Sipping Fine Wine

9.3

Inspired by “mixed blacks” first made by Italian immigrants originally settling in Napa, blend of Zinfandel, Cab Sauv, Petite Sirah, Syrah & Charbono. Deep Ruby aromas of berries and complex spice. Aged 30% on new oak, combo of French/American barrels. Palate shows big flavors of cherry, blueberry & raspberry, bold spice lively acidity, vanilla & cedar notes, good balance. Fine tannins, long finish. Nice, cellar this for a while. Note, ‘17, bigger & bolder than ‘16. — 6 years ago

Eric Godin

9.6

Among the infinite layers intermittently displayed by this wine you will find juicy reds blues and blacks. In particular it opened with a nice blueberry and from there the palate was a roller coaster experience, the story changing continuously. What an experience! I am sure this is just the beginning of my quintarelli journey. — 8 years ago

Joe Lucca

9.1

Snowfall kinda came out of nowhere. Making the evening a bit more wintery and festive. One hour decant on this, needs some bottle age. Juicy, juicy black fruit. Hints of smoke and eucalyptus. Nice acidity. Thanks so much @Shawn R for the hook up with these guys! — 8 years ago

with Diana

Billy L.

9.4

Great Monte Rosso Vineyard Old Vines planted in 1886 Sonoma Cty. Zinfandel.
Carlisle Winery: Mike Officer-Owner / Winemaker & Champion of Old Zinfandel & Mixed Blacks
Vineyards in Sonoma County. Mike has saved multiple pre 1900 vineyards from being ripped out & replanted with other varietals. Thanks for your efforts! Tasting wines made from these old Vineyards is a true privilege.

Always a great experience when drinking Carlisle wines! Cellar or drink up! Cheers!
🍇🍷👍 — 8 years ago

Dave Genevro

9.4

A new favorite of what CA does greatly...This 'blacks blend' is just perfect. Rich, dark, layered and vibrant. It showed best after a day being opened. — 9 years ago

Martin G Rivard

9.4

My favorite Napa field blend. Huge dark fruit nose., not for the faint of heart!! It is drinking incredibly well. Decanted 6 hours prior to drinking... was silky smooth yet with incredible intensity and depths of flavored. 😍 love it! This was the 3rd wine opened — 10 years ago

with Roderic, Cindy and 3 others

Delectable Wine

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9.1

Michael Cruse’s 2017 Monkey Jacket, a Valdiguié/Petite Sirah/Carignan and mixed blacks blend, is dark, racy and absolutely gorgeous. Black cherry, plum, spice and leather notes race out of the glass in this pliant, super-expressive red. $25.00 (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, January 2019) — 7 years ago

Al Shikoh

9.0

Very aromatic. Fruit forward on the palate with notes of red cherry and plum. Surprising structure. Zinfandel sourced from various Russian River Valley vineyards including Banfield, Saitone, Carlisle, Montafi, and Papera from vines planted between 1881 to 1934 with interplanted mixed blacks. — 7 years ago

Tom Casagrande

9.0

Rich and oaky, there’s a lot of black fruit and gravel in the nose. In the mouth, it’s dark and ripe, very intense but not super heavy. Needs steaks, and, fortunately, that’s what we’re having! — 8 years ago

with Angelo

Paul Weil

9.0

Smooth and creamy, this is a rich, chocolate red blend. The flavors are restrained and subtle, and the medium body is pleasant on the palate. There is a hint of fresh blueberries and some cherries in the finish. — 8 years ago

Al Shikoh

9.2

Moderate purple in color. Expressive nose of blackberry, black licorice, baking chocolate, mint, and hints of smoke. On the palate, it's medium bodied with impressive fruit intensity and tannin without oppressive heat despite coming in at 15.3% alcohol. Made from a field blend of 90% Zinfandel and 10% mixed blacks including Mourvèdre, Petit Sirah, Alicante Bouschet, and others, it is sourced from historic Bedrock Vineyard's 120 year-old 6' tall gobelet pruned vines in a pocket of relative warmth compared to the surrounding Sonoma Valley. It has both the fruit to please now and the structure to go the distance. SRP $47. — 8 years ago

with Kelly

Jody Scharf

9.3

Zin,merlot and something else. Its my week for blends. As a matter of fact I'm now officially in the market for blends. Why not. This blend is jammy, fruity, dark and real. I loved it. Yummy. — 9 years ago

Christy Canterbury MW

Master of Wine

8.9

Sophisticated Bordeaux blend with hints of sweet and toasty new oak backed up with ripe blacks richness. — 10 years ago

Kirk F

9.0

Broke this out for a family gathering, unsure of the response it would receive. Pleased by this blend of ‘mixed blacks’. Surprisingly medium bodied, fresh and easy going. Crowd was happy, glasses were empty! — 7 years ago

GabWine

9.2

A surprising sparkling with woody flavors. Like a white of blacks but Italian way. Tannins rather present that makes this wine special. The length in the mouth is short but the complex and mineral side allows to enjoy it at its fair value. — 8 years ago

Eric

9.6

Dig it. All the trademark Buccella traits like plush candied oak with a Rhone skeleton of wild game and pepper. Cool neon purple too. Looks like they got a new winemaker in -15? Fingers crossed. — 8 years ago

Eric Godin

9.7

Looks a bit like a nebbiolo in the glass. Getting my nose in there presents me with tobacco, leather, a good bit of alcohol, a touch of potpourri and some candied red fruits. Is that peppermint?? Who cares it is amazing. Like other brunellos I've encountered this one keeps giving, continuously changing every time I go back for more.
Flushing my mouth with black cherry and luscious ripe reds and blacks lead by fresh bright acidity, the flavors quickly change to deep dark cocoa and tobacco with jammy blacks as soon as it's gone. Soft polished tannins round out any remaining acidity to just leave you satisfied(but welcoming more). Pumped I finally got to try this. Thanks to master somms Jay Fletcher and Fred Dame for leaving me a full glass in the bottle. Cheers! — 8 years ago

Maria James

9.0

I paired this wine with a vegetarian lasagna I made. The nose reveals essence of berries and chocolate. The wine is silky and has a long finish. — 9 years ago

with Cordon

Steffen Weiss

9.0

Dark, fruity, spicy, well balanced. Complex layers of minerals. Delicious — 10 years ago

Alan Spain

10

A great black ipa — 10 years ago

with Emer