Carlisle Winery & Vineyards was founded in 1998 by Mike and Kendall Officer. Their passion is clear: Small lots of Zinfandel and Syrah from exceptional, historic vineyards.
Bright purple in color. 15.0% ABV. 100% Syrah from the Santa Lucia Highlands. Powerful nose of black fruits, smoke and flowers. Super fresh with fabulous acidity. Iron, game, blood, violets and white pepper on the palate. Great finish. More Northern Rhone like than I would typically expect from Carlisle. Drink over the next 3-5 years.
My rating: 92 points.
Current vintages of the various Carlisle wines are available via the mailing list, which is exceptionally long. Several retail outlets in California stock Carlisle, but you need to check with them at the time the winery releases their wines in the Spring and Fall.
I’ve wrote about Carlisle previously in Winery Mailing Lists: The Fab 5.
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