Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
More structured with more obvious tannin, minerality, and graphite notes is the blue and black fruit-filled, dark purple-hued 2008 Zinfandel Dragon Vineyard. From Howell Mountain, it is one of the strongest Zinfandels produced by Turley. The wine exhibits lots of structure as well as considerable aging potential for a Zinfandel (10+ years). It offers loads of mineral-laced blue and black fruits combined with notions of new saddle leather, crushed rocks, flowers, and berries. Rating 93-95.
Undoubtedly proving its merit over and over, Napa Valley is a now a leading force in the world of prestigious red wine regions. Though Cabernet Sauvignon dominates Napa Valley, other red varieties certainly thrive here. Important but often overlooked include Merlot and other Bordeaux varieties well-regarded on their own as well as for their blending capacities. Very old vine Zinfandel represents an important historical stronghold for the region and Pinot noir is produced in the cooler southern parts, close to the San Pablo Bay.
Perfectly situated running north to south, the valley acts as a corridor, pulling cool, moist air up from the San Pablo Bay in the evenings during the hot days of the growing season, which leads to even and slow grape ripening. Furthermore the valley claims over 100 soil variations including layers of volcanic, gravel, sand and silt—a combination excellent for world-class red wine production.