Bottle Notes, Zinfandel

2011 Carlisle Zinfandel Hayne 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 . Expect to see a Single Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon from Montecillo Vinyard and a Russian River Valley Pinot Noir in the near future.

Hayne Vineyard is located on the west side of St. Helena and the vines date back to 1902.

Light crimson in color. 16% ABV. Sublime nose of red fruits, cocoa, earth and pepper. Medium body with absolutely exquisite acidity. Perfectly balanced. Raspberry liqueur, cherry compote, spearmint and pepper on the palate. The finish is incredibly long and seamless. The first vintage of Carlisle Hayne and it tastes like Mike Officer had been working this vineyard for years. Tremendous Zinfandel. Best over the next 1-2 years.

My rating: 94 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 2018 Zinfandel Chronicles Power Rankings. I also had a chance to visit Mike Officer recently and wrote about that in An Afternoon at Carlisle Winery.

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