Newsletter
Sign up for our newsletter for information on our latest products and promotions.
Sign up for our newsletter for information on our latest products and promotions.
Please confirm that you are of legal age
to purchase alcohol in your region.
You currently have an active checkout session
open already, would you like to clear it?
1257 Kensington Road NW
1 (403) 283-8000 / atyourservice@kensingtonwinemarket.com
$76.99
100% Mourvèdre. Harvested in late October. 80% destemmed and 20% whole-cluster. 14% new and 86% neutral French oak.
A new wine from Carlisle! While the Mourvèdre harvests are typically blended with Syrah to create their "The Integral" blend, the 2018 vintage of Mourvèdre demanded a single-varietal release. This is a ferocious, mysterious Mourvèdre with shocking presence and more than a nod to Southern French examples.
This wine is tremendously cellar-worthy. Enjoy 2025 through 2040.
750 mlRobertparker.com Tasting Note (2018 Vintage)
94 Points - Erin Brooks - "The 2018 Mourvèdre Radiant Ridge Vineyard is the first iteration of 100% Mourvèdre from this site; usually, it is co-fermented with Syrah, but this vintage, the ripening curves of the two grapes were too different, so they were picked and fermented separately. It was made using 20% whole cluster and aged in 14% new French oak. Purple-black in color, it is scented of wild berries and dark cherries, aniseed, thyme and lilac. The palate is powerful and minerally, with great freshness and a floral perfume to elevate the long finish. It's a very classy rendition of this "wild" variety, and I'd love to see it with some bottle age! 309 cases were made."
"It all started innocently enough. When I was 19, my older sister who was throwing a dinner party offered me a small glass of amber-coloured syrup. “Ambrosia!” I exclaimed upon tasting the late-harvest Riesling. That was it. I was hooked."
-Mike Officer
.jpg)
Eschewing a job in software development and the city hustle & bustle in favour of making wine in their garage, the Carlisle husband-and-wife team of Mike and Kendall Officer has been making wine under the Carlisle Winery name since 1998. From these humble beginnings, Carlisle Winery & Vineyards has become a Sonoma County gem, producing genuine world-class wines.
Largely specializing in old-vine, vineyard-specific Zinfandels and red Rhone varietals. Carlisle wines are bold and assertive yet impeccably balanced. Differences between vintages and vineyards showcase the deviances amongst Sonoma terroir, which is further expressed by Carlisle's ethos of minimal intervention. Expect impeccable, nuanced wines at an outstanding price.
Carlisle's Estate Vineyard was planted in 1927 and features a field blend of 40 different varietals with Zinfandel being predominant. Mike does no advertising and sells his wine through a mailing list that is over-subscribed. The real advertising is through word of mouth (literally) as his wine’s reputation of affordability and value for such unparalleled quality have sold themselves.
Carlisle produces approximately 9,000 cases annually and does not want to increase from this level. With very few retail shops carrying Carlisle products, if you find it that is enough reason to purchase.
Kensington Wine Market is honoured to be one of the few wine shops anywhere able to carry Carlisle.
Above: Zinfandel from Papara Ranch Vineyard just before harvesting.
$71.99
Thrust into the international wine spotlight thanks to an unmatched eight perfect 100-point scores from the world’s leading wine publication, The Wine Advocate, Greenock Creek remains the proud standard-bearer for long-lived Barossa Valley red wines of deep colour, abundant flavour and great structure.
Their vineyards are situated in the sub-regions of Seppeltsfield, Marananga and Moppa located along the Barossa Valley’s western edge and are some of the oldest vines in the world. Thin, sandy loam topsoils lie sparsely scattered over ancient deposits of bluestone, marble stone, limestone, quartz and ironstone. Rainfall is limited, often to less than 400 millimetres a year falling through winter and early spring. Subsurface clay retains valuable moisture, sustaining the vines through the long, warm and dry summers and autumns. The perfect, low-disease-pressure conditions in which to grow small, healthy bunches of compact, flavour-packed berries.
Two Alices' are better than one! Alice's vineyard and the Shiraz it grows takes its name a mother and an aunt of Greenock Creek's owners Annabelle and Michael Waugh: Annabelle's mom and Michael's favourite aunt. Alices Shiraz is one of the iconic big reds in Greenock Creek's portfolio and is also the winery's largest vineyard with a total area of 15 acres. The vines on the site were planted in 1997.
$84.99
Amon-Ra Shiraz is an iconic wine that epitomises Ben Glaetzer’s passion to create wines that are full flavoured, multi layered and intense but still elegant, stylish and finely balanced. The nose has essence of black cherry, dark plums and spice. On the palate look for mouth coating richness with restraint and admirable poise. Multi layered flavours of dark chocolate and dried spice with bright fruits and great palate length. This is a wine that will develop beautifully with long term cellaring over decades.
In Egyptian mythology, Amon-Ra is considered to be the king of all gods. The temple of Amon-Ra was believed to be the first temple to ever plant a monoculture vineyard to produce wine for the citizens of the temple.
The eye on front of the label is the all-seeing eye of Horus or wedjat ("whole one") - a powerful Egyptian symbol of protection. It is represented as a figure with six parts, corresponding to what Egyptians regarded as the six senses; touch, taste, hearing, sight, smell and thought.
Ben created Amon-Ra Shiraz to appeal to all these six senses.
$72.99
From owner/winemaker Mike Officer: Booyah! We’ve produced some mighty tasty Grenaches in the past (2018, 2016, and 2013 come to mind) but for my palate, none holds a candle to this lip-smackin’ bad boy! It actually transports me back to Châteauneuf-du-Pape, reminding me of some of my favorite 100% (or nearly so) Grenache cuvées grown in safres. Picked October 18th, 20% of the fruit was not destemmed to add a bit of peppery spice to the nose and palate. After an indigenous fermentation and nearly a month on the skins, the wine was pressed to all neutral French oak. It remained unracked and on its lees until bottling. Unfined and unfiltered.
The Rossi Vineyard was originally planted in 1910 by the Rossi family which it takes its name from. The Vineyard lies in the Sonoma Valley and is planted with Zinfandel, Grenache, and other varietals.
$84.99
In Mike Officer's words:
I started with five gallons of Zinfandel in my kitchen. Over the next several years, I made a barrel of Zinfandel each vintage with the help of some friends and my wife, Kendall Carlisle. The results were encouraging. Kendall and I moved to Santa Rosa in Sonoma County to be closer to the “source”. I found myself increasingly drawn to the old-vine vineyards of Sonoma County. There was something special, even magical, about those ancient, twisted vines with their deep roots and long histories. By 1997 we were producing over 300 cases of “garage” wine, mostly vineyard-designated old-vine Zinfandels, and winning numerous gold medals in amateur competitions. Hence, it was with our meagre savings and some family support that Kendall and I launched Carlisle Winery & Vineyards in 1998, concentrating on our two loves, old-vine Zinfandel and red Rhône varieties (Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre, and Petite Sirah). Our goal was simple but ambitious: to create small lots of distinctive, world-class wines from some of California’s most exceptional vineyards. With the belief that great wine begins in the vineyard, we sought out Zinfandel from some of the finest vineyards in the county, planted between 1888 and 1934, including our own vineyard planted in 1927 by Alcide Pelletti. In February of 2001, Jay Maddox, an old college friend who had just finished getting a second degree in viticulture and enology (with honors!) from U.C. Davis, joined Carlisle, bringing a wealth of knowledge, a keen palate, and a desire to produce nothing but the best without compromise. Together, we have been able to grow to nearly 10,000 cases, garnering high praise from wine critics and consumers alike.
