Hip Tastes Blog

"Huge Blocky Goose" Makes Great Pinot
filed under: Winning Wines

Okay, so the goose doesn't exactly make the Pinot, but Toulouse Vineyards' mascot is most definitely a goose, and their Pinot is without a doubt off the charts (though admittedly made by human hands). I absolutely loved the 2006 Toulouse Anderson Valley Pinot Noir my sister picked up in Mendo recently, and which I had the pleasure of quaffing a few days ago in the baking hot Central Valley, where I'm visiting my family. The newish operation (their first vintage was 2002) is run by Vern and Maxine Boltz, a retired Oakland fire chief and United airline stewardess, respectively, and Toulouse Vineyards represents

a second career for both of them. They do everything by hand on site, including bottling and farming their 17 acres of sustainably grown Pinot Noir.

Goose Has Good Pedigree
Once I did a little research I quickly discovered I'm not the first to find the wine fabulous (some other peeps who thought it was good include the Chronicle and Wine Spectator), which just goes to show it really is great juice, and great juice getting noticed, at that. My tasting note follows, but I just want to say that the best part of the bottle after what came inside was this simple note from the back label:

"The Toulouse is a huge blocky goose that can tip the scales at 30 pounds or more. This placid giant thrives in the tranquility of the vineyard." Said huge blocky goose is pictured on the label, and I love the simplicity of its image and the subtle humor (and brevity) of the bottle's descriptor. Clearly, these are people who aren't interested in hyper polished marketing lingo (or they might've written something about the berries and toast in the wine, or its ideal food pairings, or something else rote and predictable) and they also really care about their vineyard and what goes on it in - as well as who lives in it! Blocky geese, welcome!

Tasting Notes
Appearance: pale-med ruby with brick rim
Nose: moderately intense inviting notes of smoke, meat (bacon), cooked strawberry, anise, nutmeg and sage. Stony (granite? I wrote, but after reading the site it's gravel; totally get that!).
Palate: dry with marked acidity and high alcohol, though strikes me as balanced; moderate tannin. Flavors of plum, anise, earth, nutmeg. Smoke lingers on the finish.
Conclusion: Lovely, absolutely lovely. Poetic, like a Burgundy, and though heavy on the toast/nutmeg (comes from barrels), that works, too, just like the high alcohol (14.5%). It's a wine that transmits its sense of place - that's the poetry part - and strikes me as incredibly harmonious in all its parts. Bravo!

92 points

Posted by Courtney on July 17, 2008 09:03 AM