May 28, 2016 - ten years in and this is still a very big wine. Plenty of big ripe fruit but also heat all the way through. just not my bag
November 30, 2014 - Dense, fruit driven, but rather one dimensional.
December 29, 2013 - Yet another winner from Carlisle!
November 30, 2013 - Bright, roundm and bouncy right out of the gate, with delicious clarity and consistent three-way symmetry. Confirmed with another bottle 12/20/13.
August 14, 2013 - Over the top-overripe, over-extracted, and overblown. 16% ETOH! Hardly redeeming.
October 28, 2012 - Smells like peach and stone fruits but the distinctive, even-keeled plate doesn’t taste as juicy. Finishes with nice energy and a dusting of fine grained tannins.
July 25, 2012 - Delicious zin drinking very well now. Great with grilled moose burgers, fresh swiss chard and a salad. Love these wines from Carlisle. Rarely a disappointment.
April 23, 2012 - 2003-2007 Carlisle Zinfandel Pairs (Rich & Peggy's House, Los Altos, CA): Rich nose with some funk. Well integrated tannins.
Nose: B++ Palate: B+ My #1, Group's #1 (13 pts) Tasted blind
April 15, 2012 - Confident, medium-bodied, ripe dark fruit, braided appealingly with just-bitter and red-pepper notes. Not a ton on the nose, and what was there definitely took coaxing on day two. This pairs like a pinot.
March 19, 2012 - Drank this wine over the course of several days; not surprisingly, it tasted the best on the last day. Started out a bit oaky and hot, but by the fourth day it came together to display pleasingly decadent notes of dark chocolate, roasted figs, blackberry jam, espresso bean and campfire. Bold and rich on the palate -- layered, with a nice mouthfeel -- finishing with some mineral and graphite-laden tannins. While I was admittedly not a fan of this wine on the first night, especially since I'm not much of a Zin drinker, after sitting open for a few days, it was really strutting its stuff and rather enjoyable to drink. Who'da thunk it? Decant heavily if opening now.