2012 ターリー プティ・シラー ライブラリ・ヴィンヤード

2012 ターリー プティ・シラー ライブラリ・ヴィンヤード

2012 Turley Wine Cellars Petite Syrah Library Vineyard

ロバート・パーカーのワイン・アドボケイト (ロバート・パーカー)　(94-96)ポイント

(Wine Advocate #210 Dec 2013     Robert M. Parker, Jr.     (95-97)     Drink: 2013 - 2043)
"The 2012 Petite Syrah Library Vineyard is even richer and fuller. This spectacular Petite Syrah is meant for 30 years of evolution.

Turley Wine Cellars has long been one of the more enviable wine operations in California. Larry Turley should, and does, receive enormous credit for nearly single-handedly preserving many of the heritage old vine Zinfandel sites that exist in northern California. Most of them were threatened with being torn up with what was believed to be more popular varietals such as Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir. This estate produces nearly thirty single vineyard Zinfandels and Petite Syrahs, all from organically farmed vineyards. Natural yeast fermentations have always been the rule, and the percentage of new oak used has dropped from a high of 30% to about half that. Their Zinfandels are never shy, but tasting through the 2012s, it appears they are not as extracted as they once were, but the alcohols remain in the 15% to 16% range because Zinfandel is rarely ripe at lower sugars. It appears that Larry Turley was destined to resuscitate these old vine vineyards as he worked for a quarter of a century as an emergency room doctor. He now works full time shaping wines from nearly three dozen old vine parcels. As he says, he’s never met an old vine vineyard he didn’t like. Turley’s long-time assistant winemaker, Ehren Jordan, has left to pursue his own project (Failla Wines), but Turley has the highly competent Tegan Passalacqua as his wingman. Virtually every one of these 2012 Zinfandels will be drinkable upon release in 2014, and should last for 6-8 years. Larry Turley was one of the first to exploit some of the old vine vineyards planted in sandy soils from the backwater areas of Lodi and Contra Costa. The two Contra Costa sites include the Duarte and Salvador, both ancient vineyards with the Salvador directly planted on its own roots in 1896. The Duarte was named after a prominent grower in Contra Costa. The Petite Syrahs are different animals altogether and most of them should keep for 30-40 years – at a minimum!"

This is a thrilling set of wines from Larry Turley, Ehren Jordan and Tegan Passalacqua. Tasting this wide a range of 2010 and 2011 Zinfandels and Petite Syrahs is like taking a master class in California terroir. The house style favors an expression of Zinfandel and Petite Syrah built on aromatic intensity and elegance, which Jordan credits to gentle extractions. At times, the wines come across as quite Burgundian in the way they express richness but not excess heaviness. Over the last few years, the wines have become a little more laid-back and less overtly ripe, which is a net positive given that the starting point for all of these wines is fruit of exceptional quality. The Petite Syrahs in particular are noteworthy because they are among the few wines that find the elegance Petite Syrah is capable of, while avoiding the massive tannins that are so typical elsewhere. The 2010s are strong across the board, although Turley did not bottle a few of their wines from sites that got scorched by the heat spikes, which includes the Highway 101 and Zampatti. The 2011s are more variable, as befits a vintage that had much less favorable conditions overall." (Wine Advocate #204 Dec 2012 Antonio Galloni (94-96) Drink: 2014 - 2021)

インターナショナル・ワイン・セラー　92(+?) Points ポイント (Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar)
"(this is 85% petite sirah, plus bits of 26 other varieties, including 9 whites; from vines planted between the 1880s and 1920s):  Bright red-ruby.  Blackberry and licorice on the nose, lifted by a lavender topnote.  Vibrant and sharply delineated, with peppery acidity energizing the perfumed flavors of cassis, spices and fresh apricot.  Very complex and subtle wine with uncanny verve for its 3.8 pH.  These old field blends are full of surprises." (May/June 2014)