I have to say, there is something refreshing about this Carlisle news. I really respect that they had great success and want to enjoy retirement (I’m sure doing what they were doing tough work, winemaking isn’t all that glamorous), and they want to properly pass the torch. I do feel bummed they can’t find a worthy buyer since it seems their should be a good number of suitors, but I’m sure putting the info out there publicly can only help their cause.
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Nice people. Great wine. Will be missed.
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When was the last time a winery of this significance, prosperity and quality just shut down, and it wasn’t because they were failing financially and/or because the key person died or became incapacitated?
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Perhaps Lagier-Meredith can be put into that same category?
Cheers
Edmunds St. John?
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I thought Aaron Pott was fully taking this over?
I know he is taking over the vineyard - is he keeping their label going as well? Didn’t think so but I could be wrong . . .
Cheers
Maybe my first California mailing list. Never had a Carlisle that did anything less than fully deliver on what I hoped for when opening the bottle. Sad to see it go and wish them all the best.
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Just went to look on CellarTracker. Carlisle is my #1 holding at exactly 12%. Turley is right behind at 11.8%, then Tercero and then Bedrock at 10.2%. CT says I have 60 bottles.
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Just taking the grapes. The label is going away.
I think this is the right answer. I’m not sure anything is happening here, or at least if there is, we haven’t heard the ending details.
I think he’s managing the vineyard.
Wow, I was really surprised to hear this as I just didn’t think he was that old? Maybe it’s time for other adventures though. They were our first semi annual wine list (early 2k) though and that Sonoma Zin was the bargain of the century.
On the subject of value, I have to wonder if naming a winery after a person is diminishing. Especially when that family is no longer involved. I associate the brand with the people that started it and I’d have zero interest in buying another bottle if they weren’t involved.
Wine geeks know them well but I’ve never seen a bottle on a restaurant list (I’m sure they are somewhere).
Seems like mass integration was never the goal. At any rate cheers to the Officer family for a epic run and I’m off to resign up in hopes to put a few in the cellar for remembering what once was!
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Carole is 75 years old, so it’s a little different in that respect (meaning nothing negative about her health and capabilities, but I think it’s relevant at least).
Lagier Meredith was also a far smaller production winery than Carlisle, too, I think.
But it is as close a comp as I can think of at the moment.
The end of Arcadian was a big loss for me and may WBers (plus a weirdly slow-unfolding mystery for several years), but that was because the business had run aground, so quite different than Carlisle.
I must have missed this, but where did you guys find that Aaron Pott is taking over the grapes?
Carole Meredith sent out and posted about it gosh two years ago.
@Daniel_Walsh - Carole also refers to Aaron and Claire making wine from the vineyard about 25 or 30 posts into her Berserker Day offer thread from this year.
Thanks and I’m glad the grapes are going into good hands.
I said elsewhere, I’m super lucky my path crossed with Carlisle winery briefly way back when. Truly the inspiration for making home wine and eventually going pro. Literally a life changing impact on me. I’m so happy for them, landing the plane on their terms. What another great example of how to go about all this. Bravo.
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Buying and selling wineries also takes time, banks, NDA’s, interest rates, etc…so the date of sale can be deceiving and could have been started years prior, with far different borrow rates, with discovery and a negotiated offer and buyout for withdrawl without cause.
@larry_schaffer re. Gallo of KJ, KJ is mostly focused on Estate wines, even KJ VR Chard is all Estate, whereas most of Mike’s wines are purchased fruit…Gallo has a big Zin portfolio (Ravenswood, Zabaco, and Orin Swift) while probably not looking to expand into Syrah, Petite Sirah, and White Blends, and is seeming to look for popular commercial labels that they can put more fruit into from their stable of vineyards and bolster quality while reducing COGS.
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Kris,
True for the most part, especially over the past year or two, but Brewer-Clifton and Siduri are examples of KJ purchasing brands with no vineyards but great marketing/presesnce . . .
Cheers
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