SF Chronicle Article on World's Oldest Cinsault... In Lodi

I fun read and i really dug Birichino’s version:

Great story Brett - thanks!

Very cool story, thanks for the enlightenment.

Very cool story, thanks for the enlightenment. Now I want to try some.

It’s great to see this Vineyard and this variety get some notice. I’ve been working with the variety for a couple years now and absolutely dig it. I’m not fortunate enough to get fruit from this revered sight, but I dig what I am able to produce with the fruit hat I get. That Bechtold fruit is pretty darned special though . . .

A few notes:

According to the TTB, the ‘correct’ spelling is Cinsaut - without an ‘l’. When I bottled my first one in 2015, I spelled it with an L and it was approved. The last 2 years, when I’ve submitted my label in the same manner, they have said that I had to remove it.

One of the other names you CAN still use for this variety, according to the TTB, is Black Malvasia.

The berries are generally HUGE - imagine the largest table grape and you get the idea.

If you’re looking for a wine with tannic structure, look elsewhere - it can have beautiful texture but because of berry size, it will rarely contain much tannin. I help to add structure by going 100% whole cluster.

Cheers!

Thanks for the article. A terrific holding. I’m glad wineries have chosen to give it a spotlight.

Did you drink the Birichino Cinsault I donated? It’s a bit different than your version but I enjoy both.

Sean

Thanks and I did! Thank you . . . Very different but quite enjoyable.

Cheers!

Another very nicely done article by Esther…one of my most favorite wine writers.
What’s interesting is that they can pull 12 tons/acre off that vnyd. Most wine geeks
would turn down their noses at that kind of wine!! Of course…without bothering to taste it!!
I’ve liked Larry’s Cinsaults that I’ve tasted. A grape that the glou/glou winemakers should be pursuing.
If there were any available.
Tom

Great article, thanks for sharing.

Sounds fascinating B.C.! Save some for a football game next Fall…Sounds like a perfect tailgate wine!

Cheers!
Marshall [cheers.gif]

Interesting article. Early in my wine obsession I visited Cline Cellars and picked up this bottle which I still have today: https://pix.sfly.com/fSTYXS
(Sorry, I don’t know how to post pictures without a link). I am sure it is probably gone by now but I can’t part with it. At the time it was a very rare bottling for Cline and I don’t believe they have made it since. I reached out to them recently and got this reply from Charlie Tsegeletos, the winemaker.

Cinsault is a Rhone variety that does well in warm areas and can be light in color and body. There is not much of it in California - a whopping 73 acres which might turn into about 20,000 cases statewide . Most of it is blended with other varieties and that is what we do with the very small amount of Cinsault that we harvest from Oakley.

It sounds like the wine was stored properly but it is a quarter century old so you can bet the fresh fruit now has more of a dried fruit character and some interesting aged notes like cedar or cigar box. It would be fun to try it with dinner and perhaps have a more recent version of another Cinsault.

I’d love to hear how it turned out.

Best regards,

Charlie Tsegeletos

Winemaker

Turley still uses the “l”?

Buzz,

Pretty much ever bottling I’ve seen has spelled it with an ‘l’ - though the TTB insists that’s not how it’s ‘supposed’ to be spelled here in the US. Wineries can dispute this and file protests - and many do and succeed. Interesting indeed . . .

Cheers!

Or you can spell it “SinSo” LOL

  • 2015 Jessie’s Grove Winery Cinsault SinSo - USA, California, Central Valley, Lodi (8/29/2017)
    This comes from the oldest vines on the property planted before 1900. Strawberry with very soft mouthfeel and not much tannic structure. Comes across a bit mushy compared to the 2012 which I really liked. Still good just not a standout.

  • 2015 Jessie’s Grove Winery Cinsault SinSo - USA, California, Central Valley, Lodi (1/1/2017)
    This is always great and from a historic vineyard just adds to the pleasure. Not much is the way of structure, not flabby, but soft since the tannins are completely resolved. Dark plum fruit, garigue, light spice.

  • 2006 Jessie’s Grove Winery Cinsault SinSo - USA, California, Central Valley, Lodi (3/16/2013)
    Seriously good wine. Not much straight cinsault running around since it’s commonly added into Rhone blends. Color is dark garnet, like a pinot. Nose is spice and red fruit. Significant complexity on the palate and a long finish. Tasted at dinner so I couldn’t get granular on the note but Brooke is seeking out more. (92 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

Thanks for sharing this article, BLittle!!

I dug the additional comments from Brig, Leonard, & Larry, as well!!



• I suppose that a vine that produces a large-berried fruit would consequently yield greater tonnage-per-acre compared with other varieties, even if the bunch-to-vine ratio was reduced.

I wonder if vine age is as profound a factor in determining the quality of the wine when the proportion of juice-to-solids is lower, like in the case of Cinsau(l)t’s big ol’ fat grapes?


Cline Cellars’* Cinsault would probably sell well, if still offered today. Maybe the Carignan and Mourvédre satisfactorily fill the winery’s niche for odd stuff…?

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  • Unrelated, but interesting: old tasting notes of Cline bottlings from the mid-1990’s. Link

When we visited the winery I saw the vines. Surprised at the size, I was expecting big grarly heads like the zin all around that area and on the property.

Nope, much small than their zin counterpart.

Karma. Neighbors brought this over tonight. Freaky.
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Back label
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What is the ABV?