Something old, very old, like pre-Prohibition grapevines that are part of California vinicultural history, but probably very new to your table. One winery’s focus on “ancient vines.”

Napa: Cline Cellars

Much of what you see printed on a wine label is subject to law, but the terms “old vines” and “ancient vines” are not. They have no specific or legal meaning, but they do have tantalizing implications. Generally, the older the vine is, the lower the yield. This produces grapes with more intense flavor that in turn produce wines with greater concentration and depth.

Wineries have usually been careful in using the term, so unlike another unregulated term, “reserve” which is overused and often meaningless, “old vines” carries a specific message. On French labels you will sometimes see “vieilles vigne;” on Italian labels, "vigna vecchia;" and on Spanish labels,
”viñas viejas;” The oldest vines in this country are in California, usually zinfandel that escaped the threats of phylloxera and prohibition.

I recently examined three bottles labeled “ancient vines” from Cline Cellars in Contra Costa County, between San Francisco and Sacramento. Cline grows grapes in two other California locations, but the old vines are sited around the town of Oakley, which was home more than a century ago to Italian and Portuguese immigrants who planted thousands of acres of orchards and vineyards. Much of that is no longer farmland, of course, but Cline controls about 300 of the 600 remaining acres of grapes. The winemaking facilities were moved to the Carneros region of Sonoma County.

It’s an interesting history, emblematic of the agricultural history of California, and I was hoping to find some nuance of that history, some frisson of romance, in the taste of the wines. Is such a thing possible? I think so, if we let our imagination work along with our taste buds.

Cline Cellars 2005 Ancient Vines Zinfandel comes from vines more than 100 years old, and is blended with small quantities of two other grapes. I found it both intense and nuanced, more so than typical California zinfandels. The mellow raspberry, raisin and blackberry flavors are subdued but linger on the palate. You can detect some coffee and chocolate and leather in the nose along with subtle hints of oak. Overall, it is sleek, ripe and deep, providing a rich drinking experience.

Cline Cellars 2005 Ancient Vines Mourvedre interested me because while I have occasionally come across California mourvedre, I had not really seen much of this grape in the United States. After a bit of research I realized that it was formerly known as mataro in this country and in Australia, but was reinvented in recent years with its swankier French name.

Usually grown in the south of France, and most commonly used in blends, mourvedre tends to be tannic and high in alcohol, characteristics of a hot climate. But it is capable, in the right hands, of producing a rich, harmonious wine. If you’ve ever sipped a Bandol, the lovely wine from Provence, you’ve tasted it. I liked Cline’s version—medium body, smooth, hints of spice and cocoa, and a pungent edge—although I could not really connect it to the many mourvedre-dominated blends I have enjoyed in the Midi, in France. But short of a side-by-side tasting, there is no good way to compare varietals from different climates and continents. Carignane is another interesting grape choice. It can be a rough wine on its own but an important balancing component in blends. It is widely grown in France, Italy, Spain,

Algeria and Israel. Once extensively planted in the New World, its use has faded considerably in this country. Cline Cellars 2005Ancient Vines Carignane was a revelation as well as a reminder that this is a grape worth keeping around, if only in a minor role. It is dark and fairly full bodied, bold, fleshy and spirited, with those rougher edges tamed. Carignane will never threaten the American preference for the more subtle cabernet sauvignon, but it is food-friendly, and makes for a good, offbeat choice.

Each of the Cline ancient vines varietals sells for about $16. That is certainly reasonable enough to enable us to experiment with something that is very old and part of the winemaking history of California—but that will probably be very new to our tables.