Carlisle 2007 Cardiac Hill Syrah

WINE TALK
1

I usually like the Carlisle Syrahs a lot. Perhaps not to the worshipping degree of others but…

So I saw a bunch of these for a very fair $36. Was going to buy a bunch but bought one first. Opened it an hour or so ago to drink with some football.

I gotta say so far it’s a letdown. Fairly harsh and green. The alcohol, while not overwhelming, is quite noticeable. There is not enough fruit to make up for the ETOH. I give credit for not an overpowering dose of oak but it just allows what I may have called upripe fruit to shine through though obviously that should not be the problem.

Not sure what to say about this. Maybe it will open up. If I had to throw down a number at this point that number would be 86

2

Was this the one that had both screw top and cork options?!?!? Curious to hear . . .

Cheers!

3

Greg - buy a few and hide them in the cellar. I’m confident you will enjoy this much more in '13-'15. Mike’s SV syrahs do not show that well young.

4

I have to say after being open 8 hours it’s very much improved


This is the screw capped version

5

Greg, I will agree with you on the ETOH part, but I did not find this to be a factor as I sat with the wine over a couple of days. In fact, when I typed up my original TN into CT, I did have a remark about ETOH in my TN, which I then recall going back and editing out, as I found that my perception of it changed and it seemed to fade out of the wine as it opened.

  • 2007 Carlisle Syrah Cardiac Hill - USA, California, Sonoma County, Bennett Valley (12/16/2009)
    Screw cap, bought from retail for test drive purposes and to set a baseline for my other bottles. TN here is based on wine being open about 90 mins, pop and pour. Dark, nearly black in tone, with pepper and garrigue (like a sagey brush), perhaps even some WC notes but nothing like the Shane Jemrose, for instance. Palate is full weight with dark, intense fruit, some iron and ink. The finish closes down some, and while it shows some fleshy fruit and even some stone fruit pit notes, there is some youth here that suggests more time in the bottle would be good. Not big structure or chalk but just some tension that will ease with time. For me, and with the 2007 CA syrah vintage, this is another example of what works with the vintage, as well as with changes to syrah’s approach: dark color, deep flavors and better balance. These features show here and Jim Mack’s Cardiac Hill property with its cool nature helps bring it all together. Nice.

Posted from CellarTracker

6

Interesting notes on this one - and it sounds as if it should not be opened for another year or two . . .

My 83 year old dad, who has been getting part of my Carlisle allocation for the past three years, finally made the list this year and opened one of these last week. It was the only less-than-stellar review the guy has ever given a Carlisle - just felt it was quite disjointed at this time . . .

I will point him to this thread - and ask him to open one up and let it sit out for a day before trying!

Thanks for sharing notes, all!!!

Cheers!

7

I agree with Larry - seems like this needs a little more bottle time.

I had the '06 with Jim and Gloria Mack at Frank Murray’s house and loved it - in fact, of all the Cardiac Hill syrahs we had that evening, it was by far the best in my book.

2006 Carlisle Cardiac Hill Syrah - Wow, tremendous wine. Very unique nose, with some sweet apples among the mix of aromas. Not as bold as the others, but balanced and complex. Beautiful florals and red fruits on the palate, sort of a ‘bloody’ aspect on the palate, with meatiness and salinity, great tannic grip, smooth and sweet finish

8

ETOH?

9

What in god’s name does it take to score sub-80 for you? [scratch.gif]

10

Evan

That’s a fair question. Like many others my scoring system has migrated to

90= good
85 = palatable
84 and below= putrid

I gotta fess up After being open 36 hours this wine has really improved. It’s still a bit disjointed and not terribly complex. But it’s at least nice. Even quite nice. Checked some reviews and I certainly would not put this is the mid 90’s but…

Sorry for the abbreviation. ETOH= Ethyl alcohol. Or just alcohol. As opposed to methanol or isopropyl alcohol, which if you are drinking is really not a good sign

11

I won’t open a Carlisle now for a min of a coupla years. In my limited experience I’ve been disappointed when opening the Syrahs near the release date (save the 05 RRV Syrah). I’m just burying them for a few years (min of 3 years) from release date. Only way I’ll open one is if their website give a [thumbs-up.gif] to drinking it.

12

Greg,

Your experience was very different from mine. It is actually one of my top five wines of the year, due to its terrific nose, its lack of jamminess, and its price.

I detected nothing green in the fruit, but loved that fact that it completely lacked that candied element so prevalent in wines today.

The nose on the Cardiac Hill is already complex (pepper, flowers, dark fruit). I didn’t get the heat you detected, which I normally abhor (bottle variation?)

The Cardiac Hill seems elegant compared to most CA syrahs, including others in the Carlisle portfolio. I wouldn’t describe it as lean or light, just not massive. Personally, I like that attribute.

Interestingly, earlier this week we opened both this and a 2006 Saxum Heart Stone, which was definitely bigger, but a little simpler. I suspected the Saxum might overwhelm the Carlisle, but that wasn’t the case. Both were excellent. We really liked the Saxum, but the Carlisle’s nose and elegance won us over.

After drinking this bottle, I put my money where my nose was, and bought six more from Winex. I am glad we don’t all share the same palates…

-Brady

“Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go” - Oscar Wilde.

Preliminary 2009 WOTY:
1991 Guigal Cote Rotie La Turque
2005 Sine Qua Non Atlantis Syrah
2007 Clos St Jean la Combe des Fous CdP
2007 Carlisle Cardiac Hill Syrah
1998 Giacosa Barbaresco Asili

13

I just had this wine and have to say I was blown away the aromas of bluberry with slight vanilla and pepper just from the bottle, in the glass they were as intense as any wine I have ever had. It was like eating a creme brulee with blueberry sauce with just a little spice at the finish. No problem with the alcohol at all, in fact the entire wine was seemless in it’s flavor. [thumbs-up.gif] [thumbs-up.gif] [thumbs-up.gif]