2014 Three Wine Company Established 1885 Red Wine Contra Costa County 750 ml

Matt Cline’s wines have inspired thousands of near-perfect Wine Access member reviews, yet he’s called the rich and sumptuous Established 1885 his “dream wine.” 

Contained in this bottle are grapes from 125+ year-old vines, a dark-fruited masterwork showcasing all the power and finesse that never cease to amaze us about Matt’s wines. Ask him about this perfectly-balanced blend of Zinfandel, Carignane, and Mataró and you’ll hear the genuine passion in his voice while he relays the sheer uniqueness that makes it a “dream wine” fulfilled.

This back-vintage classic isn’t just made from his best vineyards, but from the most pristine grapes in each vineyard block. It’s essentially a “reserve” version of his Old Vine Field Blend, Matt told us. That’s truly special, considering the Field Blend has been an overwhelming member-favorite for a decade. Given members’ sellout devotion to Three Wine and our incredible price, this allocation is as good as gone.

In a word, Matt describes the Established 1885 as “seamless,” with endless layers and more complexity than almost anything else he’s made. “In the beginning, you get red and black fruit from the Zin,” he said. “Which develops into black cherry and silky tannins from the Carignane. The Mataró is the glue that keeps it all together with earthiness and spice.” Matt knows more about California’s iterations of these grapes than just about anyone, and he’s crafted them into a fine-tuned, deeply contemplative wonder, a wine he absolutely loves, and so do we. 

To make it, he tapped two of his best vineyards, go-to sites for his single-vineyard showpieces—Bigelow, which has produced Zinfandels that rival those from giants like Ridge and Spinelli, an acclaimed source for Mataró.

Bigelow and Spinelli’s ancient vines are planted in Delhi sandy soils that look almost like pure beach sand, and they eke out tiny, richly-concentrated grapes with scintillating natural acidity. To the nearly-equal parts Zinfandel, Carignane, and Mataro, Matt adds splashes of Petite Sirah, Black Malvoisie, and Alicante Bouschet that deepen the wine’s color and aromatics. 

Historians should exhibit this blend as a veritable snapshot of early California viticulture. The grapes are a reflection of the varieties that dominated the landscape during the California wine industry’s early, pre-Prohibition days. “The question was, why did early growers plant so much of those three varieties?” Matt explained. “When I made this wine, I found out: it’s the complete wine.”