Really good zin that sells for a song

Drinking an ‘18 Whipsmart Mossy Block Zinfandel that I bought off the mailing list for $26.

I have really enjoyed all of the wines I’ve had from this producer, who I only know about because I saw someone here mention them months ago.
The winemaker used to work at Carlisle and this zin sure tastes like Carlisle, in that it’s 15% and opulent but stays fresh and keeps you coming back. Not sure where it’s from but label says from a Russian River Valley vineyard planted in 1885. Have enjoyed everything I’ve had from the producer but from the current release I’ve only gotten to the carbonic dolcetto, which is a lot of fun. Really don’t think you can go wrong with these wines — especially given the price.

Thanks for the tip! Was not aware of this producer but will def check it out!

Aaaaaaaanother mailing list

Low risk / high reward!

Oh I get that. I should be cutting back on mailing list subscriptions not growing them.

no shipping to OR? WTF?

Thanks for the heads up. I’ve followed Carlisle from the very start (the 1998 vintage?) but I didn’t realize that they had spun off any winemakers. I fell in love with Carlisle Zins but have gravitated towards the Syrah/Petit Sirah/Mourvedre. Any chance that you’ve tried the 2018 Whipsmart Maiden Effort (Petite Sirah and Carignane)?

I took a flyer. Grabbed a zin, a white blend and the 2017 syrah.

Nice pedigree, great pricing and reasonable and transparent shipping. Well worth checking out.

No, I have a bottle of the Maiden Effort in the basement but haven’t tried it. Your guess is as good as mine but I have high hopes.

Previous thread on Whipsmart here:

Eric - I apologize for the inconvenience – the site had a hiccup with some zip codes. All fixed and now shipping to everywhere in Oregon.

Cheers!

Thank you!

Cracked the 2017 Syrah tonight. Delicious. Crazy value for $17. I’ll be buying more.

Re: 1885 planted OV zin, the Battaglini vineyard is on the south side of Piner Rd, about a thousand feet west of the Montafi vineyard, which is on the north side of Piner. These OV vineyards may all be historically related as the Gaddis OV vineyard is just west of Battaglini and the Winberrie OV vineyard (also on the south side of Piner), is to the east, almost directly across Piner Rd from Montafi. Winberrie Knolls Rd goes right through the vineyard. Also on the south side of Piner (and to the east of Winberrie by about 500 feet) is an unnamed OV vineyard thought to be owned by the city of SR since it’s on school property. I am not sure, but I believe Harvest Moon winery (on Olivet Rd) uses fruit from this vineyard as part of their RRV zin blend.

Hartford is getting Winberrie fruit. They made a 2018 zin from it (tasting room only). It’s very good, but noticeably different than their Wood Rd zins. Winberrie is a small vineyard so they only made a tiny amount.

Here’s a map of the area.

You can “drive” right through the Winberrie vineyard using google street view on Winberrie Knolls Rd. If you exit Winberrie Knolls Rd onto Piner, you’re looking right at the Montafi vineyard.

Just to the northeast of Montafi you can see the vernal pools that were created by (intentionally) scraping away the OV Vera Gold vineyard .

Btw, Carlisle’s Papa’s block Syrah comes from Atoosa’s Vineyard, which is on Abramson Rd, about 1500 feet south of the end of Winberrie Rd.

Just opened a bottle tonight - this is legit! Thanks for the recommendation, love a great zin with structure, balance, and depth (particularly at this price!)