Dear Friends,
We’ve got a lot of wines; you (probably?) don’t have a lot of time; so let’s get down to it!
2016 was the first year of mild relief from the drought. With more vegetative growth and a lot less distress, the vines were all healthy at harvest. The resulting wines still contain some of the darkness, depth and density we saw with the drought-ravaged vintages, though in 2016 the wines were able to maintain their delicacy and grace. Tasting through these wines was inspiring, and we are delighted to be sharing them with you now!
A quick update about the 2017 fires in Napa and Sonoma as well. We are deeply grateful for the outpouring of support our entire community received during what was an insanely tumultuous, chaotic, and trying period for all. Our families escaped unscathed, and Turley was very lucky from both a vineyards and wines standpoint. (Zinfandel ripens early, so all our vineyards had been picked and the wines were safely in tank or barrel well before the fires began.) Sadly, Mead Ranch on Atlas Peak was one of the epicenters of the fire, and the Meads lost everything; every structure was destroyed. Though the vines are miraculously still standing, it is impossible to predict what the long-term damage will be, and now there is nothing to do but wait, see, and hope for the best.
In the meantime, we’d like to welcome a new wine to the Turley family: the 2016 Casa Nuestra red! A proper California field blend, the vineyard is a heavily mixed planting of Petite Syrah, Zinfandel, Carignane, Mourvedre, and a handful of other fun obscure varieties (Negrette and Refosco, anyone?); hence the “red wine” designation on the label. From an organically-farmed-since-1979 vineyard neighboring us in Napa Valley, it’s a spot we’ve long admired; indeed, the time between receiving the call that the fruit would be available and harvesting the vineyard ourselves was less than 8 hours! How’s THAT for hustle?
Speaking of, we’ll let you get to it. Enjoy perusing the notes and wines in your offer, and as always, please reach out should you have any questions. We’re here for you.
Old Vines Young Love,
Christina Turley & Tegan Passalacqua
Turley Wine Cellars