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.
This version of Old Vines contains fruit from Banfield, Saitone, Papera, Carlisle and Montafi Vineyards.
Purple in color. 15% ABV. Brilliant nose of red fruits, peach and baking spices. Medium body with perfect acidity. Smooth and supple. Cherries, raspberries, cinnamon and pepper on the palate. The finish on the wine is exceptionally long. As always, this Zinfandel drinks well above the price point. Best over the next year or so.
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 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.