Carlisle DuPratt Vineyard Zinfandel 2017
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Jeb
Dunnuck -
Wine
Spectator -
Robert
Parker
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Medium ruby-garnet. A totally knock-out nose of pomegranate, cranberry, and something pleasingly resinous that brings to mind the surrounding redwood forest. Dee-lish! On the palate, full-bodied yet surprisingly light on its feet with vibrant, almost electric, flavors of red currant, cranberry, and spice. All in all, just a damn pretty wine that is an absolute delight to sip.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2017 Zinfandel Dupratt Vineyard comes from a cool site in the Mendocino Ridge that lies at 1,500 feet in elevation and is surrounded by massive redwood trees. It was also planted in 1920, so we’re talking about serious old vines. This 2017 has a perfumed, ethereal, lifted bouquet of cranberries, red cherries, spice, and flowers. Silky, medium-bodied, and beautifully balanced, it’s a singular wine from Mike that has the depth and class to evolve for over a decade. As with all these newly released 2017s, it’s not a blockbuster but shines for its elegance, complexity, and length.
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Wine Spectator
Briary yet graceful, with multilayered black cherry, sassafras and savory anise flavors that fan out on a lingering finish. Drink now through 2026.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2017 Zinfandel du Pratt Vineyard (100% Zinfandel) comes from own-rooted vines planted in 1920 at 1,600 feet in elevation. Aged in 17% new French oak, it has a medium ruby-purple color and nose of warm peach, cinnamon stick, potpourri and dried citrus peel with warm black cherries, plum, rhubarb and cranberry over a savory undercurrent. It's medium-bodied, silky and giving, with loads of perfumed, spicy fruits, firmly framed and with juicy freshness on the long, layered finish. Yum!
Other Vintages
2018-
Jeb
Dunnuck -
Wine
Spectator
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Wine
Enthusiast
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.
Unapologetically bold, spice-driven and jammy, Zinfandel has secured its title as the darling of California vintners by adapting well to the state's diverse microclimates and landscapes. Born in Croatia, it later made its way to southern Italy where it was named Primitivo. Fortunately, the imperial nursery of Vienna catalogued specimens of the vine, and it later made its way to New England in 1829. Parading the true American spirit, Zinfandel found a new home in California during the Gold Rush of 1849. Somm Secret—California's ancient vines of Zinfandel are those that survived the neglect of Prohibition; today these vines produce the most concentrated, ethereal and complex examples.
Essentially a northern extension of the Sonoma Coast AVA but part of Mendocino County, Mendocino Ridge is one of the rare appellations defined by elevation only. The Mendocino Ridge AVA is reserved only for vineyards at or above 1,200 feet between the Anderson Valley and Pacific Ocean.