Turley Wine Cellars was founded in 1993 by Larry Turley and specializes in small lots of Zinfandel and Petite Sirah from some of California’s most historic and treasured vineyards. Turley now makes right around 50 separate wines from 47 different vineyards, some with vines that date back to the late 1800’s. Tegan Passalacqua is the Director of Winemaking at Turley and has been instrumental in revitalizing the brand.
Pesenti Vineyard, in Paso Robles, is estate-owned and certified organic. The vineyard was planted by the Turley team using cuttings from the Hayne vineyard.
Crimson in color. 15.9% ABV. Awesome nose of red and black fruits, baking spices and cracked black pepper. Full bodied with mouth watering acidity. Remarkably well balanced. Loaded with lush, sweet fruits. Black cherry, blackberry, peach and pepper on the palate. Exceptional length on the finish. Tremendous Zinfandel that is aging so well. Best over the next 1-2 years.
My rating: 95 points.
With all due respect to Carlisle, Turley is arguably the best Zinfandel producer in California. Certainly the scale of the operation is second to none. Exceptional vineyards sources throughout the state of California and no detail spared in the winemaking process. The wines are simply better than ever.
Turley wines are available via the mailing list and periodically at retail. Turley has tasting rooms in both Amador and Paso Robles. If you are not on the mailing list, this is an easy way to secure bottles. Both are not to be missed if you are in the area.
Turley fared well in The 2018 Zinfandel Chronicles Power Rankings.
I’ve been on the Turley mailing list for a couple of years and sampled a good variety of offerings, and I always buy the Pesenti Zin as well as the Pesenti PS. Both are tremendous values and just consistently delicious, zesty, and deeply satisfying. Glad to hear the ’13 is ageing well. If only I had the patience to age mine, which I don’t.