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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 92.6 pts. and median of 93 pts. in 137 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by rldixon on 5/14/2020 & rated 92 points: Consumed in a series of Carlisle Zins, these are my last bottles:
1. 2008 Lingenfelder
2. 2008 Sonoma County
3. 2007 Sonoma County
4. 2007 Papera Ranch
5. 2007 Montafi Ranch
Previously reviewed. This wine still has a lot of life in it and given my other recent experiences, I'd reiterate the "drink now" suggestion. Strong pepper notes in this one, contributed nicely to the chicken & apple sausage & cheese ravioli I scarfed down with it! (1118 views) | | | Tasted by rldixon on 2/22/2020 & rated 92 points: Who would think a 13 year old California Zin would still be kicking ass? I discovered three bottles of this in storage, and consumed the first tonight with a bowl of Plan Check chili. The wine was an incredible balance of cherries, blackberries, acidity, tannins, and body. Perfect compliment to the not-too-spicy chili. If you have it, drink it now. (1140 views) | | | Tasted by buckeye76 on 4/8/2016 & rated 94 points: RICH BERRY FRUITS IN THE NOSE AND FLAVOR WITH BLACK CHERRIES, CHOCOLATE, AND HINTS OF CINNAMON. VERY SMOOTH LONG FINISH. (2594 views) | | | Tasted by cookie7 on 2/2/2016: Time to drink up. (3260 views) | | | Tasted by River Rat on 10/17/2015: Old Vines Offline III (Mi Casa): The youngest red of the evening and the first bottle to be emptied. What does that say for our palates? Montafi/TomFeeney Ranch may be Carlisles best fruit source. It sure produces exceptional wines that not only age gracefully but drink great young. One of the best, if not the the best, RRV Zinfandels you can buy. Layers and layers of fruit, wonderful acidity and abundant tannins all interacting in harmony. (4157 views) | | | Tasted by EMTAME on 10/13/2015 & rated 91 points: Best on opening. With air, the fruit fades on the finish, leading to an acidic close. Drink up, as there's no additional upside at this point. (3038 views) | | | Tasted by Jahull03 on 9/22/2015: Standard-bearer for zin. I could make an argument for a couple Bedrocks (Pagani, Bedrock, Monte Rosso), and maybe Raveswood Old Hill - but this is basically the peak.
And the 07 is basically perfect right now.
Everyone comments on the fruit - plums and wild blackberry - and it's there and it's beautiful and round, but here there's an overall lightness to it... which I've not gotten in younger Carlisles. Maybe they need a few years to shed opulence and reveal the cleaner elegance beneath. Beautiful cocoa notes, red pepper spice, just wonderful. (3000 views) | | | Tasted by Bob & Sue Atlanta on 9/1/2015 & rated 94 points: Big, bold and jammy. Awesome zin. Holding up very nicely.... Last bottle unfortunately. (2063 views) | | | Tasted by brigcampbell on 3/29/2015: This was paired with a mixed fruit cobbler and its was probably one of the best cobblers and a perfect match for this wine because of all the berry flavors. I wish I could have spent some time with this glass because this might be one of the better Zinfandel I've tasted, it has it all. BTW - fret not on the drinking window, this is holding up superbly. (1914 views) | | | Tasted by Frank Murray III on 3/28/2015: Last bottle and 3 years since my last note. Has been a sentimental favorite of mine for a long time so it's cool to see this bottle go to a dinner tonight with great friends. This has some chill on it to start, yet the black raspberry and acidity poke right through that cool temp. As it warms to room temp (72f), this continues to drink with a nice spine of acid, dark fruit but no shortage of acid. We'll see what it does in about 4 hours when we do it with a light dessert.... roll forward 24 hrs, enjoying this again tonight. Man, this is so good. It does have a density, a lot of black and blue fruit purity and very little acidity left IMO so sitting right in a sweet spot for drinking, this is really a joy. Dark, decadent, just laser pure RRV Zin that Mike does so well from a rich vintage. As I know many folks still have these bottles in their cellars, my advice....drink it now, I'd not age these. For me, this wine is not going to age much longer and with the fruit so sexy, decadent and pure, I'd just pull the cork, see the dark wine hit the glass and get at it. FWIW, paired the wine tonight with a chicken, fennel sausage, a little yellow mustard and the whole pairing was lights out. (1951 views) | | | Tasted by Ali on 3/15/2015 & rated 88 points: this bottle seemed to be a bit out of balance. the oak overpowered the red fruit profile (1814 views) | | | Tasted by tomlee on 2/25/2015 & rated 93 points: Violet in color. 14.9% ABV. Crazy good nose of jammy red fruits, tar and white pepper. Light on its feet with just enough acidity. Raspberry compote, strawberries, pepper and lavendar on the palate. Gritty tannins on a super finish. Ready to drink. Montafi is my favorite of the Carlisle single vineyard Zinfandel lineup. (1831 views) | | | Tasted by bound4er on 1/31/2015 & rated 93 points: A real pleasure to drink - spicy black cherry fruit compote with fully resolved tannins and a nice kiss of acidity. Year in and year out this vineyard delivers the goods. (1654 views) | | | Tasted by Not Levine on 12/16/2014: Pop and pour. Deep, dark ruby with purple rim. At first, the nose is almost entirely savory - bloody meat and Thanksgiving spices (rosemary and sage). With some air, the fruit begins to emerge. It evokes strawberry-rhubarb, without the overt sweetness of pie, and a touch of heat on the back end.
