by Tom Hill

A self-admitted wine geek, Tom lives in Northern New Mexico and works as a computational physicist at Los Alamos National Laboratory doing numerical neutron transport & large scale code development. He has been tasting wines since 1971, participates locally with a couple of large tasting groups in his area, and is practically a fixture at most California wine festivals, such as the Hospice du Rhône, Rhône Rangers, and ZAP. Other interests: Tom is heavily into competitive sport fencing (foil & epee), biking, cooking, basketball, skiing, backpacking, mountain climbing.

 
1. Richardson Sonoma Valley Zin (13.8%) 1981: Pale red slight brick color; very light cedary/ leathery/cigar box complex nose; light very cedary/cigar box slight berry complex very smooth/elegant flavor; med.short cigar box/cedary complex finish w/ no tannins; some pretty cedary character but very light intensity; amazing that it's held on so long. $8.00
2. Storybook Napa Valley Zin (13.5%) 1984: Med.light color; lovely/fragrant very perfumed/ strawberry/spicy slight earthy nose; very tart/lean/eviscerated light strawberry/ fragrant bit thin flavor; very short/weak light strawberry/Zin/fragrant somewhat lean/ metallic/tannic finish; very attractive aromatics but hard & lean on the palate. $10.95
3. Fife Napa Valley Zin Les Vieilles Vignes (TW) Fife Vineyards at Larkmead 1991: Med.color; bit earthy light blackberry/raspberry slight licorice/ripe some toasty/oak nose; tart pungent/licorice/tarry somewhat toasty/charred/oak slight blackberry/Zin flavor; med. long bit dried out licorice/blackberry somewhat tarry/charred/toasty/oak finish w/ some tannins; starting to dry out and slide down that slippery slope for old Zins but still interesting to drink. $14.80
4. Nalle Sonoma County Dry Creek Valley Zin (13.5%; "Senior Citi-Zin", www.NalleWinery.com) 2001: Med.dark color; lovely bright DVC/Zinberry very spicy slight pencilly/Fr.oak slight horeccollar/leathery nose; tart bit lean/hard very spicy/vibrant/bright/Zinberry/raspberry light pencilly/oak flavor; very long bright/vibrant/Zinberry/raspberry bit hard light pencilly finish w/ some tannins; seems a bit tightly-wound now and needs a few more months; a classic beautiful/balanced/Zinberry Nalle Zin. $19.50
5. Mitchell Katz Jackson Cellars @RubyHill Livermore Valley BeyerRanch Zin (www.JacksonCellars.com; www.MitchellKatzWinery.com; 14.0%; 12 mo. in Am.oak; RS: 0.2%; TA: 0.72; pH: 3.58; 200 cs) 2000: Med.light color; incredibly exotic raspberry/ raspberry essence loads of fruit nose; soft/fat very intense raspberry/raspberry syrup heaps of juicy fruit flavor; med.long soft intense raspberry/juicy finish w/ light tannins; an incredibly exotic Zin because of the raspberry character; like going out & rolling around in a bunch of raspberry vines (ouch!). KevinAnderson gift. About $18.00
6. Carlisle Sonoma County Zin Riebli Ranch (16.1%; 1/3'rd ton/acre; PS; 120 cs) 2001: Dark color; very intense boysenberry/blackbeery/loads of fruit lush nose; soft/lush very intense boysenberry/blackberry very ripe light toasty/Am.oak slightly hot flavor; very long bright boysenberry/blackberry/lush finish w/ light tannins; loads of upfront blackberry fruit; alcohol a bit noticible on palate; lovely/forward Zin. $28.50 $28.50
7. Turley PasoRobles Zin Pesenti Vineyard (15.3%) 2001: Med.dark color; very strong blackberry/ jammy/raspberry bit earthy/dusty lovely/fragrant nose; rich/lush/mouthfilling very ripe/ blackberry/jammy slight earthy very spicy soft flavor; very long lush blackberry/jammy slight dusty/earthy finish w/ light tannins; beautiful classic Paso Zin. $39.00
8. Turley Lodi Zin Dogtown Vineyard (16.0%) 2001: Dark color; very ripe jammy/strawberry/blueberry/ plummy loads of lush fruit nose w/ very slight Lodi/mushroomy character; bit tannic/ rough ripe strawberry/blackberry/plummy loads of lush/spicy flavor; long lush/blackberry/ plummy very spicy finish w/ some tannins; needs yr or two; very little Lodi/earthy/ mushroomy character. $44.00
