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. Many of these vineyards are heritage sites planted by Italian immigrants and date back to the late 1800s . Expect to see a Single Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon from Montecillo Vinyard and a Russian River Valley Pinot Noir in the near future.
Carlisle Vineyard was planted in 1927 by Alcide Pelletti on the eastern bench of the Laguna de Santa Rosa flood plain in the Russian River Valley.
Crimson in color. 15.7% ABV. 87% Zinfandel and 13% Mixed Blacks. Gorgeous nose of red fruits, baking spices and wild flowers. Plush and seamless with exceptional balance. Medium to full bodied with perfect acidity. Surprisingly fresh. Raspberry liqueur, boysenberry and strawberries on the palate. Tremendous length on the finish. This wine is Mike Officer at his very best. Just an off the charts bottle of Zinfandel. Wish I had more. Drink over the next 1-3 years.
My rating: 95 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 and The 2018 Zinfandel Chronicles Power Rankings. I also had a chance to visit Mike Officer recently and wrote about that in An Afternoon at Carlisle Winery.