I have been on this list for some time. I agree that they benefit from 3-10 years of aging depending on the vintage and vineyard sites. I also agree that the PS are some of their best wines. The zins are great, and most don’t need to be excessively aged.
I found that within a couple years on the list they were quite willing to allocate me three cases per mailing. They don’t like it if you entirely pass on an offering… but that is typical of lists that have people waiting. After a while I struck a balance and I generally get a case per mailer. I always take all of the PS and Hayne offered to me. I generally get 2-3 PS per shipment… depending on the size of the harvest that year.
I think that once you achieve a balanced and predictable ordering pattern, and have been on the list a while, they treat you quite fairly. I really like Ridge, Carlisle and Bedrock… each for very different reason! If they were the same… why bother buying different wines from different wineries?
I wholeheartedly believe these wines have gotten better over the years!
My experience is with the early 2000s, but wish I could say the same. I’ve had several bottles of Dusi and Ueberroth that completely lost their charm beyond 5 years. Unless something drastic changed 2005+, I personally wouldn’t age a Turley zin.
Apparently he likes them. He mentions in his last Sonoma article that they are less extracted than they used to be but he rates the whole lineup very well, especially the petite sirahs.
I don’t know if this is too big of an except to be pasted here, but hopefully not. This is from AG’s writeup about the 2010 Turleys:
This is a thrilling set of wines from Larry Turley, Ehren Jordan and Tegan Passalacqua. Tasting this wide a range of 2010 and 2011 Zinfandels and Petite Syrahs is like taking a master class in California terroir. The house style favors an expression of Zinfandel and Petite Syrah built on aromatic intensity and elegance, which Jordan credits to gentle extractions. At times, the wines come across as quite Burgundian in the way they express richness but not excess heaviness. Over the last few years, the wines have become a little more laid-back and less overtly ripe, which is a net positive given that the starting point for all of these wines is fruit of exceptional quality.
I can do this as well. I’m new to the Turley list this year as well, although I have enjoyed Turley previously. I’m also new to the board and this is a good starting point for me as any.
My e-mail mentioned the Kirschenmann vineyard, so that should be in the offer. Will be interesting to see the price since we bought quite a bit of Bedrock’s.
