A winery with some serious history, Turnbull has been perched in the Napa Valley for the past 35 years. Today the winery owns over 200 acres in the Napa Valley and produces approximately 30,000 cases per year. Their original co-founder William Turnbull was an architect from the San Francisco Bay Area and designed his winery as well as many others including part of Cakebread Cellars. Later in 1993 Patrick O’Dell purchased Turnbull Johnson and renamed the winery to Turnbull Cellars. At the helm is Peter Heitz who is a fourth generation vintner. Peter applied his trade at Beringer, crafting some world class Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon under the guidance of legendary winemaker Ed Sbragia, before coming to Turnbull more than a decade ago.
I loved the new wines by Turnbull. Check out the 2020 Turnbull ‘Oakville’ Sauvignon Blanc (OB, 90) which is fresh, vibrant and shows a great sense of texture. Their top wine, the 2018 Turnbull ‘Black Label’ Cabernet Sauvignon (OB, 96) is sinfully good even now. This wine has incredible power and finesse, as well as some seriously good aging potential. These are beautiful wines that are not to be missed. Learn more at www.turnbullwines.com Here are my reviews of the new Turnbull wines.
2020 Turnbull ‘Oakville’ Sauvignon Blanc- Fresh, lithe and inviting, the 2020 Turnbull Sauvignon Blanc delivers plenty of kiwi, pink grapefruit and starfruit flavors alongside a good sense of minerality. Medium-bodied with good structure and a soft texture, this is best enjoyed over the next several years. Drink 2021-2026- 90
2018 Turnbull Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon- The 2018 Turnbull Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon shows good weight, with rich chocolate and dark fruit flavors alongside a great veil of tension and light dusting of salinity. Dense and rich, this has some heft and structure to age gracefully for another ten plus years. Drink 2021-2033- 92
2018 Turnbull Oakville Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon- The 2018 Turnbull Oakville Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is a beautiful, finesse-driven wine that is already showing beautifully in its youth. Right away the cassis and anise tones capture your attention as tilled soil undertones also arouse aromatically. The palate is fresh and vibrant with gobs of acidity and medium-bodied dark fruit, tobacco and damp earthy tones. Great enjoy now, this has a long way to go in the cellar. Drink 2021-2035- 93
2018 Turnbull ‘Black Label’ Cabernet Sauvignon- Big without being massive, the 2018 Turnbull ‘Black Label’ is a gorgeous wine made by Peter Heitz. Made from only Oakville fruit, and mainly sourced from their Leopoldina Vineyard, this shows off exotic spices and dark plum that mingle with espresso bean and loamy soil aromatics that all take shape in the glass. The palate is lively and fresh with good acidity and really nice mid-palate density. Gorgeous to savor in its youth, try your best to resist this beautiful new wine for at least another year. Drink 2022-2040- 96