2007 Carlisle Syrah Papa's Block
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Tasting notes
The dense purple-colored 2007 Syrah Papa's Block offers up sweet aromas of charcoal, blackberries, creme de cassis, flowers, and incense. Like all of these Syrahs, it possesses a layered texture, terrific purity, and a long, velvety-textured finish. It should drink well for 6-7 years. One of California's most compelling success stories is Mike Officer's conversion from full-time software developer to full-time guardian of old vine Zinfandel vineyards and world-class producer of artisinal wines. Carlisle is a hugely successful winery, not only because of outstanding customer service, but because of the simple fact that it delivers great wines at extremely fair prices. Carlisle's 2008 Zinfandel crop is the smallest to date thanks to the spring frost, which cut yields by 30%. Consequently, production for all of these 2008s is down considerably. That said, the concentration levels are higher than ever, and the alcohol content is slightly higher than in 2007. The 2007 Syrahs (all 100% Syrah) showcase not only Mike Officer's uncanny knack for ferreting out top terroirs for Syrah, but also his artisinal, hands-off winemaking philosophy that seems to coax the finest characteristics out of all his vineyard sources. The 2008 Syrahs are concentrated, powerful reds, and I may be wrong, but it appears that Mike Officer is beginning to use a higher percentage of whole clusters (stems). Tel. (707) 566-7700; Fax (707) 566-7200
Critic scores
Average Score
Robert Parker
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 2007 Carlisle Syrah Papa's Block is a big, full bodied wine with boatloads of blackberry and cassis fruit, roasted meats and floral aromas. The palate has a lush, hedonistic texture but it’s also light on its feet, beautifully balanced and has a blockbuster finish. This bottle survived an all day decant and was still stunning, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see this have a long life ahead of it. 33% of the fruit wasn’t destemmed and 1/3 was aged in new French oak. 307 cases.
Inky ruby. Ripe, expansive aromas of blackberry liqueur, cola, gingerbread and licorice. Fleshy dark fruit flavors coat the palate and are given structure by big, velvety tannins. Carrying a lot of weight but there's good energy to the wine's deep fruit, too. The finish repeats the gingerbread and cola notes and offers very good persistence.