9. Turley Napa Valley Zin Tofanelli  Vineyard (15.3%) 2001: Very dark color; big spicy/blackberry bit chocolaty slight earthy nose; big/tannic very spicy blackberry/chocolaty dusty/ old vine classic Napa Valley Zin; very long very spicy fairly tannic blackberry/chocolaty finish; needs 2-4 yrs, a classic Napa Valley Zin. $32.00
10. Turley Howell Mtn Zin Pringle Family Vineyard (16.2%) 2001: Very dark color; very strong blackberry/framboise rather earthy/dusty rather cracked black pepper complex nose; soft/ lusg big/tannic very/very spicy black peppere blackberry/Framboise/cranberry/tomatoey rather dusty/old vine flavor; very long very spicy/complex cracked black pepper/very blackberry/framboise finish w/ ample tannins; neds a few yrs; loads of spicy/cracked black pepper character; my favorite of these Turleys. $49.00
11. Turley Napa Valley Zin Moore-Earthquake  Vineyard (15.4%) 2001: Very dark color; strong/intense blackberry/boysenberry/Zin rather ripe very spicy/fragrant lovely nose; big/ripe/lush loads of intense blackberry/boysenberry slight oak/toasty slight hot/alcoholic flavor; very long very intense/concentrated blackberry/boysenberry slight oak finish w/ some tannins; ready to drink but can use a few yrs; terrific concentration of fruit. $52.00
12. Turley Napa Valley Zin Moore-Earthquake  Vineyard (16.1%) 1994: Med.dark color; quite cedary/ cigar box very ripe bit alcoholic slighht raspberry/Zin rather meaty some complex nose; strong smooth/light raspberry rather cedary/cigar box/aged bit hot/alcoholic complex flavor; med. light raspberry/blackberry quite cedary/cigar box bit hot finish w/ very light tannins; lost much fruit & lots of cedary/old Zin character; moving right along and should be drunk up. $25.00
13. Turley Napa Valley Zin Hayne Vineyard (16.4%) 2001: Very dark/near black color; very intense blackberry/boysenberry/loads of intense fruit slight dusty/earthy bit alcoholic nose; huge/extracted/concentrated very intense blackberry/boysenberry bit dusty finish w/ ample tannins; needs age; big/huge/extracted Zin; killer wine. $79.00
14. Turley Napa Valley Petite Sirah Library Vineyard (14.0%) 2001: Very dark color; somewhat more oaked some blackberry/PS slight spicy/peppery nose; soft/lush attractive blueberry/ peppery/earthy/PS some Am.oaked/pungent flavor; med.long lush blackberry/peppery/PS light Am.oaked finish w/ light tannins; a fairly soft/forward/lush/spicy PS; some like the Vincent Arroyos in style. $42.00
15. Turley Napa Valley Petite Sirah Hayne Vineyard (15.2%) 2001: Black color; very intense chocolaty/ peppery/PS/boysenberry some meaty/gamey/licorice bit reduced/stinky some toasty/pungent/ oak fairly complex nose; soft/lush/ripe big/rich/extracted boysenberry/DrPepper/cola/ chocolaty some dusty/spicy bit smokey/oak flavor; very long/lingering intense chocolaty/ boysenberry/peppery/licorice/PS bit toasty/oak finish w/ ample tannins; huge/loads of fruit PS; tannic for the long haul but not brutally so; killer PS. $79.00
16. Ravenswood Belloni Vineyard Sonoma County Zin (710 cs; 14.8%) 1991: Very dark color; very jammy/overripe blackberry/boysenberry/framboise quite spicy very light oak nose; soft/ off-dry very spicy/framboise/blackberry bit lean/drying out spicy slight dusty flavor; med.long very ripe very framboise/blackberry/liquer bit lean/hard finish w/ light tannins; lots of very ripe/framboise character; starting to dry out a bit; drink up now. Howard & Rhoda's mystery.
17. Gamba Winery &  Vineyards Old Vine Russian River Valley Sonoma County Zin (www.GambaVineyards.com; 15.3%) 2000: Very dark color; very ripe/jammy/blackberry/boysenberry spicy bit licorice nose; soft/lush very bright/jammy/blackberry very ripe/overripe bit simple flavor; med.long fat/soft/lush very ripe/jammy/blackberry finish w/ light tannins; clean spicy bit overripe fruit Zin a bit on the simple side. Steve's mystery. $40.00

