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 I have been buying
Mike Officer’s wines for a number of years and
rarely have I ever been disappointed with anything I have opened. To finally put
a face to the man behind these gems was indeed a pleasure.
In my opinion, Mike’s wines are stunning. I did hear mention that they are
among, if not the best, zinfandels in California.
Carlisle Winery is no multi
million dollar facility. There is no state of the art designer tasting room.
Carlisle is simply a name; actually it is Mike’s wife and business partner,
Kendal's maiden name.
Carlisle’s wines are made in a corner of a warehouse of a
custom crush facility, a building where one can rent space to ferment grapes and
barrel age the resulting wines. The day I went to visit Mike was unusually
cloudy and cold - not a typical Sonoma summer day. Earlier in the growing
season, many areas saw temperature in excess of 125 degree and some vineyards
lost 40 % of their fruit to sunburn. Holy cow what’s next, spraying crops with
SPF 50?
Kim and Geo turned me on to Mike Officer’s wines several
years ago. For a more comprehensive story on the rise Carlisle winery,
click here.
All the following wines tasted were from the barrel. Click here to find
Carlisle current release wines.
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 Two Acres Old Vine Russian River 2005
Mouvedre accounts for 85% of this blend with some Petit Syrah, Syrah, Alicante
and Tempranillo providing the backdrop. It is extremely aromatic, showing notes
of dark fruit, mineral, ripe cherry and tar. The palate is chewy and the finish
is laden with blackcurrant.
Carlo's Ranch Russian River Zinfandel 2005
The vines for this vineyard were planted in 1934. They offer aromas of red
cherry, black liquorish, cranberry, raspberry and cherry on the nose. The 16.1
degrees of alcohol that this wine carries does not come into play as the acidity
is primed to perfection. The finish carries a layer of blackcurrant fruit that
just hangs for several minutes.
Pietro's Ranch Russian River Zinfandel 2005
The term “field blend” or mixed blacks refers to what ever fruit is ripe and
worth harvesting from a particular vineyard. Mixed blacks can include Alicante
Bouchet, Petit Syrah and Carignane. The 05 Pietro’s Ranch is a blend of
Zinfandel, some going back to 1905, and 15% of mixed blacks. All the grapes for
this cuvee were fermented together.
Carlisle Vineyard Russian River Zinfandel 2005
Fruit for the “Carlisle Vineyard” was first planted in 1927. I t is composed of
Zinfandel and 16 % mixed black. The 2005 was field cropped by 50 % bringing no
more than .6 tons of fruit per acre. Veraison was abnormally late for this
vineyard. The barrel I tasted from has just undergone malolactic fermentation.
It shows a lovely velvety texture of Chambord, a raspberry liqueur highly
esteemed by the twenty-four hour party people of the eighties. The palate is a
combination of red and black fruit coulis. Quite stunning.
Tom Feeney Vineyard Russian River Zinfandel 2005
A year more mature, at least from a vineyard prospective, Feeney ranch was
planted in 1926 and has 11 % Alicante to darken its Zin. Feeney is usually one
of the first vineyards in the area to ripen. This sample shows notes of
boysenberry, plum blackberry and a touch of eucalyptus. It is rich, voluptuous
and so well balanced. The finish shows signs of sexy dark fruit and a touch of
liquorish.
Bennett Valley Cardiac Hill Vineyard Syrah 2005
A growing region known to be cooler than that of the Russian River, Bennett
Valley’s southern tip lies at the foot of Sonoma Mountain. This “Cornas” like
Syrah has heaps of pepper, Kalamata olive, cured meat and plum. It is light in
comparison to some of Carlisle’s Syrah, registering a mere 14.7 on the Richter
scale. There is plenty of black fruit along with liquorish root, plum and sweet
balsa.
Papa’s Block Russian River Syrah 2005
Papa’s Block is part of the Atoosa Vineyard, located deep in the heart of
Russian River Valley. It radiates a mélange of Chinese five-spice powder, anise,
grapefruit and chocolate aromas. As of yet there has been no fining done to this
wine. It is creamy, rich and dusty. It is indeed a tough wine to evaluate at
this stage of its life.
Russian River Syrah 2005
A layer of dark sweet fruit, couveture chocolate and pepper overshadows the
initial aromas of herbal, rhubarb and leaves. Although it is only 15.1 %
alcohol, this is a huge wine that may take years to come around.
Bennett Valley Syrah 2005
2005 was a cool growing season that allowed additional hang time for flavours to
develop. This reeks of Côte Rôti as it shows layer after layer of bacon fat,
cured olives, walnut shell and lovely fresh floral notes. The palate shows
balance, full flavour and an exotic spiciness.
Pelkan Ranch Knight’s Valley Syrah 2005
This is intense. It is full of sweet French oak, layers of black fruit and
stellar acidity. 16 degrees of alcohol is pushing the limit, but it does not
overpower the wines amazing balance.
My teeth are coated and my palate is numb. I am done, but these wines are not
forgotten. All I can say is I tasted my way through a stellar collection
of wines. To those who say Carlisle wines are some of the finest in the state, I
am not going to argue with that.
It was time for lunch and Mike suggested a local spot in Windsor named
Mirepoix.
As much as I love Carlisle Zin, the delicious velvet texture of the Cobb’s
Coastlands Sonoma Coast Pinot 2004 was a sublime match to my braised sweetbreads
with Pommes Frits.
Cheers from the valley,
CZ
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