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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 91.1 pts. and median of 91 pts. in 78 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by td1836 on 2/9/2018 & rated 89 points: Expressive red fruit that was still extremely youthful. I would have never guessed the age on this one. However, the alcohol came through on the nose, and more heavily on this finish which really set this wine back for me. At 15.9%, it’s hard to maintain balance. (956 views) | | | Tasted by wiscgrad on 11/17/2017 & rated 91 points: Not as great as the last bottle, but still quite nice. Still tons of red fruit, and the nose was excellent as well. The only thing was the alcohol was a bit stinging on the back end. (901 views) | | | Tasted by wiscgrad on 11/23/2016 & rated 93 points: another beautiful aged Carlisle Zin. Plenty of red fruit. I don't know how long these can age, but at 12 years, still quite youthful. (1206 views) | | | Tasted by Bob & Sue Atlanta on 4/10/2015 & rated 93 points: I still remember my first bottle of this wine 9 years ago. Literally my first Carlisle in 2006, at Watershed in Decatur GA and it was one of those handful of wines that was lifetime memorable. Still very enjoyable. Today, if I had to guess blind, zinfandel, yes, but 2010 - 12 ish... Fortunately I have a ridiculous amount of Carlisle in the cellar - 178 bottles! The good news is that they all seem to age well. Well this is the last of the 04 Fava zinfandel for me and it is still pretty damn good.
There are only a handful of wines that I can remember distinctly, many many years later. I remember exactly how it tasted, where we sat in the restaurant etc. Its a funny thing about great bottles of wine.
To this day I have never had a bad bottle of Carlisle wine. Never had a corked bottle. The wine seems to age extremely well... even the 04's seem to be bit young. I may need to be patient with the rest of my collection.... (1644 views) | | | Tasted by Mlermontov on 6/27/2013 & rated 91 points: very good. smooth, well developed. touch of sweet fruit. (2360 views) | | | Tasted by zheem on 5/10/2011 & rated 92 points: Aromatics in the wood/incense range. Texture is rich and velvety. Explosion of complex flavors of iron, blackberry, dark spice, but not at all sweet. Some astringency in the finish. A difficult wine to describe, but very satisfying! (2513 views) | | | Tasted by davidspieker on 1/5/2011 & rated 90 points: Minimal aromatics. Big black fruit flavors with some spice. Full body with a medium length finish. A little too fruity (but not raisiny) for my taste. (2577 views) | | | Tasted by ogres3 on 11/25/2010: Another excellent zin from Carlisle. Had in WV with fillet. (2337 views) | | | Tasted by jfkwines on 11/24/2010 & rated 93 points: Decanted for 30-90 minutes. Really nice wine with our Carne Asada. No strong nose, thought it was something other than a Zin at first. But the mouth had a hint of spice, very smooth but the bite was a perfect foil to the slightly seared steak. (1998 views) | | | Tasted by Night Train on 5/7/2010 & rated 90 points: Slight improvement over my last bottle about ten months ago. Still no nose until it had been open about 90 minutes, when it began to reveal traces of brambly fruit. On the palate, however, it was extremely rich, with an extremely viscous texture. Reasonably long finish, but still somewhat muted due to the lack of aromatics. Obviously a zin, but heat was not all that noticeable, and there were no raisiny or port-like characteristics. It seems to still be improving, and it may not peak for another year or two. (1738 views) | | | Tasted by Nanda on 4/4/2010 & rated 90 points: Full nose is expressive and aromatic. Fresh fruit basket, spices and briar. Palate is full bodied with rich fruit and peppery notes. Good balance and freshness. Medium finish. (1624 views) | | | Tasted by cookie7 on 12/3/2009 & rated 91 points: Bright red fruits and sweet vanilla tannins on the palate. Very enjoyable. (1677 views) | | | Tasted by Geoffrey Carter on 11/15/2009 & rated 94 points: Last one. Great stuff. (1724 views) | | | Tasted by Night Train on 7/18/2009 & rated 89 points: Tough to evaluate. Even after two hours of air, the nose was almost nonexistent, consisting of just a trace of oak. Different story in the mouth - lots of black fruit. Medium body, but it literally coated the tongue and displayed very nice, very long finish. Flavors not mouthfilling, however, probably because of the missing aromatics. (1770 views) | | | Tasted by Mr T on 6/20/2009: Very smoooth but not as lush as one might expect. Very nice and balanced wine. (1819 views) | | | Tasted by 2loyal on 5/20/2009 & rated 91 points: Same rating, but for slightly different reasons than my December tasting/posting. The fruit wasn't quite as tantilizing this time, but those slightly "rough edges" seem