On the palate, rich and dense with lush, silky mouthfeel. Still more savory than fruity but with some definite kirsch and "zinberry" in the mix. Reminiscent (in a good way) of a nice old world grenache. Very, very tasty. (2160 views) | | | Tasted by Ridgerunner on 10/17/2014 & rated 91 points: A very pleasant drinking Zin! (1689 views) | | | Tasted by budman on 8/16/2014 & rated 93 points: Saved the best for last! (1870 views) | | | Tasted by daveo6313 on 7/28/2014 & rated 93 points: This bottle is crazy good. I was worried because there was leakage around the cork. One of the darkest sins color wise I have had in a while. Beautiful red fruits and a beautiful nose. This baby is ready to go but has a couple of years ahead of it. Enjoy this great bottle. (2117 views) | | | Tasted by stufis on 4/25/2014 & rated 89 points: This bottle seemed unbalanced. Nose fine, but a bitterness had set in that detracted from the general enjoyment of Mike's Montafis. Not comparable to earlier '07 Montafis. Deal with it.
Tasted over two nights (2 nites) stored in one of those reverse plunger thingees and refrigerated...this is for all of those who need to know this shit in making their determination whether to drink or...not drink, I guess.). (2484 views) | | | Tasted by MJHDC on 4/23/2014: I hope this is an off bottle (I have a lot of Carlisle in the cellar!), and my note is in the minority here, but this is one of the only Carlisles that I found too jammy and hot. I note that Carlisle's suggested drinking windows for this bottling have often been shorter than most of its other wines, so maybe I would have preferred this bottling earlier on. (2038 views) | | | Tasted by btock on 1/4/2014 & rated 94 points: Balanced, full throttle, rich, just great stuff. My last bottle of this one and we went out with a bang. Benchmark zin, showing the depth I like from what Mike does with RRV fruit. What a treat. Enjoy now. (2406 views) | | | Tasted by atilathehun on 10/19/2013 & rated 94 points: As good as Zin gets. Could smell the open bottle from a few few away. (2711 views) | | | Tasted by tkoby11 on 10/5/2013 & rated 93 points: Proves again and agin why Carlisle is my favorite Zin producer. Perfectly balanced berry pie fruits mingle elegantly with supple tannins and a juicy mouthfeel. (2526 views) | | | Tasted by Ladalove on 9/26/2013 & rated 93 points: - Garnet color. It's balanced and has flavours of blackberry, fig and cloves with a full body. Polished texture with a long finish. (2410 views) | | | Tasted by alanr on 9/17/2013 & rated 94 points: Ah, the tell-tale Montafi (ex-Feeney) nose, deep fruit compote with a unique dried herb note; palate is rich and intense, but somehow maintains an elegant restraint, dark, spicy zinberry, bit of tar and anise, and fascinatingly complex notes of what must be the far upriver source of that dried herb nose, with good acidity that adds a mouthwatering zing through the finish. Hard to put down, an outstanding Zin, seemingly in a great sweet spot for drinking. I wouldn't hesitate to open one now, or hold for several years, but I love the freshness this shows at the moment. (2820 views) | | | Tasted by btock on 7/5/2013 & rated 90 points: Got a bit more of a stewed nose on this one - but the bottle had traveled with me overnight. Was not the blockbuster I remembered from the winter and would argue these are ready to go now. Deep purple fruit, smooth tannins. I like Mike's RRV Zins and this was no exception. I find the Montafi picks up just enough white pepper and verve to carry the fruit. Grill something and get these open this summer! (2162 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Josh Raynolds
Vinous, May/June 2009, IWC Issue #144
(Carlisle Winery Zinfandel Montafi Ranch Russian River Valley) Subscribe to see review text. |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of Vinous. (manage subscription channels) |
| Carlisle Producer website
2007 Carlisle Zinfandel Montafi RanchMike Office - 2009 Winter Pre-Release letter
2007 Russian River Valley "Montafi Ranch" Zinfandel
Ah yes! Montafi Ranch! Year in and year out, this ranch produces one of our top zinfandels, and in some years, the top. One of our last zins to be picked in 2007, we indigenously co-fermented approximately 7% alicante bouschet. Twenty-seven percent new French oak. Bottled unfined and unfiltered.
Black ruby-purple, almost opaque. The nose offers a veritable cornucopia of berry fruits (boysenberry, blackberry, raspberry) with notes of spice, lavender, and eucalyptus. On the palate, full-bodied but amazingly precise and focused. Stylistically, similar to the 2005, yet more concentrated à la 2004. There have been many great Montafi's (aka Tom Feeney) over the years but this is surely one of the best. Drink this age worthy zinfandel from 2010 through 2015.
Zinfandel ZAP: Zinfandel Advocates & Producers | Varietal character (Appellation America) | Wikipedia-ZinfandelUSAAmerican 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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