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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 91 pts. and median of 91 pts. in 100 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by ipp on 11/22/2020 & rated 92 points: aged well, especially for a zin. dark, jammy fruit. a bit of black pepper. great. (1105 views) | | | Tasted by bergkamp10 on 1/1/2020 & rated 91 points: Very mature with clear tertiary characteristics. Opened up after 30 mins, leather, orange rind, slightly sweet fig and deep black fruit with a little spice. A little heat on the finish. Respectable showing giving the age. Drink up. (1303 views) | | | Tasted by HowellTime on 1/15/2018 & rated 94 points: Drinking really well compared to the 2008. Nice leather notes and very smooth. Decanted for an hour or so. (2184 views) | | | Tasted by FullPolicyLimits on 3/6/2017 & rated 89 points: Decanted for about an hour. Out of balance initially with a muted nose. Opened up to a little heat, asian spice and red ripe berries. No effervescent thank god. More sediment than anticipated, so make sure you use a Vinturi or strainer of some sort. Palate was a little more than expected as initial fruit led to spice on the midpalate with the finish you could feel starting to break up from once was a hair curling ride. I've said it all along that real mountain fruit and high alcohol usually leads to a wine that holds up much longer than anticipated. (2922 views) | | | Tasted by lebo9968@gmail.com on 6/21/2015 & rated 90 points: Pretty typical Turley zin. High alcohol; high fruit; well balanced. (4586 views) | | | Tasted by plitton on 5/31/2015: Another reminder to drink Turley's early. This has some off-putting light effervescence and the wine tasted tired. My fault for waiting too long. (3885 views) | | | Tasted by Outplaying on 4/26/2015: No notes but this was a standout in a Zin tasting that included an 05 Turley Rattlesnake, 07 Chiarello Giana, 09 Outpost, 07 Vieux -Os Hell Hole, 13 Carlisle Sonoma County, 13 Geyserville, and a few others. The Geyserville was also very good but young. (3738 views) | | | Tasted by Old Gray Hare on 2/2/2015 & rated 92 points: When first opened, even with a vigorous (though brief) decant, wine was thin and acidic. Three hours later it Really opened up. Cherry, plum and, of course, pepper flavors that had a smooth, lengthy finish. An amazing transformation. (3484 views) | | | Tasted by VinoPKM on 11/30/2014 & rated 93 points: Damn tasty Zin- and the 15.9 is hidden so well in this wine. No spritz issues, no prunes, no heat and fully open for business for me. Looks like Cave and I lucked out. Black cherries, black berries, black tea and hints of anise too.
Very well made Zin. (3055 views) | | | Tasted by La Cave d'Argent on 11/5/2014 & rated 92 points: Purchased upon release and cellared in pristine fashion, this seven-year-old Rattlesnake Ridge bottle showed very well. Opaque red/garnet and nicely aromatic, it has a degree of restraint that is not seen in many Turley offerings. Bramble fruits, black cherries, fig, anise and sage are framed with fresh acidity and medium sweet tannins. I am not sure how Turley pulls it off, but this particular bottle's 15.9% alcohol is beautifully integrated when the wine is served at 60°F. Solid in the middle and long on the finish, this tasting would have been any Zin lover's delight. The showing for this particular bottle was outstanding. I definitely noted no spritz on the wine. That said, from viewing other tasters' impressions, it sounds to me as though there are many bottles that have seen secondary fermentations in the bottle. This is bothersome, as it suggests that the bottlings were uneven and that there was at least some degree of bacterial contamination that was missed, perhaps due to lack of filtration. Drink now. (1743 views) | | | Tasted by Bucket on 7/28/2014 & rated 89 points: Cork was very dried out, but the seal was intact and wine still good. While past its peak, still a very solid bottle. If you have any left, place this on your short list! (1738 views) | | | Tasted by guitarguy on 4/24/2014 & rated 84 points: This was effervescent on opening, made me think flaw. After some air it smoothed to reveal ripe, almost plummmed fruit and lots of heat and pepper. Not a wholly pleasant experience and the pruning also extends to the nose. They should do better for $40+ bucks. (1757 views) | | | Tasted by greyhound93 on 12/1/2013 flawed bottle: Yuck. This the the absolute worst Turley we've ever had. Dumped it; maybe it was defective? (2173 views) | | | Tasted by Rollerball on 11/18/2013 & rated 92 points: Big pleasurable fruit, decent balance, and great complexity. A beautiful wine. (2067 views) | | | Tasted by skinut on 9/1/2013 & rated 90 points: Subtle frizzante. Not much Howell mountain pepper. Pleasant but not the full throttle fruit I was expecting, but a solid Turley zin. (2204 views) | | | Tasted by silbakor on 8/21/2013: Big, dark, rich, spicy, good tannic structure, plenty of acidity. Seems almost sparkling in texture. Lots of black tea flavors. (2117 views) | | | Tasted by Ed B on 7/31/2013 & rated 92 points: Drank as part of a 15 vineyard, 15 person, non-blind horizontal of 2007 Turley Zinfandels. Wines were opened but remained in the bottle for 1.5 hours; only Hayne was decanted. Wines were grouped by appellation. People did not taste wines in the same order. Hayne and Ubberroth were the clear winners.
