Bottle Notes, Zinfandel

2016 Carlisle Zinfandel Dry Creek Valley – 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 . Carlisle also recently released their first Cabernet Sauvignon from Montecillo Vinyard and a Russian River Valley Pinot Noir.

85% Zinfandel and 15% Petite Sirah from Teldeschi Ranch and Mounts Ranch.

Purple in color. 15% ABV. Super nose of red fruits, citrus fruits and earth. Medium to full bodied with mouth watering acidity. Fresh and charming. Cherries, raspberry liqueur, peach and pepper on the palate. Tremendous length on the finish. For my money this is the best version of Carlisle Dry Creek to date. Best over the next 2-3 years.

My rating: 93 points.

The 2019 version of this wine will be offered next year.

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 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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