121-Year-Old Cult Coombsville Vineyard. Source Code of Biale & Turley.
Our Best Zin Buy of the Year.
Impeccably Polished & Refined.

Dear Artisans,

The most historic and revered vineyard in the Coombsville AVA should grow Cabernet for $250–$500 a bottle — but it doesn't. It is the century-plus-old R.W. Moore Vineyard, and it produces the greatest Zinfandels in California.

For years, the legend Larry Turley turned Moore fruit into the iconic Turley "Moore Earthquake Vineyard" Zin. Today, only two single-vineyard Zins come from this special site: one is made by top-end Zin specialist Biale, and the other is the 2023 Mike & Molly Hendry R.W. Moore Vineyard Zinfandel.

The couple behind it has Zinfandel in their blood. Mike Hendry is a member of the iconic Hendry family, who have crafted numerous Artisan favorites. His wife Molly is the niece of Bill Moore, the vineyard's owner. When the couple purchased five tons of Moore's precious Zinfandel grapes in 2009, the Mike & Molly Hendry label was born. It is the only wine they produce — and it packs as much pedigree as any Zin in the Golden State.

Grown in a stellar season on a hallowed site, crafted by Zinfandel royalty, this bottle is primed for greatness — and at $39.99, it is our best buy of the year.

The Moore Vineyard is a reflection of Napa farming at the turn of the 20th century: head-trained, dry-farmed, field-blended — roughly 95% Zinfandel interplanted with Petite Sirah, Carignane, Mourvèdre, and the rare Mourtaou. When Bill Moore bought the site in the early '80s, he knew he had a treasure: vines already over 75 years old in soils thick with volcanic ash, and a long, drawn-out growing season under San Pablo Bay fog.

The 2023 is full-bodied yet graceful and smooth — black, brambly fruit, pepper, and warm spices, delicious now and built to show well for years. Braised short ribs, rack of lamb, burgers off the grill, aged gouda: this is the bottle for all of it. Not jammy — pure class and polish.

Wine Spectator's #3 Wine of the Year for 2025 — and James Suckling's Top 100 too. Ridge has farmed Lytton's turn-of-the-century vines since 1972, and the cool 2023 season produced one of the most elegant Lyttons ever: native fermentation, air-dried American oak, structure for a decade-plus.

The Turley connection comes full circle: the house that made Moore Vineyard famous, working the legendary 1945-planted, dry-farmed Dusi Vineyard. Turley calls it one of the most plush and hedonistic wines they make — native yeast, unfined, unfiltered.

The other legendary field blend in this email: Old Hill Ranch, mostly ancient-vine Zinfandel interplanted with 30+ other varieties, farmed by master grower Will Bucklin and bottled unfined and unfiltered by old-vine specialist Carlisle. A cellar wine of real stature — the highest-scored bottle in this lineup.

Mountain Zin from nine distinct blocks at nearly 1,200 feet in the Rockpile AVA, each picked and fermented separately. Firm mountain tannins, dark fruit, and a spice-laden finish built for the next decade. Just 875 cases.

Over a century old, the Highwire Vineyard is named for its unusual trellising — half head-trained, half strung on a high wire for even ripening. Cool Russian River nights keep the acidity bright; cracked white pepper and boysenberry are its signature. Only 325 cases made.

A supergroup in a bottle: Banfield, Carlisle, Maffei, Monte Rosso, Bedrock, and Limerick Lane — six of California's most revered ancient vineyards blended into one operatic Zin. Thirteen barrels produced.

A 121-year-old cult vineyard. Two 93-point scores.
$39.99. Our best buy of the year.

The R.W. Moore Vineyard made Turley famous and keeps Biale's top bottling in demand — and the Hendrys, who married into the vineyard itself, sell their version for $39.99. It should cost double. It doesn't. With only a few hundred cases made, it won't sit here long.

And with the grill running all summer, the other six — from Wine Spectator's #3 Wine of the Year to Turley's own Dusi and Carlisle's 96-point Old Hill Ranch — round out a Zinfandel lineup as strong as any wall in the shop. Pure class and polish, top to bottom.

Cheers,

— James Tran