Synopsis, Our Opinion: Our Turley favorite and we would say it’s the quintessential California Zinfandel.
Producer/Winery: Turley Wine Cellars; Templeton, California.
Grape Variety: Zinfandel.
Geographic Appellation: Paso Robles; Central Coast, California.
Vintage: 2013
Price: $55.00
Purchased From: Turley Wine Cellars, Templeton, California.
Paired With: Italian sausage bolognese sauce, home made fettuccine and Caesar style salad that was heavy on garlic and lemon juice.
Tasting:
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Opened and decanted one hour before drinking. Somewhere between clear and opaque with a dusty purple color and a lighter purple rim. INTENSE ripe raspberry, cherry and blackberry aromas with hints of wet trap rock. Smooth entry, full-body and a vibrant spicy texture. Enormous ripe cherry, raspberry, current, tar and dusty hard-rock mineral flavors that just continue to grow through mid-palate into a powerful spicy finish that’s loaded with sour cherry, round-edged grippy tannins and plenty of clean fresh acidity. WOW the cherry flavor mixed with the tar and peppery spice make this a combination made in heaven and very different from other Turley Zinfandel…the California big and bold, although not missing, wasn’t overwhelming. It was powerful, yet subtle and smooth. But, every step of the taste grew more influential and you knew it was just the prologue for what was to come. This wine reminds me of sitting in the paddock the moment I light up the Cosworth motor in my race car…flip the switch and press the start button and the normally aspirated motor jumps to life. There is no ground-shaking pounding, but there is a vibration in the air that sets the stage, an intake noise that’s louder than the exhaust, the sweet smell of the high-test racing fuel and lots and lots of DRAMA and ANTICIPATION from everyone within 100 feet of what’s about to happen…they instinctively know it’s going to be spectacular and fast, but just how fast??? And, like this wine, maybe the best part is anticipating just what the finish is going to be like as the ferocious flavors grow as each sip is swirled through the mouth. From Turley’s oldest vineyard, number 20 on the Wine Spectator Top 100 wines of 2016, and not rough-hewn or unpolished as most California Zinfandel has become. We drink a lot of Zinfandel and this is our Turley favorite and we would say it’s the quintessential California Zinfandel.
Photo from Turley Wine Cellars.
Alcohol Content: 15.8%
Closure: Natural cork.
UPC Code: NA
Imported by: NA