Description
At the top of Howell Mountain, Turley Wine Cellars Rattlesnake Ridge Zinfandel 2021 is a Napa Valley red from California, United States, made entirely from Zinfandel. Larry Turley founded the winery in Napa Valley in 1993, and winemaking direction now rests with Tegan Passalacqua, whose program spans more than 50 California vineyards with an emphasis on Zinfandel and Petite Syrah. Rattlesnake Ridge is an estate-owned, certified organic vineyard planted in 1999 at about 2,600 feet, with volcanic red and tufa soils. Its high-elevation position above Napa Valley brings greater sun exposure than the valley floor while maintaining colder conditions, including the possibility of winter snow. Fruit is hand harvested, fermented with native yeasts, aged 15 months in barrel, with 80 percent used oak and 20 percent new, and bottled without fining or filtration. The cuvée places Turley’s mountain-site work within a broader project of preserving California Zinfandel vineyards through organic farming and single-vineyard bottling.