Carlisle Winery is a boutique producer owned and operated by husband-and-wife team Mike and Kendall Officer. Their focus is on old vine Zinfandel and Rhone varietals (Syrah, Grenache and Mourvedre), crafting wines that are truly distinctive from one another and showcasing the terroir of their single vineyard sites. After a few of our staff members tasted through the current line-up with Mike himself, it was unanimous amongst us that this producer has rightly earned the high scores they have been receiving on all their wines!
Planted in 1927 by Alcide Pelletti, this vineyard is predominantly Zin with a variety of other grapes such as Petite Sirah and Tempranillo. It was thanks to Italian immigrants in the late 1800s/ early 1900s that settled in the Laguna de Santa Rosa flood plain that caused this area to be referred to as "ground zero" for old-vine Russian River Valley Zinfandel.
As stated before, Carlisle vineyards is known for getting high scores on his wines and for good reason. Along with Jeb Dunnuck cooking up a 95-point score for this wine other critics are also aware of how well this wine is!
JEB DUNNUCK 95 POINTS - "The 2022 Zinfandel Carlisle Vineyard is a field blend with a ton of different varieties. It pours a deep youthful purple with a hint of pink and is ripe with black berries, savory sappy herbs, and dark earth. Full-bodied and well-structured, with bright acidity, ripe tannins, and a long finish, it demands another couple of years in bottle. Drink 2026-2040."
WINE SPECTATOR 95 POINTS - "Deeply structured and distinctive, this is Russian River Zin at its best. Offers blackberry flavors laced with pepper, orange peel and roasted anise as this builds tension and richness toward refined tannins. Drink now through 2035."
ANTONIO GALLONI 92 POINTS - "The 2022 Zinfandel Carlisle Vineyard is classy, elegant and polished, but less exuberant than is typically the case. Harvest was on September 4—about one month earlier than normal. Coming across light and airy, at this stage, the Carlisle is just not as fully developed texturally as it can be."
"Dark ruby-garnet. A full pour is opaque. A deep and powerful nose of raspberry, blood orange, brown baking spices, and sweet tobacco authoritatively announces this wine’s gravitas. Full-bodied on entry, flavors of raspberry, mulberry, rose petal, and spice nearly overwhelm the senses. This is heady stuff, truly grand cru-level Zinfandel! While enjoyable now, we’d recommend giving it another year or two and then enjoying the show through 2034."
Planted in 1927 by Alcide Pelletti, this vineyard is predominantly Zin with a variety of other grapes such as Petite Sirah and Tempranillo. It was thanks to Italian immigrants in the late 1800s/ early 1900s that settled in the Laguna de Santa Rosa flood plain that caused this area to be referred to as "ground zero" for old-vine Russian River Valley Zinfandel.
As stated before, Carlisle vineyards is known for getting high scores on his wines and for good reason. Along with Jeb Dunnuck cooking up a 95-point score for this wine other critics are also aware of how well this wine is!
JEB DUNNUCK 95 POINTS - "The 2022 Zinfandel Carlisle Vineyard is a field blend with a ton of different varieties. It pours a deep youthful purple with a hint of pink and is ripe with black berries, savory sappy herbs, and dark earth. Full-bodied and well-structured, with bright acidity, ripe tannins, and a long finish, it demands another couple of years in bottle. Drink 2026-2040."
WINE SPECTATOR 95 POINTS - "Deeply structured and distinctive, this is Russian River Zin at its best. Offers blackberry flavors laced with pepper, orange peel and roasted anise as this builds tension and richness toward refined tannins. Drink now through 2035."
ANTONIO GALLONI 92 POINTS - "The 2022 Zinfandel Carlisle Vineyard is classy, elegant and polished, but less exuberant than is typically the case. Harvest was on September 4—about one month earlier than normal. Coming across light and airy, at this stage, the Carlisle is just not as fully developed texturally as it can be."
"Dark ruby-garnet. A full pour is opaque. A deep and powerful nose of raspberry, blood orange, brown baking spices, and sweet tobacco authoritatively announces this wine’s gravitas. Full-bodied on entry, flavors of raspberry, mulberry, rose petal, and spice nearly overwhelm the senses. This is heady stuff, truly grand cru-level Zinfandel! While enjoyable now, we’d recommend giving it another year or two and then enjoying the show through 2034."