Turley Fall 2018 Release

Anyone sampled the new releases yet? I’ll probably get a few OVZ and a couple SVD’s, but haven’t decoded which yet.

I’d post the release letter and offerings, but it’s not working out from my iPhone. Maybe someone on a desktop can.

I just got the email myself…Lots of PS on my allocation list this time.

Here is a link of this year’s release:

https://order.turleywinecellars.com/assets/download/2016_Fall_Vintage_Newsletter_&_Tasting_Notes.pdf

This is my first allocation. Got on the Turley and Bedrock list in the same year… I guess there is a lot of Zin in my future. I ordered some Old Vine, Pesenti, Cedarman, Ueberroth. Wishlisted the Heminway and Whitney. All Zin’s this time.

The petites sound great, but the idea of cellaring for forever does not sound great.

Does anyone know how these drink in the near (fresh off the truck) / mid term? I’d hate to wait 10 years to know if I like them. In general, I like Petite Sirah but I’ve never had one that knocked my socks off.

There are Turley PS available from retailers, especially in CA. If you poke around WSPro you can find options. Why not try a few older ones before deciding whether to buy and cellar?

Eric, I think Turley PS is pretty open can be drunk at any age, especially with some aeration. It certainly won’t be a waste to experiment on a bottle or two.

I think the aging thing is more if you want its intensity and power to mellow. It’s not like opening a too-young Barolo or Bordeaux where you’re just going to get shut out and have no enjoyment.

My opinion, others may have different results, but I don’t like the Turley PS young. I never had much luck with them. The Zins, yes. Very good on the young side. PS, not so much.

Thanks for the attachment of the current release, Bill!


I was dropped from the Turley list from lack of purchasing. Honestly, all I ever bought directly from the winery was the “Old Vine” Zinfandel. On WineBid, I bought the 2009 “Zampatti Vineyard”.


I wish I could get my hands on the Tecolote Grenache/Carignan blend from Paso Robles!!!

Thanks for the tips on the PS. I buy a lot of Turley with the intention of drinking young. The Zins are very good right off the bat. Maybe I’ll source an older PS or take a swing at one of these youngn’s.

As I was looking through the roster of vineyards on the Turley website, the “Steacy Ranch” popped out at me.


I recall seeing several articles as of late that focused on Mr Tegan Passalacqua (winemaker extraordinaire), which also made mention of this particular site, OR that cited an “epiphany wine” from Lodi - a Zinfandel Passalacqua once tasted from another nearby vineyard - the “Schmiedt Ranch” (aka “Dairy Vineyard”), which now sells fruit to Turley and is also found in the Schmeidt family’s own Twisted Roots label.


SF Chronicle
“Why is star winemaker Tegan Passalacqua building a winery in Lodi?”
by Esther Mobley
May 22, 2018


“…Through his job at Turley, he has made old-vine Zinfandel from Lodi’s ‘Dogtown Vineyard’ for almost 20 years. (Turley now owns a second Lodi vineyard, ‘Steacy Ranch’.) But it was while working with grapes from a lesser-known site called ‘Schmiedt Ranch’ that something turned in Passalacqua. ‘It blew my mind,’ he says of that 2010 ‘Schmiedt’ Zin. ‘It didn’t taste like Lodi Zin. It tasted like Barolo.’”


The Record
“From the Vine: Old Vine Zinfandel is a Lodi treasure”
by Bob Highfill
January 23, 2018


This article features a video of a sit-down interview between Mr Randy Caparoso and Tegan Passalacqua.


Lodi Wine Commission Blog
“Can Zinfandel be saved? Conversation with Turley’s Tegan Passalacqua”
by Randy Caparoso
January 26, 2018


Tegan Passalacqua: ‘…Finally, last year Turley finalized the purchase of a 40-acre ranch, in Lodi’s Acampo area, called the ‘Steacy Ranch’, originally planted in 1907.’”


Lodi Wine Commission Blog
“Lodi’s single-vineyard wines (Part 2: east side growths)”
by Randy Caparoso
August 9, 2018


“…Steacy Ranch Zinfandel

• 40 acres owned and farmed by Turley Wine Cellars, and located on the north side of Acampo Rd., just east of N. Kennifick Rd.

• Oldest vines (about 21%) planted in 1907; as such, the oldest Lodi Zinfandel vineyard of record planted on St. George rootstock (as opposed to the natural Zinfandel roots typifying the vast majority of pre-1960s Lodi Zinfandel growths).

• Most of vineyard consists of Zinfandel replants (also on St. George) dating back to 1950s and 1960s; and is also interspersed with Grenache, Carignan and Mission vines.

• Oldest vines produce zesty yet silken, fine textured vineyard-designate Zinfandels of moderate weight; with flowery red fruit perfumes tinged with spice (pepper, thyme, allspice, etc.); while younger vines go into Turley Wine Cellars’ ‘Juvenile’ bottlings.”




I don’t know when this new acquisition will be offered to the mailing list for Turley fans but its close proximity to the “Kirschenmann Vineyard”, the “Katusha Vineyard” (owned by MTP of Bedrock), and other old-vine Zinfandel sites in the East side of Mokelumne River sub-appellation will boost its ascension to fame in the near future.

I think my favorite Turley may be the PS/Zin blend - Cedarman. With so many to choose from, sampling broadly is really the only way to find out.