2010 Turley Zinfandel Mead Ranch

The 2010 Zinfandel Mead Ranch opens with a precise, beautifully delineated bouquet laced with sweet red berries, mint, tobacco and incense. Delineation, purity and precision are some of the qualities that distinguish the Mead Ranch. An expressive, creamy finish rounds things out in style. The Mead Ranch is one of many standouts in this lineup of 2010s from Turley. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2025. This is a thrilling set of wines from Larry Turley, Ehren Jordan and Tegan Passalacqua. Tasting this wide a range of 2010 and 2011 Zinfandels and Petite Syrahs is like taking a master class in California terroir. The house style favors an expression of Zinfandel and Petite Syrah built on aromatic intensity and elegance, which Jordan credits to gentle extractions. At times, the wines come across as quite Burgundian in the way they express richness but not excess heaviness. Over the last few years, the wines have become a little more laid-back and less overtly ripe, which is a net positive given that the starting point for all of these wines is fruit of exceptional quality. The Petite Syrahs in particular are noteworthy because they are among the few wines that find the elegance Petite Syrah is capable of, while avoiding the massive tannins that are so typical elsewhere. The 2010s are strong across the board, although Turley did not bottle a few of their wines from sites that got scorched by the heat spikes, which includes the Highway 101 and Zampatti. The 2011s are more variable, as befits a vintage that had much less favorable conditions overall. Tel. (707) 963-0940

(15.5% alcohol): Good medium ruby. Pungent, steely aromas and flavors of blackberry, spicecake, chocolate, orange peel and white pepper; almost syrah-like. Dense and sweet in the mouth but with terrific aromatic lift thanks to firm acidity and a strong white pepper quality. Really lovely definition and perfume here. Exhilaratingly long, palate-cleansing finish. I never would have guessed this wine had a pH of 3.9. Superb zinfandel.