2013 Turley Petite Sirah Pesenti Vineyard

The 2013 Petite Syrah Pesenti Vineyard is almost black/purple in color. This is another organic vineyard owned by Larry Turley, and the Petite Syrah was planted from cuttings from Napa’s Hayne Vineyard. The limestone soils here have produced what potentially could turn out to be one of the greatest Petite Syrahs ever made, rivaling some of the Ridge Petite Syrahs from the 1970s and 1980s. An absolutely amazing wine, but almost ferocious to taste at this point, the wine has concentration beyond belief. Inky black/purple, with stunning blueberry and floral notes mixed with blackberry and crushed rock give the wine laser-like precision and an unmistakable minerality. Massive and full-bodied, this wine needs a good 10-20 years and should be drinking well 50 or more years from now. If you want to buy a birth year wine for your children or grandchildren, this is the one to buy – you’ll never regret it.

The Petite Syrah Pesenti Vineyard is one of the many highlights in this tasting of 2013s. Game, smoke, mocha, plums, black cherries, tobacco, licorice and orange zest are some of the many notes that flesh out in a large-scaled, expansive wine built on texture and intensity. The exuberant, resonant finish captures the essence of Paso Robles. The 2013 has more than enough density to drink well for many years.