Bottle Notes, Zinfandel

2011 Carlisle Zinfandel Martinelli Road 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 . They have also added their first whites, two blends from historic, old-vine vineyards plus Sonoma County’s first ever Grüner Veltliner.

Martinelli Road Vineyard is located on Martinelli Road between Forestville and Guerneville and dates back to the 1880’s. Interestingly, unlike most vineyards of this era, Martinelli Road Vineyard is nearly 100% Zinfandel.

Bright crimson in color. 14.6% ABV. Succulent nose of red fruits, milk chocolate and pepper. Medium body with mouth watering acidity. Light, fresh and juicy. Raspberry liqueur, cranberry and salmonberry on the palate. Excellent length on the finish. Just a tremendous Zinfandel from a challenging vintage. As best I can tell this wine was not made after 2012 by Carlisle which is unfortunate. Drink over the next 2-3 years.

My rating: 92 points.

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 2017 Zinfandel Chronicles Power Rankings.

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