1. Richardson Zin: In it's youth, this was a very jammy/juicy blackberry Zin, loaded w/ fruit. I fully expected this '81 to be totally dead. 'Twarn't alive, and so little flavor left it was almost vapid; but it was one of those rare wines that had aged gracefully and was but a whisper of its former self. Usually such old Zins are totally dried out and oxiduzed & bitter&astringent on the palate. This one was not.
2. Storybook Zins: Jerry Seps is one of the Zinfandel icons who certainly marches to the beat of his own special drummer. In the era of high-octane/extracted Zins; here's a guy (along w/ Doug Nalle) whose mantra is elegance and finesse and complexity; what's fashionable be damned. Jerry has remained true to his vision of making claret-style Zins from the very start. If there's anyone's Zins I want to love, it's the Storybooks; simply to have an alternative style of Zin to drink. So I still continue to struggle with them. I find that, when young, they have lovely aromatics and fragrance, but can be a little tough & hard on the palate; badly needing age. So with a little age, they still have these tremendous aromatics, but more often than not, they still continue to be rather hard and pinched on the palate. But, every once in awhile, I'll hit one exactly right, one that has happened to come together beautifully and is a genuine pleasure to drink. Alas, I seem to miss more than I hit. This '84 was a miss. Beautiful fragrance to it; but pretty hard & hurtey on the palate. I ain't giving up, though.
3. Nalle Zins: And here's another guy who's remained true to his vision for Zinfandel from the very start; let the current Zin de jour style be damned. Doug makes the point that he drinks a lot of his Zin and so, by dammies, he's going to make what he likes to drink!! Not a point you can argue with; except maybe unless your his banker. To me, Doug's Zins are the epitome of DryCreek Valley Zins; they always this bright/ vibrant/spicy Zinberry character to them; drinkable from the git-go. I find, when I just want something good/tasty to drink at dinner, not wanting to think deep & profound thoughts about terroir or such; it's a Nalle Zin I reach for. Though Doug questions the sanity of why anyone would want to cellar his wine, rather than drink it, I find that they do quite nicely, thank you, with a few yrs on them. There still elegant & finessey & balanced Zins. I see a lot of whining and gunching on the 'Net about the alcohol levels in current Zins and the big/extracted (as that damn Charlie Olken once termed them.."monster Zins with shabby table manners"... an epithet for which I've yet to forgive him) styles that many show. For all you such whiners...listen up.... this 2001 Zin is made for you and you darn well better be out there buying it by the caseload. End of sermon. Doug always puts some kind of cutsy phrase on his labels that is Zin-related. This 2001 Zin refers to "Senior Citi-Zin". Wonder who Doug had in mind... obviously NOT me.
4. MitchellKatz Zin: not familar at all with this winery; newly built on the old RubyHill property out on Vineyard Ave betwixt Livermore & Pleasanton, using much of the old brickwork from the old Ruby Hill wnry that burned down in the early '90's. This Zin, though lacking in structure, had an incredible raspberry character to it, almost like essence of raspberry. Reminds me a bit of some Freisa or Brachetto as well.
5. Carlisle RiebliRanch: This wine is a big black labrador pup planting sloppy wet kisses all over your face, tail awagging like crazy. At in incredibly low-yield, I was expecting this wine to be pretty tannic and structured. However, it seemed surprisingly forward & drinkable, almost Marquis-Phillips in style. Good stuff.
6. Turley prices are all direct mailing list prices plus shipping. Turley Zins: These are one of the rare wines I've managed to follow from the very start. Even fortunate enough to score a bottle now and then of their reknowned Smoot-Hawley Vineyard White Zin back when they were making it. It even managed to make a mention in Stephen Brook's book on Calif wines. Those Brits.....so gullible. It's been interesting watching the evolution of the Turley style. Back in the exciting days of yesteryear when Helen Turley was making the wines, they were noted for their rather over-the-top character; big alcohols, big/intense/ripe fruit; high levels of extraction and tannins, loads of toasty/smokey oak. The Turley-style was sp dominant that any sense of terroir was pretty much obliterated. At least I couldn't pick it up. Since Ehren Jordan has become winemaker for the wines, I've sensed a gradual evolution away from that original style. Despite the high alcohol levels, the wines seemed to be much more balanced (at a high level usually) and restrained (I know...you NEVER see Turley and restrained in the same sentance). The oak has been reigned in considerably. But, most importantly, the wines show much more of their terroir than they ever have. And the winemaking style seems to reflect the grape/origins much more than before. Instead of making the wine in one style fits all, the grapes now seem to guide the winemaking. Some of the wines, like the Lodi and the Pesenti, are made in a much more forward style, for earlier drinkability. For the flagship vnyds that always deliver the goods, like Moore and Hayne, these are made in a much bigger/extracted style for longer ageibility. The Turley wines are much criticized for their alcohol levels. Often above 15%. What is always remarkable to me is that, even though the grapes must be harvested at pretty high sugar levels, I seldom find any character of overripe/raisened/late harvesty fruit in them. I wonder how the alcohol levels effect their ageibility, as typically as the fruit drops, wines seem to show more of the alcohol and the hotness cames to the fore- front. And, furthermore, the alcohol levels on the PS & Charbono are usually below the 15% mark. Because of Ehren's association as Turley winemaker and the association of the (old) Turley wines with over-the-top winemaking; I think he's too often pictured as an over- the-top winemaker. Wrongly. I clearly don't find that winemaking in his Failla or Neyers wines by any means. The only question in my mind...how long afore there is a Turley Syrah?? Seems kind of like inevitable to me.

   A killer tasting of wines. Always nice to return to my (Zinfandel) roots now & again. 

TomHill

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