Not too long ago, Terry Buss led me to CLINE CELLARS in Sonoma County, where he worked the Tasting Room during weekends and some week days. I’d never been there, so it was really a working visit. I began with the 06 ROUSANNE (!6.00), which was not sweet, firm and crisp, and hard in terms of fruit. We continued with the 06VIOGNIER (Also $16), which was nice, with good stone fruit there.
Then I hit the reds, starting with the 05 OAKLEY REDS ($11), which was full of berry/cherry and black pepper. The 05 ANCIENT VINES MOURVEDRE ($18) had a nice fruit nose, good color, and lots of chocolate and plum on the palate. The 05 CASHMERE, blend of Mourvedre, Syrah ands Grenache, ($21)is spicy,mellow and has structure to its body. The 04 COOL CLIMATE SYRAH ($16) followed, a balanced wine with pepper, berries and a smoky nose. I thought this one, in the vernacular, quite quaffable.
We moved on to the 05 ANCIENT VINES ZINFANDEL ($18), which was a cherry explosion, with berry flavors. This was pretty darn good. The 05 LIVE OAK ZINFANDEL ($28) is smooth, with pepper and black fruits. Very nice, and very drinkable…
The 05 SMALL BERRY MOURVEDRE, from Contra Costa ($36) was full of cherries,anise, mint, chocolate, and quite tannic. Interesting tastes. Last was the 04 LOS CARNEROS SYRAH ($28), a smoky, rhone type which went down nicely.
The family that founded the Jacuzzi (named after the grandfather who invented it) is quite open to tours, lunches, picnics, tours, and all sorts of activities. A new facility is being built across the highway that should be a big tourist attraction. Well, better than a housing development.
Posted by Joel 
