INSIDER'S PICK: 2018 TURLEY WINE CELLARS ZINFANDEL CALIFORNIA OLD VINES $31.99

Even though we will not be doing the public tasting portion of the Insider's Pick until further notice, we will still be offering the wine for purchase with the usual 10% discount. The wines will still be ones we highly recommend, and the tasting notes will still be our own. We will be returning to doing just the one wine on Thursdays and Fridays until further notice. We hope you are able to come by and get some wines to enjoy.

In a month where we at Wine Warehouse are celebrating our heritage for our 27th anniversary, it would be remiss to not feature a wine that celebrates California's most important expression of it's wine heritage. Old vineyards of Zinfandel, and the other grapes that became part of the 'California Field Blend', tie back over several generations to immigration post Gold Rush, and connect to families that enabled them to survive Prohibition, the Great Depression, World Wars, and even urban sprawl. Wineries like Turley have been instrumental in identifying, championing, and in some cases rescuing these sites by featuring them in their own wines. Sometimes they can be as little as a few hundred cases, but they deserve to be known for their own identity. Not every vineyard they work with is ready or capable of being a solo act, but are still worth saving and integrated into an 'ensemble cast' wine like this one. Built from vineyards running the full length of the state from Mendocino to Paso Robles and from vines anywhere between 50 and 120+ (if Wine Warehouse was a vineyard, we would STILL be only old enough to make it into their Juveniles bottling), this, according to long time winemaker Tegan Passalacqua, 'is no better way to gauge the classic character of  old vine Zinfandel in California than through this wine.' Lush and silky with loads of warm juicy red fruits and spice aromas earned through the age of the vines, not through excess sugar added or left behind. The palate is super polished with some tannins and fine acidity framing the background, but is overall a showy and intensely pleasurable modern style wine. Some may find the stated alcohol (>15%abv) a bit intimidating, but is swallowed expertly by the texture and complexity so as to not be jarring or out of balance. The epitome of a robust dinner wine, built to pair with your favorite roast beast, on or off the grill. 

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