Toluca Lane Pinot noir 08
Toluca Lane Pinot noir 08 - Fantastic value in a "bigger" style Oregon Pinot. Silky blackberry, black currant, bright red cherry and a sweet violet note that pops towards the end. Deep, lingering vanilla spice, caramel, and cocoa round out the lush black fruit finish.
Sitting down to taste the 08 Toluca, we were unusually captivated by the dark fuschia color in the glass. Turns out you can judge this book by its cover! Opened Tuesday, This was still fresh Thursday afternoon. Only 191 cases made. - Marcus
The 2008 Toluca Pinot’s alluring perfume is filled with black currants, chocolate, soft caramel, white pepper, maybe some allspice and a hint of honeysuckle. The mid-palate evolves into dark currants and cherries, vanilla and caramel flavors with a smooth, silky texture. The aftertaste is vibrant on the palate with concentrated black, ripe fruit, a touch of allspice adding to it’s lingering finish with a splash of vanilla and tobacco. A few minutes later, the dark fruit re-emerges. Eventhough, the ‘08 is low in alcohol like our ‘07, there is good acidity offering backbone and balance to the fruit.
This wine is made solely from our estate fruit. The vines are 10 and 12 years old. We produced 8 barrels that rested in 37% new French oak for 11 months. As always, we do not fine or filter our wines. Our production of 2008 Toluca Lane Pinot Noir was just 191 cases. - the winery
Previous Vintage Tasting Notes
2007 Vintage Tasting Notes
Toluca Lane 07 is beautiful Pinot. Succulent aromas of cherries, roses, raspberry patch, lavender and soft toast captivate your sniffer. Ripe, round, and silky flavors red cherry flavors play with nuances of cherry candy, vanilla, and dark berries. A great balance of fruit, earth, and oak makes this the best wine yet from Toluca Lane. Highly recommended - an April 2009 Reserve Pinot Noir Club selection.
MORE INFORMATION
More About Toluca Lane
Geoffrey and Lane Crowthers have proven to be dedicated and talented grape growers, as well as exceptional winemakers. Toluca winemaker and owner Geoffrey Crowther grows excellent grapes and makes delicious Pinot noir. He says: “It is a fussy little grape with thin skins and wants to be treated genteelly like a porcelain doll.”
Amity, Oregon, where Toluca Lane is located, is in Yamhill County, the heart of Oregon’s wine industry, but is not one of the big “Wine Country” towns. It’s a funky, tiny place best known for a wicked speed trap and the Brigittine Monks’ Abbey (the Monks with the famous fudge).
The 2.4 acre Toluca Lane Vineyard is located east of Amity, near the Antica Terra Vineyard. Like Antica Terra, Toluca Lane’s weather is influenced by the breezes of the “Van Duzer Corridor”, a long area of land that starts at the ocean and travels through a low spot in Oregon’s coastal mountain range. The cool ocean air is drawn into the interior and drops temperatures in the afternoon. Cooler weather means longer ripening time. Pinot noir grapes achieve their highest quality when allowed to ripen slowly.
Geoffrey describes the unique soil of the Toluca Lane terroir: "Toluca Lane Vineyards are in the Walnut Hill area of the Eola-Amity Hills AVA. One of the predominant influences on the wines from this area is the shallow Nekia soil. The Nekia soil contains weathered volcanic basalt from ancient lava flows. These shallow, well drained soils tend to produce smaller grapes with greater concentration of flavor.
Toluca Lane: Cordon Bleu Torts? No, Indie Pinot noir! Toluca Lane 2006 Pinot noir Wine of the Week Previous Vintage Tasting Notes
2006 Vintage Tasting Notes
Lush and densely packed with big blackberry and black cherry notes. Silky and mouth-coating, the flavors just keep coming and bombard the mouth with intense juicy black plum and little bursts of bramble. Layered throughout is a background note of earth and creamy bits of caramel. This is truly a 2006 Pinot worth getting excited about. Enjoy it now, there is no need to cellar this wine.
From the winery:
The Toluca Lane Pinot noir 06 nose begins with a soft floral quality redolent of roses -- pink roses, soft vanilla aromas and a suggestion of caramel. The mid-palate flavors have hints of black raspberries, followed by chocolate and caramel. The structured finish is balanced and long with a delicate array of allspice, cassis, caramel and a nuance of white pepper. - the winery An Avalon "Insiders" Pinot noir Club selection for June 2008
