2013 Three Wine Company Established 1885 750 ml

Old-Vine Richness and Beaucastel’s Secret Weapon

Turley, T-Vine, Hess, and Bedrock Wine Co. What’s the connection they all share? A zealot-like dedication to making powerhouse reds from the most storied vineyards in the Golden State—vines that Matt Cline has helped save from county bulldozers. Today’s 2013 Three Wine Company “Established 1885” Red is drawn from three of the oldest sites in California’s Contra Costa County: Evangelho, Spinelli, and Lucchesi. All of these parcels are decades into their second century, and all have served as sources of Matt’s single-vineyard masterworks. The combination of Zinfandel, Mataro, and Carignane in “Established 1855” come together in the kind of black-fruited wine that only vines of advanced age can produce—a gem that boasts deep concentration balanced by scintillating natural acidity.

Talking to winemaker Matt Cline, it’s tough to keep the conversation focused on one specific wine. That’s because Matt knows more about —and has done more with —sites that are so deeply woven into California’s long grape-growing history that to tell the story of a bottling out of its historical context would be all but impossible.  

None of Matt’s wines is steeped in more viticultural history than “Established 1885.” Not only do all three vineyard sites reach back into the 19th century, but the blend of Zinfandel, Carignane, and Mataro is itself a reflection of the varieties that dominated the landscape during the California wine industry’s early days. The fact that these vineyards are still thriving today is a testament to the wisdom and industriousness of the Portuguese and Italian immigrants who planted them by labor-intensive trial and error.

In the 2013 edition of “Established 1885,” which comes from Robert Parker’s “greatest vintage in 37 years,” Cline blends the spicy and aromatic Zinfandel grown in the deep sands of the Evangelho Vineyard with Carignane from the Lucchesi Vineyard and Mataro from the Spinelli Vineyard.

Mataro, which is known as Monastrell in Spain and Mourvèdre in France, is a major component of the legendary wines of Bandol in the South of France and Château de Beaucastel in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. It supplies the “Established 1885” with beautiful red fruit and herbaceousness.

The thousands of Wine Access clients who are already loyal Cline followers hit “Buy” straight from the subject line of this email. For those who have not tasted hedonism and history in one glass, this is your opportunity. Don’t miss it.