TNs: Some Turley pre-release notes

I stopped by the winery yesterday to see Tegan during my travels through the Valley and he asked me if I had time to taste. Silly question. He had a number of wines racked into tanks for bottling and he pulled some samples. As a bonus I got to meet Larry Turley and Tegan gave me a tour of the property along with a readers digest history lesson. What a beautiful spot in the Valley. Notes from memory.

2019 Turley Bechthold Cinsault - Spiced strawberry nose, bright, refreshing, easy Summer gulper. Now I have to pop a Sandlands Cinsault and see what he did there.

2018 Hayne Zinfandel - Complex nose of blackberry, tar and blood orange, powerful yet finessed with crunchy fruit and lively acidity, tannins fairly tame considering the source. Wow!

2018 Hayne Petite Syrah - Nose is unforgiving and tight but the fruit on the palate is tremendous with a ton of depth. Great acid lift, layered, chewy, chewy, chewy. Another wow.

2018 Estate Cab Sauv - A different Napa Cab beast, minimal new oak, mid 14s alcohol, some cassis and cedar, kinda nondescript at this point. Needs some time to develop.

2018 Montecillo Cab Sauv - All the goodness of mountain Cabernet, 86 yr old dry aged vines from the West facing slopes of Mt Veeder. Minerally (is that a word?) and herbal, old school palate cedar and rosemary, reddish fruit, nice balance, good grip. Will surely benefit from sideways time. Both Cabs will get some time in bottle before release.





125yr old olive orchard

14yr young head trained Estate Zinfandel Vineyard

He also sent me home with a Turley Amador Vermentino and a Sandlands Kirschennman Zinfandel. Notes on those in the coming days

Thanks for the notes. I’ve been stashing the Turley cabs deep into my locker to see how they age. Good to see some notes on them.

Very interesting, and sounds like a very fun day! Thank you for the notes. Looking forward to those 2018 Hayne wines.

In and out in an hour and back to work! That’s how we roll out here.

I have to say, I’ve really enjoyed the Turley’s Zins the few times I’ve had them. I know they have a rep for ripeness, but I think that’s changed slightly since Tegan took over. The last ones I had have been, although not light, not jammy either. Just right.

It has changed since Tegan became winemaker. You get more of a vineyard signature than you do a fruit signature. Even in the 15% bottlings.

Love seeing some notes on Cinsault, a variety I absolutely dig. Lighter in style for sure, but oh so pure and fresh. Do you know if they do whole cluster on theirs?

Cheers.

That I can’t answer Larry.