Toucan Wines - Premium Estate Wines



		2007 Estate Petite Sirah (Toucan Vineyard, 100% Petite Sirah) very limited 2007 in the vineyard... A dry and cold winter allowed us to complete pruning in January, but nights of hard-freezes for a seven day stretch damaged water lines, foliage on trees and ultimately meant the end for several vines in the vineyard. The rains never came in spring and drought conditions resulted in early stress in the vineyard forcing less established vines to give up their fruit. Vines less stressed by the loss of rain set less fruit then normal on a schedule more typical of 2004 or 2005 vintages. The clusters and the berries formed this year were both smaller and more concentrated. The consistent warmth and relatively dry weather that dominated the growing season also produced less foliage on the vines, fewer weeds and overall the yield was less than expected. Very little vine thinning was required in July to expose the fruit to sun and air-flow and as veraison started we noticed the vines slowing and starting an early seasonal shut-down. By mid August the vineyard was entirely netted and we began our wait for harvest. Harvest of our Estate Petite Sirah occurred on September 29^th. The fruit came into the winery in perfect condition and I allowed 3 plus days of cold soaking and a slow fermentation in one small open bin. After a gentle pressing, we placed the wine in small French, Hungarian, and American oak barrels. After the first racking and a portion blended with the Estate Zinfandel, the remaining Petite Sirah was placed in new Hungarian oak and French oak barrels. Our 2007 Estate Petite Sirah was bottled on February 8^th 2009 after 16 months in barrel. Only 35 cases were separately bottled unfined and unfiltered. A bottling of 245 cases of our 2007 Estate Zinfandel was also bottled from our Toucan Wines estate vineyard. The finished wine... The 2007 Estate Petite Sirah has elegant fruit with a full and round mouth feel. On release, the 2007 will still be a young wine and proper storage is recommended. Harvest: September 29^th, 2007 Bottled: February 8^th, 2009 Acid: .794 Alcohol: 13.5% Release: 35 cases 2006 Toucan Wines Estate Zinfandel (Toucan Vineyard, Zinfandel & 19% Petite Sirah) sold out 2006 in the vineyard... Warm winter days and mild nights offered every indication that rainfall would be below average. In February, we chanced pruning later than usual to delay growth and to avoid seasonal frost and the fierce winds that break shoots in May. But in typical fashion, unpredictable weather surprised the Central Coast with a rare snow flurry in February and a late rainy season including freezing nights and very cold days in March and April. Coupled with the cool weather and later pruning, by May our vine growth and bud-break was a month behind normal. With nature’s help, the summer heat-waves narrowed our delayed development. Vine vigor was abundant and the extra growth required thinning to open-up the fruit zone to airflow and sunlight. Fruit set was consistent and prior to veraison the expected yield looked to be similar to 2005. Approaching harvest we appeared two weeks behind 2005’s schedule when a weather cycle of very cold and damp days further pushed off harvest. Mid-September offered one day in the high 90’s; the balance of September and early October came to us as cool and rainy weather. Harvest began in small lots on September 30^th and finally ended November 13^th after several weeks of dry, warm and clear weather. Late November and early December turned very cold encouraging us to begin pruning before the year ended; but 2006 ended very much like it began dry and mild. Several days of cold soaking led to slow fermentation in small open bins and some lots were allowed extended maceration. Our small basket press performed a very gentle pressing and the wine placed in 80% new French, Hungarian, and American oak barrels and 20% in second year barrels for one year. Our 2006 Estate Zinfandel is a blend that includes 19% of our 2006 Estate Petite Sirah and proudly we bottled 123 cases of Estate Zinfandel unfined and unfiltered. A separate bottling of 48 cases of the 2006 Estate Petite Sirah was also produced and released in 2008. The finished wine Deep-purple in color, with black-raspberry, brambly toasted-vanilla, and a candied-cherry nose, and tastes of rich ripened blackberry-cherry, blueberry & meaty tones some would say Syrah like with medium tannins and balanced acids. The 2006 opens up to a rich and elegant wine with an endless nose. Drinking beautifully today, opening nicely in the glass, this wine will reward those who cellar wines. July, 2010: Integrated aromatics suggest very ripe plums with some faint tropical fruit components and a hint of smoke. A gentle, mature Zinfandel with nicely resolved tannins and blended flavors - Alan Boehmer, Suite101.com