Our Wines  :  2004 Carlisle Vineyard Zinfandel

There’s probably not a great deal left to be said about the Carlisle Vineyard that hasn’t already been said by Robert Parker, the Zinfandel Vineyard. Moreover, it is probably a wine that we shouldn’t be making. Given the tiny yields from this old vineyard (often less than 1 ton per acre), Mike and Kendall Officer (who own the vineyard and produce their own fantastic Carlisle Wines) should keep all of the grapes for themselves. It is only because of our great friendship with the Officers and their generous nature that we are able to purchase some fruit (okay, there are also those compromising photos but we promised never to bring them up in public).

In any case, the 2004 Novy Carlisle Zinfandel seems, at this early stage, to be the best Carlisle Zin that we have produced since the 2001 vintage. The unfortunate part is that we produced only 3 barrels of this wine and that the availability is extremely limited.

The 2004 Novy Carlisle Vineyard Zinfandel is bright and lively on the nose with fresh candied apples, blackberries, and clove aromas. In the mouth these flavors continue on and are joined by cherries and wet stones. The wine is huge and yet lively due to the good natural acidity of the Russian River Valley site. Although Zinfandel often doesn’t age well we think this wine will do well with several years of time.

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