Bottle Notes, Zinfandel

2014 Carlisle Zinfandel Hayne Vineyard – Bottle Notes

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 .

The vineyard was planted in 1902 and 1903 and is located on the west side of St. Helena at the base of Spring Mountain. Hayne Vineyard Zinfandel goes to Turley and Chase. I wrote about Hayne Vineyard in Top 10 Old Vine Zinfandel Vineyards.

Purple in color. 15.8% ABV. Intriguing nose of red fruits, citrus and pepper. Medium body with mouth watering acidity. Notably well balanced. Packed with bright, vibrant fruits. Cherry, raspberry liqueur, blood orange and pepper on the palate. Nice length on the finish. Super Zinfandel even if it is somewhat unique compared to prior vintages of Hayne. Really delicious. Best over the next several years.

My rating: 94 points.

The last vintage of Carlisle Hayne was 2015.

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 2020 Zinfandel Chronicles Power Rankings. I also had a chance to visit Mike Officer and wrote about that in 2020 Carlisle Zinfandel Barrel Samples With Mike Officer.

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