to have softened up quite nicely. Great value. Happy to open one of these just about any night. (1912 views) | | | Tasted by DesMarteau on 5/6/2009 & rated 92 points: electric brambly fruit. nice concentration/rich...great zin. (1943 views) | | | Tasted by Badfish on 1/27/2009 & rated 92 points: Soft ruby turning to light purple at the rim with medium legs in the glass. This just gushes perfumed brambly aromas of cassis, blackberry, spices, and slate. The palate is full bodied with concentrated yet fresh flavors of berries, cherry, brown sugar, and spices. The finish can be best described as a deep delicious berry shake. This went very well with the pizza I was eating and it is drinking beautifully right now. (1902 views) | | | Tasted by Screameagle on 1/10/2009 & rated 92 points: This zin although not a huge wine is never the less a very tasty one. Sorry I don't have more. Joan loved it. Buy more of these in future releases. (1969 views) | | | Tasted by dsimmons on 12/31/2008 & rated 91 points: Last of these with frinds. very nice bottle. (1946 views) | | | Tasted by bsherwin on 11/15/2008: A nice, mild mannered Zin. It did not show as well as it has in the past and it seems to be in an intermediate stage between effusive fruitiness and textured nuance. Still, it has an attractive spiciness and it is well-made. At this point, I'll probably lay it down for a couple more years to see what it becomes. (2400 views) | | | Tasted by J @ y H @ c k on 7/18/2008 & rated 91 points: I abused this wine. No decant. Drunk from a styro cup in the parking lot before the Builly Joel concert at Shea. The wine is so intense with so much flavor that you almost want to chew it instead of drink it. Not for the faint of heart or for those who like lighter wines. A mix of cherries, some blueberry, pepper spice, and minerals. A very full and strong mouth feel. Long finish. (2203 views) | | | Tasted by Geoffrey Carter on 4/27/2008 & rated 90 points: Opened for twenty minutes, and it was signing. Great deep fruit profile and well integreated structure. I have enough to watch them progress. (2279 views) | | | Tasted by rpenn77 on 4/21/2008 & rated 90 points: Vanilla notes on the nose, creamy texture, soft tannins. Very pleasant to drink now. (2438 views) | | | Tasted by kgott2 on 3/23/2008 & rated 93 points: Full fruit, great notes of plum and blackberry in the nose; tasted like blackberry cobbler in a glass. Big hit with brunch guests...a combination of both long time fans of Carlisle and those new to the wines as well. (2719 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Stephen Tanzer
Vinous, May/June 2006, IWC Issue #126
(Carlisle Winery Zinfandel Fava Ranch Russian River Valley) Subscribe to see review text. |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of Vinous. (manage subscription channels) |
| Carlisle Producer website
2004 Carlisle Zinfandel Fava Ranch Winemaker's Note for the 2004 Russian River Valley "Fava Ranch" ZinfandelZinfandel ZAP: Zinfandel Advocates & Producers | Varietal character (Appellation America) | Wikipedia-ZinfandelFava RanchThis gorgeous property sits on the west side of the Laguna de Santa Rosa, running down a hill to the flood plain below. With panoramic views to the northeast and an abundance of wild life (deer, fox, wild turkey), this ranch is one of my favorite places to visit, especially in late summer when the figs, apples, and blackberries are ripe!
Originally planted between 1907 and 1922 by the Fava brothers, soils here are the Goldridge series – very fine, very light, and very shallow with very little water retention ability. With a northeastern exposure, the vines on this ranch escape much of the hot afternoon sun. The result is a powerful yet elegant zinfandel, teaming with spicy, black pepper aromas.USAAmerican wine has been produced since the 1500s, with the first widespread production beginning in New Mexico in 1628. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 84% of all U.S. wine. The continent of North America is home to several native species of grape, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis vulpina, but the wine-making industry is based almost entirely on the cultivation of the European Vitis vinifera, which was introduced by European settlers. With more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) under vine, the United States is the fourth-largest wine producing country in the world, after Italy, Spain, and France.California2021 vintage: "Unlike almost all other areas of the state, the Russian River Valley had higher than normal crops in 2021, which has made for a wine of greater generosity and fruit forwardness than some of its stablemates." - Morgan Twain-Peterson Sonoma CountyMendocino CountyRussian River Valley Russian River Valley Winegrowers Association | Wikipedia |
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