Marcassin

Helen Turley's winemaking philosophy is simple - "great vineyards, meticulously farmed, limited yield, long hang time and natural yeast." She approaches every project with these simple and transcendent priorities.

Having worked with the greatest wineries in California, Helen Turley is one of the most influential winemakers in this country. She has received critical acclaim for almost every wine she touches. She was instrumental in creating the cult wine phenomenon and although her work with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are the best known, her work with Bordeaux varietals may rival her contribution with the former. Turley has been the consulting winemaker for Peter Michael Winery & Vineyards, Pahlmeyer, Colgin, Bryant Family Vineyard, Martinelli, to name a few.

Marcassin is Turley’s own label owned in partnership with her viticulturist husband, John Wetlaufer. Together they produce 2,500 to 3,000 cases of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The waiting list to join the allocation list is long, with some waiting years to get a chance to purchase (the waiting list is said to contain 5,000 names).

Marcassin, French for 'young wild boar' did not have its own winery for many years. The wines were crafted at the Martinelli winery in the Russian River Valley from 1992 to 2011. 

Although Turley has worked with different vineyards in the past (Blue Style Ridge & Three Sisters), her own Marcassin Vineyard, located on California's Sonoma Coast, came into full production in 2009, and since 2010, she has been exclusively producing bottles from her own vineyard. At an elevation of 1,200 feet, the small and private10-acre vineyard is a short distance from the Pacific Ocean, an ideal setting for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. 

Turley is said to plant her vineyard very densely, severely limit yields, and pick very ripe. In her winemaking, Chardonnay clusters are pressed whole, while Pinot Noir clusters are de-stemmed, cold soaked with one pump over per day. She uses natural yeasts, mostly new oak, and leaves the wines on the lees after fermentation. No fining, filtering or cold stabilization so the wines may have a fine sediment and occasionally tartaric acid crystals. Typically, the wines are aged five years before release.

Stylistically, her wines are rich and opulent with generous alcohol. The wines have a reputation for aging very well.