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.
Sourced from vineyards including Carlisle, Montafi, Pagani and Papera.
Crimson in color. 15.3% ABV. Savory nose of brambly black fruits, citrus and baking spices. Medium body with ample acidity. Well balanced, dark fruited and made in the Claret style. Black cherry, plums and white pepper on the palate. Medium length on the finish. Delicious Zinfandel that goes down easy. As always, a tremendous value. Best over the next year or so.
My rating: 91 points.
I can make an argument that Carlisle is the best Zinfandel producer in the state of California. 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.