Boutinot adds Cline Cellars to portfolio

UK importer and agent Boutinot has boosted its Californian portfolio, with the addition of Sonoma’s Cline Cellars.

The US family-owned vineyard and winery, which was established in 1982, comprises around 460 acres in Contra Costa County and Sonoma County, which grows Rhône varieties and Zinfandel from vines that date to 1906.

Boutinot’s Alex Gittins said he was thrilled to add the well-established wine producer to its portfolio, and would be targeting the on-trade and independents with a five-strong range.

“While others in California were focusing on Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay in the ‘80s, [Cline’s founder] Fred Cline saw the potential of Rhône varieties and Zinfandel in his vineyards,” he said. “He’s always worked to tread a tricky, but highly rewarding line – producing wines which have all the appealing, ripe fruit you might expect from California but in an authentic, terroir-driven style. Today his range runs the full gamut from full, blood thirsty fruit bombs to the finer, oak influenced examples which combine power, finesse and class.”

The wines Boutinot will represent comprise Cline Cellars Lodi Zinfandel, North Coast Viognier, Nancy’s Vines Zinfandel, Ancient Vines Mourvèdre, and Live Oak Zinfandel.

The UK-based producer, importer and distributor, which was bought out in a management buy out in March 2013, supplies restaurants, retailers and wholesalers across the UK on and off-trade, with a range of its own products, as well as the 100 or so wineries it represents across the Old and New World.