2013 Turley Zinfandel Estate

Community Tasting Notes (32) Avg Score: 91.1 points

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  3/12/2024 - Winiac wrote: 93 Points

  Spicy and herbal with bright acidity. Prominent oak and some pencil shaves. Good balance and pleasant finish.

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  9/5/2023 - Hi.its.Don.4.Wine Likes this wine: 93 Points

  Time to Swap
  
  While checking out a recent issue of one of the wine reviewers I subscribe to, I came across an article reviewing California, and specifically, Sonoma County wines. I like Sonoma, so I dove into the text with fervor. All very interesting, but then began to scan the wines reviewed. I came across a name, familiar to many, I’m sure, while at the same time realizing that it had been a while since tasting any wines from this particular winery.
  
  Normally, you might think that I would find a wine that was locally available, drink it, and then review it. All logical thinking. But I recalled that I had a previous wine in my cellar that I had been holding on to for a while and thought it best to yank that wine from its perch and “swap” the wine, with the newer version to be drunk in the future. So that’s what I did. The older wine was the
  
  Turley "Estate" Napa Valley Zinfandel 2013
  
  Though a 10-year-old wine, it still is in its infancy. You might even say it's “juvenile” (that's relevant if you know Turley wines). I even had reservations as to whether or not the wine would still be as fantastic as its 94- and 95-Point reviews (written about 8 years ago) would make me believe.
  
  It was!
  
  Coming from Turley’s “Estate” vineyard located right “in our backyard” as they tell it, this organically and dry-farmed vineyard harkens back to its old vine roots of having planted some Carignane, Petite Syrah, Trousseau, and Cinsault within the same vineyard as inclusion into this wine.
  
  After hand-harvesting, native yeast is used to ferment the juice, after which the wine is aged for 15 months in both French (80%) and American (20%) Oak barrels. It’s finished and bottled unfined and unfiltered.
  
  The wine was loaded with dried dark cherry notes with savory elements combined with soft tannins that move on to a long finish with spice notes adding to the experience. Any reservations about the wine and its age disappeared, though I might be tempted to consider drinking should you still have a bottle of this ambrosia.
  
  Turley now makes 50 different wines from over 50 vineyards across California, primarily Zinfandel and Petite Syrah, and so as to make you aware of what wine I “swapped” the Estate wine with, it was the Turley Cedarman Zinfandel Howell Mountain 2021. The 96 Point review from the article I had read was a major contributing factor. Though it wasn’t on sale, I did have a 15% off coupon from the wine shop that I frequent. Can’t keep me away from saving money!
  
  It's unlikely I need to remind anyone of the quality of Turley wines, so I won’t.
  
  Cheers

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  7/3/2023 - Janstan Likes this wine: 89 Points

  Went well with bbq beef

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  1/16/2023 - guitarguy wrote: 92 Points

  As good a Turley as I can remember in several years and I have a deep inventory. Fresh, ripe, juicy almost sweet with that strong blueberry and underbrush main notes. Not quite as good day 2.

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  10/27/2022 - Robwild Likes this wine: 90 Points

  My last bottle of 2013 Turley. It has been a while, and while still enjoyable, it was not as balanced or fruit forward as I had recalled. Raspberries and cherries with spice and medium tannin.

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