2018 Turley Zinfandel Juvenile – Bottle Notes

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.

The fruit used in Juvenile comes from vines that range in age from about 6-25 years. The grapes are sourced from vineyards including Hayne, Ueberroth, Pesenti, Salvador, Vineyard 101, Fredericks and Kirschenmann.

Purple in color. 15.2% ABV. Sublime nose of black and red fruits, licorice and pepper. Full bodied with mouth watering acidity. Great balance. Rich and plush. Black cherry, raspberry liqueur and a hint of citrus on the palate. Tremendous length on the finish. It should come as no surprise that Turley hit a home run with the Juvenile in the stelllar ’18 vintage. Always just a delightful wine at an incredible price. Best over the next 1-2 years.

My rating: 92 points.

The 2019 Juvenile was recently released and should be available at retail and the winery.

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 2020 Zinfandel Chronicles Power Rankings.