2020 Turley Wine Cellars Duarte Vineyard Zinfandel Contra Costa County USA

TASTING NOTES
Turley's Zinfandel Duarte is a rich, deep wine, especially for an appellation in which the wines are often brighter in profile and more lifted in feel. Dark cherry, plum, menthol, licorice and lavender overtones add to the wine's dark, somewhat somber, feel. There is tremendous promise here. As always, the Duarte is a blend of fruit from four sites: Evangelho, Del Barba and Mori and a bit of Salvador.

HISTORY
This wine is an homage to Joe Duarte, a prominent grape grower in Contra Costa who first introduced Turley to the incredible vineyards of the area. The wine is comprised of fruit from the turn-of-the-century vineyards, several ungrafted, dating back to the 1890s. Thanks to the windswept sandy soils and impressive age of the vines, the wine has some of the softest, silkiest tannins we’ve ever seen in a Zinfandel.

DETAILS
AVA: Contra Costa
Soil: Delhi Blow Sand
Vineyards: Evangelo, Mori, Del Barba (Salvador was included in through the 2019 vintage)
Plantings: 1890 - 1960
Varieties: Zinfandel, Carignane, Granache, Mataro
Viticulture: Head-trained, dry-farmed, hand harvested
Fermentation: Native yeast
Barrels: 80% used oak, 20% new
80% French oak, 20% American
Aging: 15 months in barrel
Bottled unfined and unfiltered
First Turley Vintage: 1995
Serving Temp: 55-65ºF
Release: Spring