Harvest: September 30^th - November 13^th Bottled: October 20^th, 2007 Acid: .7 TA Alcohol: 14.7% Release: 123 cases - sold out 2006 Toucan Wines Estate Petite Sirah (Toucan Vineyard, 100% Petite Sirah) sold out 2006 in the vineyard... Warm winter days and mild nights offered every indication that rainfall would be below average. In February, we chanced pruning later than usual to delay growth and to avoid seasonal frost and the fierce winds that break shoots in May. But in typical fashion, unpredictable weather surprised the Central Coast with a rare snow flurry in February and a late rainy season including freezing nights and very cold days in March and April. Coupled with the cool weather and later pruning, by May our vine growth and bud-break was a month behind normal. With nature’s help, the summer heat-waves narrowed our delayed development to three weeks by August. Vine vigor was abundant; the result of heavy rains two years in a row. The extra growth required more effort to thin the canopy and open-up the fruit zone to airflow and sunlight. Fruit set was more consistent throughout the vineyard when compared to 2005; prior to veraison, the expected yield looked to be similar to 2005. Approaching harvest we appeared two weeks behind 2005’s schedule when a weather cycle of very cold and damp days further pushed off harvest. Mid-September offered one day in the high 90’s; the balance of September and early October came to us as cool and rainy weather. Our estate Petite Sirah was harvested on October 10th and allowed only two days of cold soaking prior to fermenting in small open bins; free run from the completed fermentation was placed in new French, Hungarian, and American oak barrels and the pressed wine placed in new French oak. Once racked, the pressed wine was added to our 2006 Toucan Cuvee, and a portion of the free run was blended to our estate Zinfandel. The remaining two barrels of free run wine further aged in new French and Hungarian barrels and was bottled on September 14th, 2007. This our second estate Petite Sirah release from the Toucan Vineyard. Enjoy! Finished wine... A beautiful deep purple; forward and rich blueberry, ripe-dark fruits, sweet oak and raspberry-toast nose. A very balanced and elegant wine with a full mouth feel and a long lovely finish. Harvest: October 10^th2006 Bottled: September 14^th 2007 Acid: TA .67 pH 3.52 Alcohol: 13.1% Release: 48 cases - sold out 2006 Toucan Wines TOUCAN CUVEE (Toucan Estate Zinfandel 55% & Estate Petite Sirah 9% & 36% Old Vine Carignane, Evangelho Vineyard) sold out 2006 in the estate vineyard Warm winter days and mild nights offered every indication that rainfall would be below average. In February, we chanced pruning later than usual to delay growth and to avoid seasonal frost and the fierce winds that break shoots in May. But in typical fashion, unpredictable weather surprised the Central Coast with a rare snow flurry in February and a late rainy season including freezing nights and very cold days in March and April. Vine vigor was abundant in 2006; the result of heavy rains two years running. The extra growth required more effort to thin the canopy and open-up the fruit zone to airflow and sunlight. We began harvesting the estate Zinfandel on September 30^th and the last Zinfandel came into the winery on November 13^th. The estate Petite Sirah was harvested on October 10^th. Both our estate Zinfandel and estate Petite Sirah wines spent the year in mostly new French, Hungarian, and American barrels before blending. Our 2006 Carignane made from rare old-vine Carignane grapes grown in Contra Costa County was harvested on September 19^th also spend a year in fine oak barrels. To compile this blend, I selected three barrels of Estate Zinfandel from the seven barrels produced, two barrels of Carignane from five produced, and added a half-barrel of estate Petite Sirah. Once blended the Cuvee aged another 4 months in fine oak barrels (a total of 16 months in oak) prior to bottling. Each of these wines blended (our 2006 Estate Zinfandel, 2006 Estate Petite Sirah, and the 2006 Toucan Wines Carignane), are also bottled separately for your enjoyment. Finished wine... A beautiful deep ruby color; forward black cherry and brambly fruit, vanilla toast, and a bit of spice on the nose; tastes of black raspberry/cherry, and earthy notes. This is a very balanced wine offering a lush full-mouth feel and some good complexity. Having spent sixteen months in fine oak barrels, this wine has mellowed nicely and will continue to develop in the bottle over the next year or two. Drink now or lay down. Bottled: February 28, 2008 Alcohol: 13.9% Release: 128 cases - sold out 2006 Toucan Wines Carignane (Old Vines - Evangelho Vineyard) sold out Our 2006 Carignane is made from rare old-vine Carignane grapes grown in Contra Costa County on vines planted