2610, 2011
Cantina Tollo Listed In Wine & Spirits As Top Co-Op
CANTINA TOLLO "Located in Central Italy's Abruzzo region, Cantina Tollo is a first-level co-op, where the farmers are also the owners of the company. It was founded in 1960 [...]
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Light-bodied, with flavors of cherry and ripe raspberry. Silky tannins on the finish. - There’s a science, but also a bit of magic that goes into blending our Alchemist wines. To make this carefully crafted Pinot Noir, we source our fruit from our favorite parts of our partners’ vineyards, drawing and blending from the beautiful palette of the Willamette Valley to create a refined and intensely vibrant wine, rich with red berry fruits. This is a wine for elevating everyday moments to the realm of art. Tastes of raspberry, dark cherry, and baking spice
- “A ripe and fresh nose displays liqueur-like aromas of red and dark berry fruit cut with plenty of earthiness. There is good vibrancy and lovely detail to the rustic but concentrated mid-weight flavors that possess reasonably good depth and length. This should drink well young but should also offer a year or two of upside development potential.”
- Bottled at the end of March, the Beaune 1er Cru Les Greves has a fine bouquet of red currant, raspberry and even a faint touch of pine needles on the well-defined nose that expresses the terroir well. The palate is medium-bodied with crisp black rather than red fruit. The tannins are just a little tough at the moment, but there is sufficient fruit to keep it balanced and vibrant. This is a charming Les Greves that deserves just a couple of years in bottle.
- The wine sports ripe red currant and wild strawberry aromas mixed with incense. The palate is vibrant and fresh on the entry with perhaps just a touch of CO2. It exerts a firm grip, demonstrates good weight with fine sucrosity on the finish.
- A brooding and quite somber nose speaks of earthy and floral dark berry fruit aromas dissolve gracefully into rich, intense and focused medium-bodied flavors that possess fine complexity on the firm and somewhat linear finish.
- Displays a wonderful texture, purity and sappiness that will pleas everyone, one of the keys was not to extract too much, in order to extract red fruit flavors from the grape.
- Deep crimson color, with black cherry fruit aromas, and light floral, vanilla notes. Ripe and full-bodied on the palate, with delicate plum character and a long, lingering finish Excellent with pizza and hearty pasta dishes, it will also stand up to red meats, grilled or stewed.
- The Eola-Amity Hills blend highlights dark, red, juicy fruits ranging from cherries to strawberries, while a hint of white pepper with spice of vanilla, roses and violets dabs the nose. A gentle layer of fresh ivy undertone gives this blend a pleasant and graceful aroma. In the mouth, volume and a creamy attack move into a generous mid palate where textural tannins create length and play in concert with an explosion of dark fruit on the back of the palate.
- Upon opening you get a handful of different fresh berries. After two hours of aeration it reveals a darker, more complex side, with spices, wet earth, and wood tones. The palate is structure and the wine shows no hint of green.
- Medium red. Spicy redcurrant and strawberry on the nose, with subtle earthiness and musky herbal character. Bitter cherry and cracked pepper flavors possess impressive concentration but are a bit wound up today. Air brought up sweeter raspberry, then a big hit of bitter cherry pit. The tannins are standing out right now.
- Bright red. Spicy redcurrant and strawberry on the nose, with a zesty white pepper quality adding energy. Shows deeper cherry and plum on the palate, but also offers vibrant minerality and a suave floral pastille character. Finishes with a crisp, exotic orange peel flavor and impressive length.
- Layers of fruit flesh out on a broad-shouldered structure, easily filling out the wine’s frame. Attractive spiced notes develop in the glass as this fleshy, radiant Pinot flows through to the generous, inviting finish.
- The Solomon Hills Vineyard in Santa Maria sits adjacent to hwy 101 just due east of Orcutt. It’s gently rising west facing slope is primarily comprised of very sandy ocean bottom soils. Planted in 1998 and 1999 to a multitude of clones. This wine is a California pinot noir made in a Burgundian style, the baires are fermented using a whole cluster fermentation technique which adds to the aromatic and texture of this wine.
- The grapes undergo a tremendous amount of triage (sorting) both in the vineyard and in the cellar. I consider this to be one of the most significant practices we employ. We can truly say only the best grapes go into our fermenters. Once they are received into the cellar we subject them to another sorting on the table and then into the fermenters. This whole cluster fermentation technique we believe contributes significantly to the aromatics and texture of our wines. It is the gentlest manipulation of Pinot Noir grapes possible. Once in the fermenters we cover the cap in dry ice to arrest any spontaneous fermentation that may occur. We prefer a pre fermentation maceration (cold-soaking) allowing the color and flavor to be extracted in the absence of fermentation for two or three days. During this time we pigeage (foot tread) twice a day increasing to five times a day at peak fermentation. The wine is usually pressed of at 1 or 2 brix into François Freres barrels from the Allier forest in the center of France. The wine will remain in barrel for 16 months without racking and will be bottled without fining or filtration. This wine received an additional six months of bottle ageing before release.
- Vivid red. Deeper and smokier than the Sleepy Hollow, showing scents of black raspberry, cherry skin, Indian spices and dried rose. Fleshy dark berry flavors are firmed by chewy tannins and deepened by notes of black pepper and candied plum. Gains freshness with air and finishes with very good thrust and lingering sweetness. This will benefit from more cellaring but could be drunk now after an hour or so in the decanter.
- Argyle Pinot Noir is an honest representation of the Willamette Valley. Fermented entirely in small lots, and blended for purity, it toes the line between red and dark cherry, while offering spicy forest floor and hints of black tea. The palate is lively and graceful, building density and focus as the silky tannins build into the long, energetic finish.
- Nuthouse Pinot Noir comes from the low-elevation, warm, southeastern slope of our Lone Star Vineyard in the Eola-Amity Hills AVA. Brilliantly garnet in color, the aromas are initially delicate and ethereal, hinting at fresh rose petal and red earth. As it opens up, more complex aromas emerge of dark chocolate, anise, and wild cherries. The mid palate is deep and creamy, poised against firm tannins and long, savory acid. You'll want to drink it right out of the gate, as this wine comes to you fully assembled, but don't sleep on aging this little beauty, as she's got many, many years to go in the bottle. Grilled venison loin with saffron white beans, almond romesco, and bone marrow toast.
- Spirithouse Pinot Noir returns! Crafted entirely from the high elevation slopes of the Knudsen Vineyard, Spirithouse Pinot Noir requires a long, well-balanced growing season to achieve its distinctive power and elegance. Grown at elevations between 600 and 700 feet, this Pinot Noir rides the line of red clay mineral edge and voluptuous depth. Elegant red cherry, wispy floral, and savory spice, the middle palate is based in silkiness and youthful acidity. Framed around delicately firm tannins, the length is long and pure, begging for at least a decade of cellaring for her to truly open up. We recommend a companion dish: tea-smoked duck.
- On the nose Artisan Pinot Noir shows off nice Oriental Spice with highlights of Maraschino and dark cherries followed by plum, strawberries, mocha, vanilla and sandalwood. On the palate the finish is firm and spicy with the underlying minerality, also has more acidity and less oak than past efforts.
- Palette Reserve is produced using the best vineyards available to our winemakers. Like brush mixed colors, grapes are crafted to produce wine of distinct character. This Pinot noir is a lovely cherry stain red, it is juicy refreshing with light tannins and light cranberry notes.