2018 Three Wine Company Zinfandel Old Vines Contra Costa County 750 ml

Fields once covered Contra Costa County. Today, the area is better for suburban sprawl. But between the high-rises and strip malls, Matt Cline has been working tirelessly to protect the gnarled old head-pruned vineyards that offer a vanishing glimpse into the 19th century—and some of the best fruit in the state of California.

His dedication to these ancient vines—and the concentration of the grapes they produce—has made Three Wine Company’s Old Vines Zinfandel our top-selling Zin of all time. For over a decade, Wine Access members have taken home more of this bottling than any other—around a million dollars’ worth!

Grown on Matt’s “Big Three” sites—Evangelho (129 years old), Bigelow (100+ years old), and Mazzoni–Live Oak (138 years old)—the 2018 edition is bursting with black-fruit intensity, not to mention gorgeous spice and complexity.

At Cline’s favored vineyards, vines the size of small trees reach up, craning skyward in shapes that defy modern viticulture and would make most Napa vineyard managers cringe. Between what passes for rows, the vines are marked Mataró (Mourvèdre), Carignan, Zinfandel, and Malvasia Nera. They were planted helter-skelter over a century ago in the traditional “field blend” style pioneered by early farmers across Europe. 

It would be almost 100 years before a young Matt Cline, the grandson of Valeriano Jacuzzi, would walk us through the tree-like vines. He would describe their lives and how each one still ekes out a few clusters every year, the tiny berries packed with dense red-fruit concentration.

In 2018, Cline dialed up the hits again for another ancient-vine KNOCKOUT. A blend of 76% Zinfandel, 8% Carignan, 8% Petite Sirah, and 8% Alicante Bouschet, it’s big, bold, and sumptuously rich.