in the late 1800's. The beautiful Evangelho family vineyard is home to some of the oldest vines in California. Not well known, we call it Carignane in California, Carignan in France, Carignano in Italy, and Carinena in Spain; this varietal is also grown in South America, Algeria, Morocco, and South Africa. Difficult to grow, given how susceptible the varietal is to fungus and mildew, Carignane offers her best effort in pour soils from older vines. Widely planted in the southwest of France and the northeast of Spain, Carignane was the third most widely planted red-wine grape variety in California (1970’s) before Cabernet Sauvignon took over the position. Used historically as a blending wine, today Carignane is rarely produced and bottled as a 100 percent varietal. Harvested on September 19th from low-yielding 120 year old vines, grown in the Evangelho vineyard in Contra Costa County. Harvested at 25 Brix, this wine was slowly fermented after a period of cold soaking and pressed to a combination of French, Hungarian and American oak barrels. The wine was racked twice and a portion blended to our 2006 Toucan Cuvee, after a year in new and one-year old oak we felt the wine exhibited a great floral-berry nose and a forward dark-berry and fine oak taste, so on October 3rd 2007 we bottled 73 cases of this rare and fine wine. The resulting wine is a classic 100% varietal bottling from this outstanding old vine vineyard. This wine has a beautiful nose and an elegant and balanced mouth-feel - it’s drinking very nicely now, especially with food, and I expect this wine to improve with a year or two in the bottle. The finished wine... The 2006 Carignane has a rich ruby color, with a floral nose of toast, ripened berries and desirable floral earthiness, a full lush mouth feel serves up ripe berry fruit with balanced acid and light tannins. This wine is very attractive and a good choice for food service. Harvest: September 19^th2006 Bottled: October 3^rd 2007 Acid: TA .61 pH 3.54 Alcohol: 14.4% Release: 73 cases - sold out 2005 Toucan Wines Estate Zinfandel (Toucan Vineyard, Zinfandel & 11% Petite Sirah) Four Gold Medals Awarded sold out 2005 in the vineyard... A wet winter and wet spring brought record rainfall to the central coast and high winds and cold during flowering again impacted the fruit-set. Unusual late season rain extended vine and weed growth into July, and contributed to some excessive foliage growth on vines located on the lower slopes of our hills. Mild overall temperatures throughout the early summer and the usual foggy nights slowed ripening and allowed for a longer hang-time. Leaf pulling and canopy management exposed the hidden fruit to both the sun and an increased airflow. In June and again in late July, we took steps to remove all second-crop and to crop-thin every vine to maximize quality. In early August we netted the vineyard during picture perfect growing weather. Just as the vines ripened the harvest, two weeks of fog and cool 70-degree weather moved into the area. This slowed down sugars but increased hang-time. The result was a slower ripening and a full harvest of fabulous ripe fruit. I’m very pleased! Daybreak harvesting began on September 11th, section by section as the fruit ripened, and the last of the ripe fruit was picked the morning of September 25th. Cool nights of 35-38 degrees chilled the fruit; pickers said the fruit would freeze their hands even through gloves. In the winery, the 2005 fruit came in cool and clean. Sorting for any damaged fruit was performed prior to a gentle crushing. Up to six days of cold soaking was allowed prior to fermenting in small open bins and specific lots were allowed extended maceration prior to pressing. Our small basket press performed a very gentle pressing using minimum pressure to avoid bitter flavors. The wine was placed in a variety of barrels including 70% new French, Hungarian, and American oak barrels and 30% second year French and American barrels for one year. Our total production of Zinfandel and Petite Sirah is included in this one bottling - no separate bottling of Petite Sirah produced this year. Finished Wine... Deep garnet/purple, the nose is ripe, bright wild cherry and darker-berry fruit, spice and a forward elegance of fruit and oak; a big wine with tastes of intense cherry, black raspberry, blackberry, licorice and pepper on a platform of refined oak, a full mouth feel and a long finish. This wine has tasting great all year, and now it's all come together in a beautiful wine ready to enjoy with food. Gold - California State Fair Wine Competition Gold - Orange County Fair Wine Competition Gold - Los Angeles International Wine Competition Gold - Dallas Morning News Wine Competition "...Outstanding Zinfandel. Very dark cool ruby color. Deep nose of raspberry and sweet fruits with attractive notes of wild herbs, pepper