Carlisle Two Acres 2012
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Wine Enthusiast
his is a mix of Mourvédre, Petite Sirah, Alicante Bouschet, Syrah, Carignane and Peloursin from a two-acre site planted long ago. Smoky and yet pretty in rose, orange and mushroomy earth, it maintains a steady streak of raspberry, blackberry, leather and licorice. It will only get better over time, through 2022.Editors' Choice
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Tasting Panel
(78% mourvedre, with petite sirah, syrah, carignane, pelousin and alicante bouschet): Bright purple. Sexy, floral aromas of black and blue fruits, potpourri and peppery spices. Supple and appealingly sweet, offering juicy boysenberry and blueberry flavors and a hint of spicecake. Becomes more energetic with air and finishes tangy, focused and quite long, with smooth tannins coming on late.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Consistently one of my favorite wines from Mike Officer is his Proprietary Red Two Acres, which comes from an old-field blend dominated by Mourvèdre (78%) and the rest small quantities of Petite Sirah, Syrah, Carignane, Peloursin and Alicante Bouchet. The delicious, Rhône Ranger-styled 2012 Proprietary Red Two Acres saw no new oak, and was bottled unfined and unfiltered, and achieved 14.8% natural alcohol. It possesses supple tannins (always a challenge with Mourvèdre) as well as lots of new saddle leather, blueberry, black raspberry, earth and Mediterranean herb notes. This lush, medium to full-bodied, delicious, pure, well-made red should drink nicely for 3-4 years.
Carlisle is a small “Mom n’ Pop” Sonoma County winery specializing in the production of old-vine, vineyard designated Zinfandels and red Rhône varieties (Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre, and Petite Sirah). They also produce three delicious white wines, two of which are blends from historic, old-vine vineyards plus Sonoma County's first ever Grüner Veltliner.
While Carlisle likes their wines to be bold and intensely flavored, each reflecting its vintage and vineyard, they also strive to create wines of balance, complexity, and nuance.
The goal is always the same - grow and source the finest fruit, do as little as possible to it, and bottle outstanding, pleasurable wine at the fairest price possible.
Full of ripe fruit, and robust, earthy goodness, Mourvèdre is actually of Spanish provenance, where it still goes by the name Monastrell or Mataro. It is better associated however, with the Red Blends of the Rhône, namely Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Mourvèdre shines on its own in Bandol and is popular both as a single varietal wine in blends in the New World regions of Australia, California and Washington. Somm Secret—While Mourvèdre has been in California for many years, it didn’t gain momentum until the 1980s when a group of California winemakers inspired by the wines of the Rhône Valley finally began to renew a focus on it.
A standout region for its decidedly Californian take on Burgundian varieties, the Russian River Valley is named for the eponymous river that flows through it. While there are warm pockets of the AVA, it is mostly a cool-climate growing region thanks to breezes and fog from the nearby Pacific Ocean.
Chardonnay and Pinot Noir reign supreme in Russian River, with the best examples demonstrating a unique combination of richness and restraint. The cool weather makes Russian River an ideal AVA for sparkling wine production, utilizing the aforementioned varieties. Zinfandel also performs exceptionally well here. Within the Russian River Valley lie the smaller appellations of Chalk Hill and Green Valley. The former, farther from the ocean, is relatively warm, with a focus on red and white Bordeaux varieties. The latter is the coolest, foggiest parcel of the Russian River Valley and is responsible for outstanding Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.