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2006 Toucan Wines Estate Petite Sirah (Toucan Vineyard, 100% Petite Sirah)
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
The
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 10th 2006 Bottled:
September 14th 2007 Acid:
TA .67 pH 3.52 Alcohol: 13.1% Release: 48 cases Pricing: $38
(Old Vines - Evangelho Vineyard)
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.
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 19th 2006 Bottled:
October 3rd 2007 Acid:
TA .61 pH 3.54 Alcohol: 14.4% Release: 73 cases Pricing:
$28 / 750ml 2005 Toucan Wines Estate Zinfandel (Toucan Vineyard, Zinfandel & 11% Petite Sirah) FOUR GOLD MEDALS AWARDED
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.
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.
"...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 Pricing: $34 / 750ml bottle ($75/Magnum) 2006 Toucan Wines TOUCAN CUVEE (Toucan Estate Zinfandel 55% & Estate Petite Sirah 9% & 36% Old Vine Carignane, Evangelho Vineyard)
Our 2006 Toucan Cuvee is a beautifully balanced blend of 55% Estate Zinfandel and 9% Estate Petite Sirah, plus 36% of Old Vine Carignane from the Evangelho Vineyard.
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 30th and the last Zinfandel came into the winery on November 13th. The estate Petite Sirah was harvested on October 10th.
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 19th 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
Pricing:
2004 Toucan Wines Estate Zinfandel (Toucan Vineyard, Zinfandel & 12% Petite Sirah)
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
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 Pricing: SORRY, SOLD OUT
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© Toucan Wines 1992-2008
