Monday, July 7, 2008
2005 Turley Pesenti Vineyard Zinfandel
The weekend before the 4th I went out to dinner with a group of friends and decided to bring along a bottle of Turley (usually a good choice for BYOB since its extremely rare to find restaurants with Turley on their list). The 2005 Turley Pesenti was one that I had 2 bottles of, so I figured I could check in on it and still have one left for the future, and it did not disappoint. The 2005's aren't considered a great Zinfandel vintage, and this was not the most powerful of Turleys, but it still possessed plenty of fruit and muscle. It's that very fruit-forward style that makes Turleys a fun choice to taste with novice wine drinkers - they are almost always amazed at the power that the wine brings. Of course, the wines aren't the easiest to get, so it's tough to recommend them to people since they won't find them on retailer shelves. My hope is that they can at least turn people on to what Zinfandel can be, and maybe they will check out something from Ridge or Biale or another top-notch producer that is easier to find.
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I had a bottle of this stuff on May 17, 2008, at a dinner at Ruth's Chris Southpark in Charlotte, NC. NOTE: I always try to take a bottle of Turley to Ruth's Chris because the wines go so well with their steaks and the optional au poivre sauce. It's also nice to get all the stares and compliments from the servers and other patrons "in the know" about Turley wines.
Of the eight Turley's I've had to date, the 2005 Pesenti is hands down the best I've had. Don't get me wrong, they've all been stellar. However, this was one of the most balanced wines I've ever had...okaaay, the Beaucastel I had with Lee and some other friends in Charleston for my bachelor party back in 2004 was pretty darn good too...but there's no question that for a Turley, and for a Zinfandel, this wine possessed that something extra that made it just plain special. Unlike the typical Turley, which is an out-of-the-gate fruit explosion that requires extreme discipline to keep from emphatically shouting out WOW!!!, the '05 Pesenti, while still loaded with fruit, is a much more subtle and refined in presenting itself.
This is a wine that definitely won’t disappoint anyone looking for a great wine to share with friends, impress a date, or enjoy on a picnic to some scenic Blue Ridge Parkway overlook (ask Lee to write about some of his favorite spots sometime...), or any other special occasion needing a special wine.
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