Tolosa Winery Central Coast Pinot Noir 2023 Red Wine

Tolosa Winery Central Coast Pinot Noir 2023

750 ml

91 pts. Wine Enthusiast

Tolosa sourced the grapes for this wine mostly from the San Luis Obispo AVA, and added some from the Santa Lucia Highlands and Santa Maria Valley AVA's to add complexity. The result is pure Pinot Noir bliss! It’s a very pretty wine, in both color and flavor. A nice blend of raspberries and currants, with wonderful minerality. This is not a heavy wine – it’s very food-friendly, pairing really well with chicken and cheeses especially. Decant if drinking before 2026. – Wine Factor 

FROM THE WINERY

Established in 1998, Tolosa Winery is nestled in the heart of San Luis Obispo’s Edna Valley and within the San Luis Obispo Coast AVA. Specializing in ultra-premium Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, Tolosa strategically partners with California’s most renowned winegrowers and esteemed vineyards in its sourcing of exceptional, sustainably-farmed wine grapes.

VINTAGE NOTES 2023

A wet winter with 150% of our average rainfall led to a prolonged cold spring, delaying bud break and extending its duration. The vineyards trailed about four weeks behind a typical year, maintaining this pace through a long, moderate summer. Harvest began in early October, nearly a month later than in 2022, with variable yields across different ranches and even individual blocks. Despite these variations, the extended ripening season allowed the grapes to retain their acidity and develop robust, complex flavors.

VINEYARD SOURCES

Formerly known as "Heritage" Pinot Noir, this wine is crafted from twenty-eight distinct blocks. The majority (82%) comes from Edna Ranch and other vineyards within the San Luis Obispo Coast, complemented by 12% Santa Lucia Highlands grapes and 6% Santa Maria grapes. The blend of these three regions imparts a complexity to the wine, highlighting the unique character of each region.

WINEMAKING

After harvest, the grapes for this wine underwent a three-day cold soak before fermentation in stainless steel tanks. The fermentations were predominantly cool to enhance the fruit character. Following fermentation, the wine was aged for six months, with 58% in French oak (25% new) and 42% in stainless steel tanks.

Sight - Medium ruby red

Nose - Youthful red fruit flavor of plum, rhubarb, cherry and strawberry accent notes of red licorice, sesame, pine nut and new leather.

Palate - Medium body with juicy, bright cherry and strawberry flavors that mix with black tea, white mushroom, roasted beets and citrus zest.

ABOUT TOLOSA

Cowboy dreams of owning a cattle ranch brought Vintner Robin Baggett to Edna Valley. The cold Pacific wind that sweeps down the coast into the transverse valley and a myriad of soils derived from an ancient seabed made him realize he was on a frontier of a different sort. Tolosa is the expression of his commitment to spare no effort to craft nuanced and balanced Pinot Noir and Chardonnay of distinctive character to rival any in the world.