The 2010 Petite Sirah Palisades Vineyard bursts onto the palate with a racy concoction of blackberries, blueberry jam, savory herbs and spices. This is an especially refined Petite Sirah loaded with class and sheer energy. I loved it. The fruit is sourced from Dennis Sutro's Palisades vineyard, but Mike Officer picks a little earlier than Sutro does for his own wines. These vines, planted in 1964, are among the youngest in the Carlisle portfolio! Anticipated maturity: 2014-2024.
This is a fabulous set of wines from Mike Officer and Carlisle. Best of all, the wines remain very reasonably priced considering the quality and passion that goes into the bottle. Along with Morgan Twain-Peterson of Bedrock, Mike Officer is focused on seeking out the finest old-vine sites in California, which have either been neglected over the years, or are being bought by large-scale wineries who have little interest in discovering the quirks of these very old vineyards, most of which are planted with field blends that truly harken back to another era. The wines are made with indigenous yeasts and aged in French oak barrels, usually in the 20-30% range. I tasted all of the 2010s from barrel the day before they were scheduled to be moved into tank.
Tel. (707) 566-7700; www.carlislewinery.com