in California--as a reliable source of fruity, inexpensive wine--Carignane is an important blending grape, offering ripe, bright fruit, supple structure and fine acids. Only a handful of winemakers have afforded this misunderstood grape the attention and care it requires to show its full potential as a varietal wine. By selecting lost of fruit from my finest 100 plus year old Carignane vineyards, I am able to fashion a rich, intense and brooding wine that I feel compares favorably to the very best Carignane cuvees prestiges from the Rhône Valley. This wine is dense with cherry, chocolate and fresh earthy character. It drinks deliciously now, showing effusive fruit, and will fill out beautifully with short-term cellaring. Back to Cline Cellars' Wine List
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