2012 Petite Syrah Library Vineyard

(this is 85% petite sirah, plus bits of 26 other varieties, including 9 whites; from vines planted between the 1880s and 1920s): Bright red-ruby. Blackberry and licorice on the nose, lifted by a lavender topnote. Vibrant and sharply delineated, with peppery acidity energizing the perfumed flavors of cassis, spices and fresh apricot. Very complex and subtle wine with uncanny verve for its 3.8 pH. These old field blends are full of surprises.

The 2012 Petite Syrah Library Vineyard is even richer and fuller. This spectacular Petite Syrah is meant for 30 years of evolution. Turley Wine Cellars has long been one of the more enviable wine operations in California. Larry Turley should, and does, receive enormous credit for nearly single-handedly preserving many of the heritage old vine Zinfandel sites that exist in northern California. Most of them were threatened with being torn up with what was believed to be more popular varietals such as Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir. This estate produces nearly thirty single vineyard Zinfandels and Petite Syrahs, all from organically farmed vineyards. Natural yeast fermentations have always been the rule, and the percentage of new oak used has dropped from a high of 30% to about half that. Their Zinfandels are never shy, but tasting through the 2012s, it appears they are not as extracted as they once were, but the alcohols remain in the 15% to 16% range because Zinfandel is rarely ripe at lower sugars. It appears that Larry Turley was destined to resuscitate these old vine vineyards as he worked for a quarter of a century as an emergency room doctor. He now works full time shaping wines from nearly three dozen old vine parcels. As he says, he’s never met an old vine vineyard he didn’t like. Turley’s long-time assistant winemaker, Ehren Jordan, has left to pursue his own project (Failla Wines), but Turley has the highly competent Tegan Passalacqua as his wingman. Virtually every one of these 2012 Zinfandels will be drinkable upon release in 2014, and should last for 6-8 years. Larry Turley was one of the first to exploit some of the old vine vineyards planted in sandy soils from the backwater areas of Lodi and Contra Costa. The two Contra Costa sites include the Duarte and Salvador, both ancient vineyards with the Salvador directly planted on its own roots in 1896. The Duarte was named after a prominent grower in Contra Costa. The Petite Syrahs are different animals altogether and most of them should keep for 30-40 years – at a minimum! Tel. (707) 963-0940

Turley's 2012 Petite Syrah Library Vineyard, usually one of the more interesting wines in the range, is superb. Raspberry jam, cloves, licorice and exotic floral notes all meld together in an exuberant, racy wine full of personality. The interplay of highly expressive aromatics, powerful fruit and structure is compelling.