2021 Turley Wine Cellars, Zinfandel Rosé, California.
Turley is happy to announce the release of their newest vintage of their Zinfandel Rosé (aka their beloved White Zinfandel) which is vibrantly fresh, bone dry and tasty with maybe the best balance I’ve experienced with this bottling with just the right amount of fruit and acidity to cleanse the palate and provide pleasure. The color is delicately pale and pure with an interesting array of flavors in the mouth that range from tart cherry, raspberry water to peach and ruby grapefruit, along with a brisk intensity, spice, wet chalk, herbs, guava and a hint of unsweetened caramel and Jolly Rancher. This cooler vintage really shines and the lighter frame and energy is welcome, while it rounds out somewhat with air, it still provides a thrill and refreshment, making for a winner with BBQs and any outdoor occasion, drink it up while you can. Turley says this wine that comes from vines that can span multiple growing regions in the state is an ode to the dry Rosé wines of Provence, but adds that this wine is distinctly Californian with a sly nod to the once mainstream White Zins of the 1980s.
Turley Wine Cellars, maybe the biggest name in Zinfandel, was founded in Napa Valley by former emergency room physician and avid pilot Larry Turley back in 1993, at the beginning of a huge boom in unique California wine, when many cult wines were born. Turley, now under the direction of winemaker and vineyard managerTegan Passalacqua, crafts 50 different and distinct wines from over 50 vineyards across California, and though primarily Zinfandel and Petite Syrah, they do some rarities, like this White Zinfandel and single varietal Grenache, Barbera and Cinsault, one of m)y favs every year. Turley sources from many AVAs, from Lodi to Napa, as well as Paso Robles and Amador County, where they have separate wineries and many vines dating back to the late 1800s. All the farming is done organically and focuses mainly on old vine vineyards, that really express these varieties the best, and as the winery notes, Turley aims to both create and preserve California’s unique winemaking culture. The Turley Rosé is made from early picks, at selected sites, with low Brix, it is a non Saignee, high acid low alcohol version, and it was 100% fermented in stainless steel with a short aging period in neutral barrels to preserve its zing.
($20 Est.) 90 Points, grapelive