Carlisle In The OC

Tasted Saturday, May 3, 2014 by Frank Murray III with 551 views

Flight 1 (2 Notes)

  • 2011 Carlisle Compagni Portis

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley

    Tasted alongside the 2012. This 2011 shows leaner, more acid playing into tjhe flavor, too. Lemon/lime, ginger and a lean guava/papaya.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

  • 2012 Carlisle Compagni Portis

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley

    Tasted alongside the 2011, with that wine being leaner whereas this 2012 is texturally a bit fatter, yet balanced. The texture is glossy, polished with peach and tangerine and nutty finish. Both vintages drink great so it will depend on what kind of palate texture you will prefer.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

Flight 2 (2 Notes)

  • 2008 Carlisle Zinfandel Carlisle Vineyard

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

    Tasted alongside the 2011, as both wines anchored the 2nd course that was butternut squash ravioli. My notes show a big star, which is my symbol I make during wine pairing dinners when I find a wine that really stands out. There is a crunchy, zesty expression of red fruits that is balanced--acid, fruit and length is all in harmony. This is in a great place right now.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

  • 2011 Carlisle Zinfandel Carlisle Vineyard

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

    Tasted alongside the 2008, as both wines anchored the 2nd course that was butternut squash ravioli. I found this richer in flavor than the 2008, with vanilla, red and black fruits and a finish that is jammier than that wine, too.

    Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No

Flight 3 (3 Notes)

  • 2009 Carlisle Zinfandel Monte Rosso Vineyard

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley

    I found this quite spicy, underscoring this aspect in my notes. Has a richness but also great depth, too. Big blackberry fruit.

    Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No

  • 2010 Carlisle Zinfandel Fanucchi Wood Road Vineyard

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

    This was my least preferred in the flight, as it went as the middle wine between the 2009 Monte Rosso and the 2011 Papera, both zinfandel. The Fanucchi showed berry jam, higher alcohol, iron and some heat. The challenge I have with bigger wines like this is the alcohol. This is why in this flight I preferred the 2011 Papera, for its better balance.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

  • 2011 Carlisle Zinfandel Papera Ranch

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

    This was the winner of the flight, beating out the 2009 Monte Rosso and leaving the 2010 Fanucchi in last position. The Papera shows silky, juicy and polished. I love the balance and like the 2008 Carlisle Carlisle from the previous flight, this Papera shows a zesty quality with red fruits. As much as the 2011 vintage was tough on many, Mike found a way to make a great bottle of Papera.

    Post a Comment / 3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No

Flight 4 (1 Note)

  • 2000 Carlisle Mondeuse

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

    Hey hey, this has held up great. Cork broke in 1/2 on opening but after getting the other 1/2 loose, the wine pours with no browning edges at all. Instead, pure red that is just moderately dark but more lighter ruby. Inside? Acid, red fruits, fresh and youthful. I'd simply have no basis for calling this wine 15 years old if served blind, as that is how fresh it tastes right from the magnum. Maybe air will cause this to change directions but first look, this is really good. Nice lithe finish, with sweet cherry fruit and a kiss of tannin....and then again at dinner, the wine continues to excel with the fresh and juicy notes of strawberry. Such great purity. To bad these wines are no longer making wine, as they were taken out and replaced with Mourvedre, as part of the Two Acres plot that Mike continues to farm and bottle.

    Read 2 Comments / Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

Flight 5 (3 Notes)

  • 2007 Carlisle Syrah Papa's Block

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

    This was part of the 3 bottle Papa's flight, joining the 2011 and 2012. Of the three, this 2007 is the most rich and full bodied. Iron, dark chocolate. My tastes have changed over the past few years and while I still enjoy this wine, I much preferred the raw material that was the 2012 last night. I appreciate that this wine got the attention of Wine Spectator some years ago, as it gave Mike the visibility to a far greater audience.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

  • 2011 Carlisle Syrah Papa's Block

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

    This was part of the 3 bottle Papa's flight, joining the 2007 and 2012. Of the three, this 2011 is the leanest, more rugged and the vintage here shows its presence. The aromatic is distinctive, as at first reminding me of alcohol but in thinking more about the wine last night, my thought is that the whole cluster and vintage defined the aromatic. I found some lavender and a juicier wine here and so for me, simply a leaner version of Papa's.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

  • 2012 Carlisle Syrah Papa's Block

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

    This was part of the 3 bottle Papa's flight, joining the 2007 and 2011. Of the three, this 2012 is the most complete and was the best syrah I had last night. Juicy, with black olive, char, iron and light garrigue and some mineral tannin. Shows the dark fruit of Papa's and I'm banking that this will become a great Papa's, less richness of the 2007 and probably best suited to age well and drink terrific with time to come.

    Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No

Flight 6 (3 Notes)

  • 2007 Carlisle Syrah Russian River Valley

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

    This has always been a favorite of mine, a wine that I have written about many times in the past and still own several bottles. At $20, just nuts. Even paying 2X that price a year or so back to source a few more, it didn't matter as this is such a great bottle of wine. Bit of funk on the nose, with irion and garrigue. The palate shows more iron, dark chocolate and olive. This is aging well and last night, this also beat the 2007 Papa's Block that we had in the preceding flight.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

  • 2006 Carlisle Syrah Cardiac Hill

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Bennett Valley

    By this point in the meal, I was starting to fade a bit. I found a hint of pepper and some nice balance but my notes admittedly here are crappy.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

  • 2008 Carlisle Syrah James Berry Vineyard

    USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

    Been a while since I had one of these. I stopped buying syrah that lies south of the Santa Lucia Highlands, as I just find the wines too large for my tastes. Wasn't sure what to expect here but I'll say this went well with the polenta sausage dish we paired it with for the flight. The food really pulled out the blue fruit in the wine. There is also purple flowers, mint and what I thought was some heat.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

Flight 7 (2 Notes)

×
×