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 .
Pagani Ranch is just off Highway 12 in the Glen Ellen area of Sonoma County. Angela and Felice Pagani came to Sonoma County from Italy, purchased the property and planted the vineyard in the early 1900’s. Norma (Pagani) Amantite still lives in the old farmhouse amidst the vines and her son Dino tends to the vineyard. At present time the fruit goes to Ridge, Biale, Carlisle and Naked Wines.
Purple in color. 15.2% ABV. Killer nose of dark fruits, peach, licorice and pepper. Full bodied with mouth watering acidity. Seriously packed with plush, juicy fruits. Boysenberry, black cherry, raspberry liqueur and pepper on the palate. Tremendous length on the finish. Stunning Zinfandel from an exceptional vintage. This should age well if that is your preference with Zinfandel. Best over the next 4-6 years.
My rating: 96 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 previously wrote about Pagani Ranch in Top 10 Old Vine Zinfandel Vineyards.
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 recently and wrote about that in The 2022’s Out of Barrel with Mike Officer at Carlisle.