History
Dragon belongs to the group of old and high-elevation plantings that Turley Wine Cellars assembled from the 1990s onward, when Larry Turley and Tegan Passalacqua set about finding and keeping dry-farmed, head-trained vineyards that the market had written off. Unlike most of the sites Turley bottles, this one is estate-owned and farmed by the winery. It sits at the mountain end of a range that runs from here to the limestone of west Paso Robles.
The Site
High in the pines above Angwin at 2,250 feet, on what Turley calls one of Howell Mountain's highest points. The site is above the morning fog line, so the vines take raw mountain ultraviolet light all day and cold alpine nights, a wider swing than any valley-floor equivalent.
Vines and Blocks
Zinfandel on red volcanic soil, farmed as a certified organic estate block. The elevation and the stone together force thick skins and small berries.
The Wines
Turley's Dragon Zinfandel skips the sweetness the variety usually carries: tart red currant, blood orange, graphite and cracked pepper over tannin firm enough to need cellaring, which is not something often said of Zinfandel.