Saturday, December 13, 2008

Turley Contra Costa County Duarte Zinfandel 2005

Despite being a cult winery (or perhaps because of this) Turley seems to get a bad rap from some. I have heard them decried as overly alcoholic unsubtle wines. With this being my second experience with Turley, I can't say that I'm sure where these criticisms are coming from. In my limited experience, Turley zins have an amazing clarity of fruit that is actually incredibly uncommon in the world of zinfandel - indeed showing the potential of this grape.


The nose held raspberry, cherry, strawberry and spice, which opened into a palate of juicy rich blackberry and cherry fruit that was ripe and wonderful. The wine was pretty much replete with tons of authentic berry juice complimented by caramel, spice, licorice and vanilla brought by the well used oak. Simply put, this is not just very tasty wine, but has a purity and clarity of fruit that is rarely seen. Even if you think you don't like zin, you owe yourself a taste of Turley. In my opinion, these guys make nearly perfect Zin.

Excellent
$60 at Marquis

No comments: