2015 Carlisle Zinfandel Mancini Ranch – Bottle Notes

The 2015 Carlisle Zinfandel Mancini Ranch was the winning bottle in the November Installment of Pick My Next Bottle. This was the classic pop and pour and accompanied some homemade tacos.

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.

Mancini Ranch, planted in 1922, lies kitty-corner from Papera Ranch at the corner of Piner and Olivet Roads.  Unlike Papera, this vineyard is relatively mixed in its composition with plenty of Carignane, Abouriou, Valdiguié, Alicante Bouschet, Grand Noir, and Petite Sirah.

Bright crimson in color. 15.5% ABV. Stunning nose of brambly red fruits, raspberry liqueur and peach. Medium to full bodied with exquisite acidity. Fresh and vibrant with bright fruits in spades. Cherry, raspberry and wild strawberry on the palate. Tremendous length on the finish. Really fantastic Zinfandel and I look forward to following this wine in subsequent vintages. Best over the next 4-7 years.

My rating: 95 points.

Spoiler alert but I also had a chance to try the ’16 version of this wine on a recent visit to Carlisle and it is every bit as good as the ’15.

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.