TN: 2007 Carlisle Zinfandel, Carlisle vineyard

2007 Carlisle Winery Zinfandel, Carlisle Vineyard: A cellar orphan that paired nicely with some grilled hamburgers. Ripe plum, blueberry, vanilla and biscuit. With time lilac and some florals. Tobacco and roasted chestnut. This is a mixed blacks field blend that is a majority zinfandel I think. Palate coating and generous with resolving tannins. Weighing in at around 15% abv. Too ripe for me but I understand the allure of this style.

Thanks for the tasting note, Loren!

Thanks for the note. To me the Carlisle Carlisle vyd has the most ebullient and gorgeous pure Zin fruit character. So I always drink mine within 3-4 years to capture that at its peak so mine will never maker it that far. Cheers

Steve - Perhaps this wine was brighter in its youth, though i don’t think it suffered any with bottle age. That said, this wine shows pronounced oak and is nearly 15% abv. Full bodied? Opulent? Sure (those are also the words used on their web site). Ebullient is not a word I would use.

I never argue taste, but if you are looking for a zin that features brighter acids, lower PH and lift, characteristics I associate with ebullience, I would recommend Doug Nalle’s, or possibly Arnot Roberts.

And elegant, balanced, and complex are also words used on our website. I don’t have any experience with Arnot Robert Zins but I’ve been drinking Nalle Zins since the 1984 vintage and have nothing but great respect and admiration for the Nalles. Doug even taught me how to egg white fine! But to say they have brighter acids and lower pH is simply not true. Our 2018 Carlisle Vineyard Zin has a TA of 8.0 g/L and a finished pH of 3.31. This is nearly Riesling-like in acidity. Nalle’s 2018 Dry Creek Zin has a TA of 6.6 g/L and a pH of 3.56. But you are correct that our Zins are typically fuller bodied than Nalle Zins. If we were to pick our Russian River Zins to target 13.5% alcohol, the acidity would likely melt your teeth!

lol. Hi Mike. Long time!

I think you tasted the Arnot Roberts zins when your Bedrock zin and mine (which does usually come it at around 13.5%abv) were featured at the Historical Society thing we did together awhile back (2014/2015). You were all on the same panel as Pax, who was representing Wilde Farm. You had a glass in front of you at least! I think they use a semi carbonic maceration on theirs (as do we).

I am glad you think I am correct! I havent tried the 2018 but would be glad to. The 2007 zin had a 3.5+ PH or so and less TA. then above (according to your web site). And coupled with 15% alcohol and about 30% new wood, I am thinking ebullient isn’t a word you would use either (though as I said I enjoyed the wine). And I would suggest Doug traditionally makes brighter, more ebullient RRV zins (at 13.5 abv., which age majestically fwiw) - at least to my palate. And I still have all of my teeth. None have melted.

I had a 2009 Carlisle Carlisle Vineyard zin a few weeks ago. It was going strong, and plenty of acid, but it was a little bit on the plummy/porty side with the fruit for my tastes. It probably was better, for my tastes at least, in its earlier years. But it was still perfectly solid.

Carlisle does offer a number of zins that tend (depending some on the vintage of course) to be redder fruited and crisper. I think Papera, Pagani, Mancini, DuPratt tend to be more in that style, probably others too. Maybe Mike can chime in with his recommended Carlisles for folks whose palate leans that way.

Thanks for the recommendations. I’ve liked and respected the Nalle zins and I think they maybe on an upswing in recent years. But perhaps one man’s ebullient is another man’s elegant, as the the latter term I’d associate with Nalle.

Which has pretty much been my experience with most Arnot Roberts wines. I’ll take any of your zins all day long Mike