WTN: 2 '02 Carlisle Sonoma Zins

[geo t.]

2002 Carlisle Sonoma County Zinfandel, $19.50, 15.8% alc.: This deep, dark garnet shows the signature Carlisle perfume of big sweet oak, blackberry and black raspberry, with overtones of cola, chocolate, mint and menthol. The flavors echo and explode on the palate with an added earthy, brambly character, and what Kim describes as a note of lavender. This wine is delicious poured straight from the bottle, despite three to five years worth of tannins and zippy acidity. It finishes with decidedly briar - brambly, cola, root beer and rock and rye overtones, often a hallmark of Mike Officer's fine Zinfandels. Very nice indeed, and a fine example of why we buy Carlisle religiously!

2002 Carlisle Sonoma Valley Zinfandel, $23, 15.9% alc.: Decidedly dark garnet, with sweet oak, zinberry, blackberry and raspberry flavors and aromas that show accents of bramble, briar, cola - root beer and a hint of Rhône - like vegetal decay. Rich, extracted and very much in the signature Carlisle style, this gets a little creamy with air, and should improve with at least two or three years in the cellar. We should have tasted this side by side with the '01 Sonoma County bottling to compare, but didn't. We only got two of each, so we'll make a point of doing that in about three years.

More recent Carlisle notes can be viewed in The Carlisle Report, Tasting Notes from the Underground, The Gang of Pour.

Reporting from Day-twah,

geo t.