A participant/statistician ran some interesting analyses:
People got more lenient as they went on, with the 15th wine consumed rating on average a little over 1 point higher than the first. This trend became noticeable beginning about the 8-9th wine tasted. (Were the wines opening up more? Or, were people less discerning as BAC rose?)
Four people (including me!!) rated wines significantly more in line with group opinion. Three other people were clearly contrarian; their deviations from the averages were much greater than the others.
There was greater consistency in some wines than others; Mead, Moore, and Uberroth had the greatest consistency in ratings. Oddly, Hayne did not, even though most people probably surmised that Hayne was a most expensive wine.
In order, with average score (pretty tough graders!!):
Uberrroth Vineyard (Paso Robles) 91.9
Hayne Vineyard (Napa, St. Helena) 91.3
Tofanelli Vineyard (Napa) 90.2
Salvador Vineyard (Contra Costa County) 90.1
Moore Earthquake Vineyard (Napa) 90.0
Dusi Vineyard (Paso Robles) 89.9
Pesenti Vineyard (Paso Robles) 89.9
Dogtown Vineyard (Central Valley, Lodi) 89.7
Mead Ranch (Napa, Atlas Peak) 89.4
Fredricks Vineyard (Sonoma, Sonoma Valley) 89.3
Dragon Vineyard (Napa, Howell Mountain) 89.2
Rattlesnake Ridge (Napa, Howell Mountain) 89.2
Grist Vineyard (Sonoma, Dry Creek Valley) 88.9
Duarte Vineyard (Contra Costa County) 88.5
Cedarman (Napa, Howell Mountain) 88.4
Surprisingly, Howell Mountain, where Outpost makes its great zin, did not fare well as an appellation. Not surprisingly, Paso Robles did very well.
I personally like this wine much better than did the others: 92 vs. 89.2 avg. (1833 views) | | | Tasted by ocfriday on 7/23/2013 & rated 94 points: Big classic Turley. Strong nose, upfront fruit with a mellow release. (1569 views) | | | Tasted by Rktekt3 on 2/15/2013 & rated 93 points: So far, the best Turley zin i have had. So well balanced. Very full and could not feel all that much heat. I think it is in its prime. Im ready to find more. (2196 views) | | | Tasted by Wino from Michigan on 2/6/2013 & rated 92 points: One of the best Turley's I have ever drank -- not ove the top but rather well balanced. (1702 views) | | | Tasted by Blcmdpa@gmail.com on 11/19/2012 & rated 91 points: Sweet nose and taste, enough fruit to be bountiful and structure to be refined and fulfilling. Medium duration and smooth finish, but plenty of tannin to be good with fruit, but with se=weetish berry overtones. Very pleasant, not as complex and rich as other vineyards, but very pleasant, a good to great bottle. (2115 views) | | | Tasted by dtirsell on 11/12/2012 & rated 91 points: Thick, slightly cloudy but not over the top with alcohol. Smoothed out very nicely. Deep red fruit, some cola and integrated finish. (1985 views) | | | Tasted by mavericks on 6/30/2012: with Val, Megan, Neil, Beth, Woody and Laura for crab roll and fun dinner
Good but keep with the southern zins (2373 views) | | | Tasted by mavericks on 6/30/2012: with Val, Megan, Neil, Beth, Woody and Laura for crab roll and fun dinner (1974 views) | | | Tasted by ogres3 on 6/24/2012: A rich restrained zin with nice fruit a lingering finish. Had during the rattlesnake hunt in Cross Fork Pa. (1957 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Stephen Tanzer
Vinous, May/June 2009, IWC Issue #144
(Turley Wine Cellars Zinfandel Rattlesnake Ridge Howell Mountain) Subscribe to see review text. |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of Vinous. (manage subscription channels) |
| Turley Producer website2007 Turley Zinfandel Rattlesnake RidgeWinery tasting notes:
Vineyards located in areas that challenge the vines, forcing them to struggle to even produce fruit, often make some of the best wines. Pictured on the cover, Rattlesnake Ridge is the highest elevation vineyard in Napa County and is a prime example of challenging sites. The kicker is that its on Howell Mountain, one of the most distinctive, terroir driven appellations in California. Wild and brambly, peppery and fruity, tannic and concentrated this wine speaks of its sense of place without skipping a beat.Zinfandel ZAP: Zinfandel Advocates & Producers | Varietal character (Appellation America) | Wikipedia-ZinfandelRattlesnake Ridge On Weinlagen-infoUSAAmerican wine has been produced since the 1500s, with the first widespread production beginning in New Mexico in 1628. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 84% of all U.S. wine. The continent of North America is home to several native species of grape, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis vulpina, but the wine-making industry is based almost entirely on the cultivation of the European Vitis vinifera, which was introduced by European settlers. With more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) under vine, the United States is the fourth-largest wine producing country in the world, after Italy, Spain, and France.California2021 vintage: "Unlike almost all other areas of the state, the Russian River Valley had higher than normal crops in 2021, which has made for a wine of greater generosity and fruit forwardness than some of its stablemates." - Morgan Twain-Peterson Napa Valley Napa Valley Wineries and Wine (Napa Valley Vintners)Howell Mountain Howell Mountain |
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