Larry Turley makes very individualistic wines from a wide variety of vineyard sources. His California appellation wines are a mixture of many of these great sources and often are very nice values at about $25 a bottle upon release. This wine was given to me by Grape Radio’s Brian Clark, along with a 2000 that I reviewed previously.
While Larry might not get as much press as his famous winemaking sister Helen, he does make some great wines particularly my favorite varietal, Zinfandel. I had a barrel sample of his 2004 Hayne Vineyard Zin at ZAP this year and found it to be among the best Zinfandel I have ever had. One issue some have with his style is that they tend to be very extracted and high in alcohol which might mean they don’t age well. That did cross my mind as I opened this bottle last night and re-tasted this evening.
Turley Cellars, Zinfandel, “Old Vines”, California 2001 ($25/gift) – Dark ruby in color with powerful aromas of blackberry, black cherry, vanilla and some alcohol. Rich and ripe in the mouth with concentrated black cherry, black raspberry, licorice and black pepper flavors and plush tannins, finishing hot from the 15.5% alcohol. Although there is still substantial fruit left, the wine is now out of balance with the alcohol. I’d advise to drink up all the bottles you might have of this wine over the next 6 months. Still a very good wine.
15.5% ABV
Natural cork closure
Score: 87