I defer to Mike Didine to fill in the vineyard history. Tasted over four days and what a ride it has been.
Deep purple color with slight clearing around the rim.
Day 1- Completely whacked out in every way. A pop and pour serve on this is a big mistake. Many components and no harmony.
Day 2- I have nearly lost hope. Pruney and lots of sweet oaky notes on the nose. Some fruit on the palate, but tannins are dominating. My fear is that the tannins will recede somewhat overnight, but the wine will be all prunes and booze.
Day 3- Now we’re getting somewhere. This tastes like top end
Zin. Blackberry and blueberry fruit on the nose and palate accentuated with briary notes. Finishes with the trademark acid/tannin snap. So happy I kept the faith. Wondering if it has another day…
Day 4- Pulled it from the cellar and took a sniff. Blackberry pie! Eyeballed the bottle and realized this is going tonight. Dumped it into a decanter about an hour before serving. Poured a short glass- holy sheets of rain! The nose is exploding with black fruits. Tart cranberry accentuates the darker, sweeter fruit on the palate. Tannins have resolved, but the acidity is crisp and refreshing.
What an evolution! I often say that I prefer Ridge Zins, but this is among the greats I’ve tasted. We had a recent thread stating that Turley Zins don’t age so well, but after this, I don’t know that I agree with that.
This turned out exceptional, but didn’t start so well. I am happy I didn’t give up!
Ah … Dante Dusi Vineyard. Planted in 1945. Good year for the Democrats. FDR is inaugurated for an unprecedented 4th term as President.
1945 was a memorable year for wine as well. The greatness of Paso Robles needs no further mention. Some say it was an OK wine year in France?
Three things to keep in mind about Turley. Ehren Jordan makes the wines. They have access to some of the finest historic vineyards in the world. No one is better at vineyard management than Turley.
By the way, I really like the wines from this vineyard!
Got a bottle of this in the cellar. Nice note. ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers")
How did you store it over the three days? (vacuum sealed? refrigerated?)
And how would you compare it to Ueberroth Zin?
I use Private Preserve and the original cork and bottle. I generally use the fridge, but we were running out of space, so I used my cellar this week.
I have not had enough experience with the Ueberroth to comment intelligently, but I’m sure Mr. Didine and others can chime in.
Thanks for the interesting notes Anthony. We have a hard time making these last 4 hours, let alone 4 days. Age and aging are relative terms, but for me, Turley is one of those wines that demand a few years rest in most vintages. Opening one prior to that usually results in a dumb wine for me. 08 seems to be an exception though of the Turleys I’ve tried so far.
Turley Dusi is a very consistent performer, especially for the $45 or lower Turleys. I haven’t had the '08 yet; if I’ve had any 2008 Zinfandel yet I don’t remember it, and it can’t have exceeded $20.
While I think most Turleys (Hayne and possibly Ueberroth excluded), and most non-Ridge Zinfandels, are best drunk within five-six years, I also think that most higher end Zins still benefit from 12-18 months in the cellar. Obviously, to each their own.