Carlisle Winery & Vineyards Saitone Ranch Zinfandel 2012

Limited new Zinfandel from Carlisle.94 Points Antonio Galloni:  "The 2012 Zinfandel Saitone Ranch stands out for its sense of detail and pure nuance. Constantly changing in the glass, the 2012 offers up an appealing mélange of black fruit, violets, spices, licorice and mint, all in a resonant, expressive style that is immensely appealing. I expect this supple highly expressive wine will drink well right out of the gate. The blend is 97% Zinfandel and 3% mixed blacks. I tasted a stunning range of wines during my recent visit to Carlisle. Proprietor Mike Officer and his winemaker/viticulturist Jay Maddox have recently moved into a new, barn-like winery in Windsor stacked to the ceiling with barrels. Carlisle specializes in old-vine Zinfandel, Petite Sirah and Syrahs, most of which come from old-vine, heritage sites planted by Italian immigrants going back to the late 1800s. As great as the Carlisle wines are, Officer's dedication to protecting California's heritage vineyards, a passion he shares with Morgan Peterson of Bedrock, Tegan Passalacqua of Turley and a handful of other growers, may prove to be an even longer lasting legacy...The 2012s are much more open and radiant in keeping with the style of the year. Best of all, though, these wines deliver superb quality at exceedingly fair prices." Robert Parker:  "Carlisle Winery’s Mike Officer and his wife are one of the wonderful stories in the wine world. Going from a part-time home winemaker, to turning out some of his beloved Zinfandels, to becoming one of the two or three leading guardians of old vine Zinfandel in Northern California, Mike Officer was so good at making wine that he changed careers and wine consumers are the beneficiaries. The single vineyard Zins are absolutely remarkable. Everyone who loves Zinfandel should be on Carlisle’s mailing list, the wines are primarily available only from the winery. Sadly, Mike Officer is not making as much Syrah as he used to given the difficult marketplace for this varietal. That’s a shame, as great Syrahs are truly magnificent wines."

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