The 2016 Carlisle Zinfandel Carlisle Vineyard was the winning bottle in the January Installment of Pick My Next Bottle. The wine paired brilliantly with homemade pepperoni pizza.
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 .
Carlisle Vineyard, planted in 1927, lies in the Piner/Olivet area of the Russian River Valley. Around the intersection of these two roads you can find a rare clumping of old vineyards that have somehow survived the last 100+ years. Papera, Mancini, Saitone and Montafi to name a few. The vineyard is approximately 90% Zinfandel and a vast array of other field blend varietals.
I wrote about Carisle Vineyard previously in Top 10 Old Vine Zinfandel Vineyards.
Bright crimson in color. 15% ABV. Sensational nose of red and black fruits, peach and licorice. Medium body with perfect acidity. Black cherry, raspberry, blood orange and pepper on the palate. Exceptional length on the finish. The finest vintage of this wine in recent memory. Best over the next 1-2 years.
My rating: 95 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 recently in The 2022’s Out of Barrel with Mike Officer at Carlisle.