2020 Turley Wine Cellars, Zinfandel, Kirschenmann Vineyard, Mokelumne River AVA, Lodi.
The dark opaque purple garnet 2020 Turley Kirschenmann Zinfandel is loaded with concentration showing off thick layers of blackberries, raspberries, sweet plums, Mission figs and smoky currant fruits, along with sandalwood, minty herbs, violet florals, camphor, vanilla and liqueur notes. This warm vintage full bodied effort will please the big Zin fans and it has opulent tannins and a dry Port like character with hints of chocolate cherry and prune notes. The Kirschenmann, as Turley notes, is particularly close to their heart as head winemaker, Tegan Passalacqua, owns and farms this renowned vineyard. The un-grafted Hundred year old plus ancient vines here at Kirschenmann are set on the silica-rich sandy soils of the east side of the Mokelumne River AVA. Passalacqua, as noted here in prior reviews, takes full advantage of he river’s cool waters and the delta breezes that keeps this arid and warm terroir in balance, allowing these head-trained, dry-farmed vines some protection from the Summer heat. Turley Wine Cellars makes forty-seven wines from over fifty vineyards, and as they add, the vast majority of which are single vineyard designate Zinfandel(s) and Petite Syrah(s) coming from all organic sites, most of which are certified organic by California Certified Organic Farmers. Turley’s Zins are 100% natural or indigenous yeast fermented, see loads of extraction and are aged in a combination of about 80% French and 20% American oak barrels with close to 20% new wood in each vintage, all of which gives these wine’s their signature balancing act between luxurious richness and authentic transparency. The Kirschenmann, which also has small amounts of Mondeuse, Cinsault, and Carignane, is always wonderfully rounded, polished and pure with a surprising degree of crisp detailing, impressive for a bigger wine that clocks in at around 15% alcohol, and while I personally like 2018s and 2021s a bit more, this 2020 is good stuff and goes great with food, especially BBQ and other meaty dishes and or hard cheeses.
Kirschenmann Vineyard Zinfandel comes from a hundred and eight year old vines on the East Side of Lodi’s Mokelumne River AVA, which was was originally planted back in 1915 and is set on silica rich, white sandy soils. Kirschenmann Vineyard is owned by Tegan Passalacqua’s family, and Passalacqua is head winemaker and vineyard manager for the famed Larry Turley, so he has incredible insight into these vines and knows how to get the best out of them. Passalacqua one of California’s great minds, who got his start by working in the lab in Napa Valley, has many talents, both in the cellar and in vines, and he has an impressive CV, having done stints in the cellars of Craggy Range in New Zealand, with Eben Sadie in South Africa and with the late great Alain Graillot in the Northern Rhone Valley. Turley, as I’ve mentioned before, along with Ridge Vineyards, Bedrock Wine Co., Carlisle, Martinelli and Biale are keepers of the faith in the modern Zinfandel, highlighting individual vineyard sites and making wines with bold full bodied character, with many of these from vines that were planted in the late 1800s. These producers, especially Turley, are making Zinfandels that are mouth filling, lush and dense with impressive palate impact, giving loads of hedonistic pleasure in their youth, but are serious wine that can age easily 10 to 15 years. The 2020 vintage was incredibly difficult and heartbreaking for many regions in California with many raging wild fires causing havoc for grape growers, with 80% of the state affected, but Passalacqua with Larry Turley’s blessing, didn’t take any chances with smoke taint and culled production to almost ridiculous levels to make wines they could 100% stand behind. Lucky for Zin fans, lots of vineyards with the heat of the year were picked before the smoke became an issue, as seen here, and so far all the Turley wines I’ve had were delicious and no issues. There will be some good wines from 2020, but you’ll need to be careful, so I recommend producers with high ethically standards like Turley, or else stock up on 2021, 2022 and 2023s all of which are outstanding years in California.
($49 Est.) 91 Points, grapelive