Tolosa Rose of Pinot Noir

About Tolosa Rose of Pinot Noir:

Tolosa is the expression of his commitment to spare no effort to craft nuanced and balanced Rose of distinctive character to rival any in the world

Tasting Notes:

Visual: Very pale pink
Nose: Clean, fresh aromas of watermelon, lime, tangerine and papaya are accented by notes of rose water, cotton candy, white tea, and citrus zest.
Palate: Medium bodied, broad and bursting with ripe flavors of strawberry, lemon lime and guava accented by a touch of minerality and refreshing acidity

Barrel Selection:

Fermentation for Tolosa Rose of Pinot Noir took place in 100% stainless steel tanks followed by aging for five months, also in stainless steel tanks.

Growing Notes:

A dry winter and spring that featured cool, coastal breezes delayed bud break until the second half of March. April had moments of hot weather and some rain that slowed bloom
but by June, steady summer weather had kicked in. Mild August temperatures produced a later than normal veraison followed by a much warmer September. Grapes were picked on
September 6 with excellent flavor and ripeness.

Winemaking Notes:

Grapes were initially processed very much like white grapes; they were whole cluster pressed and cold settled for four days at 48 degrees.

About The Vineyard:

The Pinot Noir grapes for this wine came from the Hollister section of our estate vineyard, Edna Ranch. This part of our vineyard is closest to the Pacific Ocean, a cool site with
gravelly, sandy soils. The combination of this cool site and older heritage clones produce grapes with significant flavor development at lower Brix levels making them ideal for Tolosa Rosé of Pinot Noir wine production.

Story Behind the Winery:

Cowboy dreams of owning a cattle ranch brought Robin Baggett to Edna Valley on the San Luis Obispo Coast. The cold Pacific wind and soils from ancient seabed to limestone made him realize he was on a frontier of a different sort: a microclimate ideal for ripening sensitive Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes.

Robin began planting his home ranch in 1988.  In Edna Valley, much as the soil and the climate come together, the passions of vintner Robin Baggett have converged. The revelation of the valley as a remarkable place for Pinot Noir ignited his zeal to build complex, nuanced and balanced wines of distinction.  Over time, his quest has expanded to find other special pockets of terroir throughout California that offer an exceptional environment for these delicate grapes.

Tolosa, established in San Luis Obispo in 1998, is an artisanal producer of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines. Helmed by vintner Robin Baggett, Tolosa epitomizes the special terroir that is San Luis Obispo Coast, nestled amongst the northwest to southeast running volcanic hills of San Luis Obispo County and the frontier for the most complex cool-climate varietals in California. Its Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays reflect the cold Pacific wind that sweeps down the coast and funnels into the valley, as well as the remarkable diversity of soil types: ingredients for nuanced and balanced wines of distinctive character. Tolosa combines traditional methods, such as hand punch down and whole berry uncrushed fermentations, with state-of-the-art equipment in the cellar and cutting-edge technology in the vineyard to handcraft exceptional wines that are the purest expressions of the San Luis Obispo Coast.

A true believer in terroir and the deepest evocation of place, together with his winemaking team, his mission is to discover the best pockets of soil, and through the art of uniting the right sites, clones, rootstocks and farming practices, create exemplary Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays that are the purest expressions of the place from whence they came.  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.