Carlisle, Steiner Syrah, Sonoma Mountain

PNP. Muted fruit, blue ink, briar patch & hint of white pepper. Beyond drink window.

2011 vintage

Smoky nose. Thought it was a Mourvèdre. White pepper. Red fruit but not overpowering. Still lots of tannins. Day 2 is all tangy red fruit. I love how well Mike's wines age!

2011 vintage

Medium garnet color with pronounced aromas of black currant, smoke, blackberry, white pepper, olive tapenade, sandalwood, dried herb and violets. On the palate, it's medium-bodied and harmonious with bright, mouth-watering acidity and well integrated gauzy tannins. It shows black currant, black berry, boysenberry, Morello cherry, mocha and savory spice/herb flavors with a hint of orange rind. Long finish. 14.1% abv From Carlisle: "Located at 1000’ elevation on the northwest face of Sonoma Mountain, weather at Steiner Vineyard is greatly influenced …

2011 vintage

PnP. Dark, moderate sediment. Dark fruit. Some earth. Good structure. Good with food. Will try the second half tomorrow.

2011 vintage

This was a really nice Syrah with a few more great years to go. The palate is dominated with lush blackberry and cassis fruit and bold black pepper, which stood up strong, and wonderfully, to Bob's spicy chili, which is worth extra points. Other flavors, you get more drinking on its own, are cedar, a little green pepper and a little rawhide. The tannins are well integrated and the finish is smooth with only a very slight off-putting flavor.

2011 vintage

Full bodied, velvety mouthfeel, long finish. Great wine in a tough year.

2011 vintage

First of these drinking well with braised pork shoulder. Higher acidity typical of cool year. Drink or hold

2011 vintage

Dark ruby to purple in color. Lovely nose of meat forest floor and spice. Lighter bodied with dark fruits plums and some spice. It has a good acid balance to the medium partially resolved tannins. Good finish. Plenty of time left but Officer gives end of life 2020. Add another 5 easily.

2011 vintage

Drinking well. Tasted blind in a flight of nine northern California syrahs. Everyone liked it, and it was voted joint first. Inky black in the glass. Nice aromas, smoked meat, bacon fat, lavender and hint of vanilla. Nice mix of dark and blue fruits on the palate, complemented with complex savory finish with hints of tertiary notes emerging. Good balance, and weight. Well done considering the vintage. I could see well stored bottles going another 3-5 years.

2011 vintage

Drinking very nicely at this time. Anise, black to blue fruits, pepper, black olives and the faintest hints of oak. Nice lift on the front with tannins being integrated and smooth. Very well balanced and in my wheelhouse for CA Syrah. Well done!

2011 vintage

Ready now! Blue fruit, pepper, licorice, and oak. Soft tannins, but still plenty my of structure. Drink over the next year

2011 vintage

Drank this at a holiday party. Sorry no notes, but you will enjoy this wine. Great nose and taste. One of my non-geek friends, or so I thought, is on the Carlisle mailing list. It was nice to have an educated wine conversation!

2011 vintage

Ready now! Anise, minerals, and sour cherries with acidic but softening tannins. Finish is long with layers of oak, black olives, and cherry.

2011 vintage

Well balanced and delineated Syrah. I enjoy this style and find it very food friendly when the dish just won’t work with Zin or a Pinot.

2011 vintage

Pop and pour. Drank half bottle over 2-3 hrs. Delicious. Mid weight. Stinky and poopy, exotic five spice, iron/metallic notes, red and dark fruit. Lively acidity and mid tannins. Salinity notes of others appreciated. Very unique. Clean clean long lingering finish. Sad. My last bottle. 280 cases produced. Not at its peak. Year and years to go.

2011 vintage

plenty of olive tapenade and dark berry

2011 vintage

Solid, if a leaner style. Red garnet coloring. A more exacting wine, some graphite, dusty tannin structure. Drank nicely over two days. Understated, relative to other Carlisle Syrahs. Not a bad thing, just a different animal. Ready now, but seemed to be holding up nicely.

2011 vintage

Wine has developed with age !! Syrah at its best!

2011 vintage

This was a very nice wine. Did not expect much given the challenging vintage. Totally French on the nose, along with red berry notes, and a combination of France & Cali on the palate. Northern Rhone, cool climate in style. Medium-full bodied on palate, with pure and tasty fruit.

2011 vintage

I've never tasted a steiner and I brought this knowing we'd be BBQ at some point and a Syrah would work well. This really caught me off guard as this contains many of the key northern Rhone characteristics although still new world. The black olive aroma is a treat and some ocean spray. There's a foundation of salinity below the dark fruit and chalk dust. Thomas enjoyed analyzing this wine with FMIII and me. He has a great palate for …

2011 vintage

Opened and right to the glasses. Has seen now about 30 mins of air so use that for context. This wine reminds me of the Garys' vineyard in the Santa Lucia Highlands, showing similar flavors. BBQ/steak sauce, black olive, and sweeter red fruit. With more air, this begins to show better delineation, with more red fruit and the acidity comes alive to freshen the wine. My hunch is this needs more air.....retasting the following day, and at a warm-ish room …

2011 vintage

Give this even a slightly higher score than the last bottle. Really enjoy this. Not always a fan of CA syrahs, but this was very nice. The mountain fruit is rich, ferric, but not over the top.

2011 vintage

Good syrah, got a little tired toward the end of the bottle on day 2.

2011 vintage

I echo others in enjoying the more restrained style of this wine. Could be the weather and mountain fruit. Nice, lower in alcohol for Carlisle wines, which I enjoyed. No pepper or bacon fat notes, but very nice Syrah.

2011 vintage

Good solid syrah with very few flaws.

2011 vintage

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Carlisle, Steiner Syrah, Sonoma Mountain

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