2012 Three Wine Company Established 1885 750 ml

“Established 1885” but Going STRONG in 2016!

The impassioned stories of the Italian and Portuguese immigrants who carved Zinfandel, Carignane, Mataro, Black Malvoisie, and Alicante Bouschet saplings into the white sands of Contra Costa have been well-documented on these pages. As many of the family patriarchs had been wine-grape farmers in the old country, on weekends they left the port of San Francisco and traveled by buggy and barge to Sonoma, hauling back bundles of 6-inch budwood to the East Bay. When they arrived, they got to work.

The families — with names like Evangelho, Jacuzzi, Lucchesi, and Spinelli — carved that budwood into white Delhi sand, choosing spots on the banks of the bay where cool breezes could temper the hot California sun. Believing that the sum of the varietal parts was greater than any individual element, each parcel featured five varieties, all of which were intended for final blends.

In 1982, fresh out of UC Berkeley and UC Davis, Matt Cline would be the first winemaker to identify the ancient-vine opportunity. One by one, he entered into handshake agreements for the fruit off those original plantings. Over the next three decades, Matt turned out a bevy of phenomenal old-vine reds, each infused with extravagant blackberry concentration, yet braced by low-pH, sandy-soil backbone.

But over the last decade, as home prices skyrocketed from San Jose to San Francisco, real estate developers scoured the Bay Area for opportunities. It wouldn’t be long before they set their sights on the white sands of Contra Costa. One morning, several years back, after pleading a case he had no shot of winning, Cline skipped breakfast, bringing just a thermos of black coffee on the ride from Napa to Oakley. An hour later, he watched as a couple Caterpillars ripped out 80 percent of the hundred-year-old Zinfandel at “Live Oak.” Less than a year later, a middle-income apartment building stood where head-trained Zinfandel had flourished for a century.

A couple days later, Cline returned to the scene of the crime. The property had been “scrubbed,” with a funeral pyre of twisted vines, many planted well before the turn of the 20th century, all that remained of one of California’s most historically significant Zinfandel vineyards. Matt resolved to “fight back” by crafting a single cuvée commemorating the work of the Evangelhos, Lucchesis, and Spinellis. He named the wine “Established 1885,” as every cluster that went into that extravagant black-fruit blend had been harvested from a vine planted in — or before — 1885!

On our first meeting with the 2012 “1885,” the wine BLEW OUR MINDS! When WineAccess members got a hold of the first shipment earlier this year they piled on, awarding the 2012 an average rating of 4.22 stars out of 5 — one of the highest scores of 2016.

Comprised of all five Contra Costa varieties, assembled in the same proportion as the makeup of the first vineyard plantings! Equal parts 127+year-old Zinfandel, Carignane, and Mataro, and spiked with a dash of jammy ancient-vine Black Malvoisie and deeply colored, firm-tannin Alicante Bouschet. Brilliant jet-black to the rim, with voluptuous aromas of blackberry preserves, violets, graphite, and sweet herbs. MASSIVE on the attack, featuring a richly textured gumbo of mountain blueberries and crushed-black-fruit jam. Still, despite the stupendous opulence of the 2012 vintage, the finish remains high-toned and vibrant, with a finished pH of just 3.61. Drink now (hard not to), or far better, lay this one down until the mid 2020s. Handsome dividends will be doled out to the patient.

A total production of only 750 cases, 25 more just got earmarked for WineAccess. $38/bottle at the Three tasting room. $24 today for a fortunate few. Shipping included on 6 bottles or more.