A few Recent TNs (Racines and Carlisle)

  • 2017 Racines Chardonnay Sta. Rita Hills - USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills (8/29/2021)
    Lemon oil, white flowers, and a small amount of oak on the nose. A bit of ethanol poking through, though not overpowering or overwhelming, but every now and then when swirling the glass, I’d catch a hint of it which would throw me slightly. Surprised me when I looked at the label and saw 12.%% ABV. Ample and slightly creamy on the palate. Confit citrus. Good length and texture. Clearly seen a bit of new oak (~20% I’m guessing). The wine appears to have the old world as its guiding North Star, but is clearly not afraid to lean in to the riper and richer fruit profile that CA terroirs afford the grapes. Not overly ripe or flabby, but not the linear focus other expressions of Chard can have. A wine true to its place, albeit stylistically not my preference. Could have definitely used a decant for an hour or two, but I only had one decanter at hand and that was being used for a red that needed it more.

ABV: 12.5%
Decant: N/A
Stem: Gabriel Glas StandArt
Assemblage: Mostly fruit from Wenzlau Vineyard. Aged 18 months in French oak (17% new) and 6 months in stainless steel. 681 cases produced


  • 2018 Carlisle Zinfandel Bedrock Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley (8/29/2021)
    Expressive bouquet of blue fruits on the nose: blueberries, boysenberry, cherries that’s soon followed by sweet hoisin, red liquorice, a bit of savoury dried spices and a soupçon of menthol at the very end. A but spicy on entry alongside the blue fruits, but not much after the initial attack. Really needed to swish it around and chew on it to get more out of the wine. Medium acid. On the front palate there’s this really intriguing tension between the red and blue fruits and some herbal savoury elements, but that seems to fade shortly thereafter. A well made Zin in a lighter and more restrained in style, but it seems to be missing some complexity and additional oomph for my preference.

ABV: 14.7%
Decant: 6h
Stem: Gabriel Glas StandArt
Assemblage: 98% Zinfandel (includes a couple percent mixed black varieties), 2% Mourvèdre. pH: 3.60; T.A.: 6.8 g/L. 302 cases produced