and smoke. Very full-bodied and complex. Bright on the palate, with a pleasant salty tang. A very distinctive Zinfandel made from cuttings from the famous Benito Dusi vineyard in Paso Robles. Long, penetrating finish. One of the best current Zinfandels and highly recommended" April 24, 2007 - A. Boehmer, New World Wine, Suite 101 2005 Harvest - September 11th - 25th (25.0 - 27.0 Brix) Bottled: September 9th, 2006 Acid: 3.31 pH .8 TA Alcohol: 14.7% Release: 300 cases 2004 Toucan Wines Estate Zinfandel (Toucan Vineyard, Zinfandel & 12% Petite Sirah) sold out 2004 in the vineyard... Pruning began in January during a mild winter; high winds during flowering impacted the fruit set resulting in a reduced yield. Some early winter heat combined with a very dry spring brought early development of the fruit and summer weather offered a slightly shorter growing season. In July, we pulled leafs from vines to expose the fruit and we thinned the fruit to improve quality. Veraison began in late July and by early August we had netted the vineyard and awaited full ripening. Harvest began September 9th starting with the Petite Sirah, sugars at harvest ranging from 24 - 24.5 Brix for the estate Zinfandel, and 25.5 for the estate Petite Sirah. In the winery, the 2004 fruit was gently crushed by lots, cold soaked for several days and fermented in small open bins. A small basket press was used to separate pressed juice for blending. The 2004 vintage spent 11 months in 80% new French and American oak barrels. The finished 2004 Estate Zinfandel includes a 12% blend of the estate grown Petite Sirah and was bottled unfined and unfiltered. The finished 2004 Estate Zinfandel a young-wine that’s developed nicely in the bottle and will further develop over the next several years. This wine is a rich dark-colored ruby-purple Zinfandel with a nose of ripe cherry and blackberry on a background of rich oak; tastes of darker fruits - cherry, currant, and what I like to call ZinBerry, a familiar full mouth-feel, with acid and medium tannins that will hold up to bottle aging. These flavors will better join together with another two-five years in the bottle. Enjoy! This vintage of Toucan Wines Zinfandel yielded a mere 100 cases. Our limited production of estate grown Zinfandel is part of what makes us unique and one of the smallest estate wineries in California. GREAT ZIN WITH FOOD! "...bright, slightly piquant nose of black cherry, red currant, red rose and a bit of white pepper. The wine is rich, yet brisk on the palate despite the ripeness of its currant/cherry fruit. The finish is long and dry and attractively reprises the rich/zesty contrast; as focused flavors of red currant, teaberry, cherry, rose and white pepper all fan out. This delicious Zin is perfectly balanced for food service and it should be just the thing for grilled & stuffed veal chops, roast pork, or veal scaloppini with mushrooms" -Don Gillette, Napa Valley Winery Exchange Acid: 3.50 pH .711 TA Alcohol: 14% Release: 100 cases 2006 Toucan Wines - Toucan Blush (100% Old Vine Carignane) sold out This young, fun blush wine is made from rare old-vine Carignane grapes grown in Contra Costa County on vines planted in the 1890’s. The practice of making blush by removing free-run juice from the crusher (to increase the richness of a resulting wine) is very common. And in this case, the fresh juice was immediately removed from the crushed fruit and slowly fermented in small oak barrels using a special encapsulated dessert-yeast. Once fermented, the young wine was racked to a stainless barrel with new French oak staves to improve character, nose, and body. The resulting wine seems best served slightly cold; it’s dry strawberry and vanilla-oak nose, round mouth-feel and off-dry finish make this wine unusual among its Rose peers. Very pleasant with food or as a starter, the Toucan Blush will compliment your meal setting the stage for a more serious wine with your entrée. Harvest: September 19, 2006 at 25 Brix - Evangelho Vineyard Alcohol: 14.1% 2004 Toucan Wines Estate Petite Sirah (Toucan Vineyard, 100% Petite Sirah) sold out The majority of our estate Petite Sirah was of course blended into the 2004 Estate Zinfandel, the remainder was bottled separately in very limited quantity Harvested on September 9th, at 25.5 Brix, the Petite Sirah cold soaked for several days and fermented in a small 1/2 ton bin. Only the free run juice was kept and the pressed juice was discarded. The remaining wine rested for 11 months in a fine new oak barrel. This wine is a wonderfully rich and dark ruby; it's nose is ripe cherry, currant, and blackberry; tastes of riper dark berry and fresh plum fruits with acid and medium-plus tannins that will hold up to bottle aging. Enjoy now with a stand-up meal or lay down for a few years. Enjoy! Alcohol: 14.5% Release: November 1, 2006 Back to Wines