Cline- Mourvédre

Hey Everyone,

Today's wine to try is a lovely, friendly take on the Mourvédre grape from California's Contra Costa County. Produced by the consistent wine-makers at Cline, this Mourvédre is a nice bottle of wine and a good example of an all-too rare grape variety, which has excellent potential in the dynamic climates of California. A very thick skinned grape and potentially highly tannic and age-worthy, this has been made in a more friendly, fruit forward style, even more so than the Bandolier, which I reviewed last week.

The wine is deep in colour but not entirely opaque as I have seen with other wines made of this grape variety, indicating that it has spent less time macerating (the process by which colour and tannin is extracted from the skins into the juice) than the Bandolier or more serious Mourvédre wines.

That said, the aromas are quite forward in style. Big notes of juicy black berries, stewed prunes and plums come forward with little hints of spice here and there. Not as herbal as some French mourvédres I've had but the mroe the wine breathes, the more I convince myself that there is some thyme and possibly even a hint of green pepper in there. In fact, given this wine blind, I am certain I would be likely to mistake it for a standard Californian Zinfandel.

True to it's zinfandel-like form, the palate is super juicy and jammy, with flavours of ribena and creme de cassis covering the tongue. Though I am beginning to feel that this wine is a bit superfluous (why pay twenty-odd quid for a wine that is basically serving the same purpose as a typical Zinfandel?) I do have to give credit where it is due, it is well executed and carries it's 15% alcohol level with considerable grace. The tannins are moderate and the body medium to heavy with a nice fruity profile while the wine as a whole is well balanced and easily enjoyable.

If you like your nice juicy wines, and want to try something a little different from the standard Zin, this Mourvédre is a very pleasing bottle from an established producer in California and is definitely worth considering.

Much Love,

G

 

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