Winemaker Notes
Cedarman is a proprietary blend of fruit from both Rattlesnake Ridge and Dragon Vineyards, located at the top of Howell Mountain in Napa Valley. Although primarily Zinfandel, Turley uses a small amount of Petite Syrah from the Rattlesnake vineyard as well. The result is a truly powerful, dense and wild wine, long on flavor.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Deep ruby, the 2019 Zinfandel Cedarman has dense aromas of blackberries, licorice, dried violets and earth, gaining more nuance with time in the glass. The palate is full-bodied and deeply fruited, with a firm and fresh frame and long, layered finish. It's gorgeous and will have more to show with time in bottle.
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Wine Spectator
A gutsy Zinfandel, this is framed by broad-shouldered tannins and layered with concentrated blackberry, licorice and briar patch accents, which build toward refined tannins. Drink now.
Unapologetically bold, spice-driven and jammy, Zinfandel has secured its title as the darling of California vintners by adapting well to the state's diverse microclimates and landscapes. Born in Croatia, it later made its way to southern Italy where it was named Primitivo. Fortunately, the imperial nursery of Vienna catalogued specimens of the vine, and it later made its way to New England in 1829. Parading the true American spirit, Zinfandel found a new home in California during the Gold Rush of 1849. Somm Secret—California's ancient vines of Zinfandel are those that survived the neglect of Prohibition; today these vines produce the most concentrated, ethereal and complex examples.
Today Cabernet Sauvignon is the star of this part of Napa’s rugged, eastern hills, but Zinfandel was responsible for giving the Howell Mountain growing area its original fame in the late 1800s.
Winemaking in Howell Mountain was abandoned during Prohibition, and wasn’t reawakened until the arrival of Randy Dunn, a talented winemaker famous for the success of Caymus in the 1970s and 1980s. In the early eighties, he set his sights on the Napa hills and subsequently astonished the wine world with a Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon. Shortly thereafter Howell Mountain became officially recognized as the first sub-region of Napa Valley (1983).
With vineyards at 1,400 to 2,000 feet in elevation, they predominantly sit above the fog line but the days in Howell Mountain remain cooler than those in the heart of the valley, giving the grapes a bit more time on the vine.
The Howell Mountain AVA includes 1,000 acres of vineyards interspersed by forestlands in the Vaca Mountains. The soils, shallow and infertile with good drainage, are volcanic ash and red clay and produce highly concentrated berries with thick skins. The resulting wines are full of structure and potential to age.
Today Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petite Sirah thrive in this sub-appellation, as well as its founding variety, Zinfandel.