2009 Carlisle Syrah Cardiac Hill

The 2009 Syrah Cardiac Hill is a gorgeous, thrilling wine laced with bacon fat, tapenade, savory herbs and plums. It possesses gorgeous aromatic delineation and fabulous length. The intense, mineral-drenched finish argues for cellaring the wine for at least another 2-3 years, but readers are going to have a very hard time keeping their hands off this gem. Cardiac Hill is a very cold site. The wine (100% Syrah) was vinified with 40% whole cluster and aged in French oak barrels, 27% new. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2029. This is a fabulous set of wines from Mike Officer and Carlisle. Best of all, the wines remain very reasonably priced considering the quality and passion that goes into the bottle. Along with Morgan Twain-Peterson of Bedrock, Mike Officer is focused on seeking out the finest old-vine sites in California, which have either been neglected over the years, or are being bought by large-scale wineries who have little interest in discovering the quirks of these very old vineyards, most of which are planted with field blends that truly harken back to another era. The wines are made with indigenous yeasts and aged in French oak barrels, usually in the 20-30% range. I tasted all of the 2010s from barrel the day before they were scheduled to be moved into tank. Tel. (707) 566-7700; www.carlislewinery.com

Firm and edgy, with serious black and blue fruits, ground pepper, smoked game, violets, and huge wet slate and crushed stone like minerality, the 2009 Carlisle Syrah Cardiac Hill is medium to full-bodied on the palate, possessing beautiful concentration, impeccable balance, and solid underlying structure and depth. Slightly unfriendly at the moment given the amount of acid and tannin present, this beauty needs 4-5 years of bottle age and should drink brilliantly for 15+ years. Serious stuff but patience will be required.

Opaque purple. Smoky red and dark berry aromas are complemented by classic syrah notes of olive tapenade, minerals and black pepper. Tangy, spice-accented black raspberry and bitter cherry flavors are braced by dusty tannins and pick up an exotic violet note on the back end. Taut, focused and very fresh, finishing with excellent cut and peppery persistence. This is still a baby. This was also fermented with 40% whole clusters, said Officer.