'm not currently making Lane Tanner wines, instead I'm the winemaker at LUMEN, so surf on over and find me there: www.lumenwines.com
Steve Tanzer's
International Wine Cellar Ratings
Pinot Noir Julia's Vineyard Santa Maria Valley 2007 91 pts.
Bright red. Raspberry and cherry aromas are complemented by
notes of
anise, black tea and rose. Richer than the Bien Nacido but also lively,
offering crisp, focused red berry and black cherry flavors, with good
mineral spine and silky texture. Expands on the finish, which is
focused, alluringly sweet and very persistent. These are the only two
wines that Lane Tanner produced from the '07 vintage.
Pinot Noir Bien Nacido Vineyard Santa Maria Valley 2007 91 pts.
Bright red. Expansive, high-pitched bouquet offers scents of wild
strawberry, raspberry, Asian spices and fresh flowers. Silky and
alluringly sweet, with a lush, velvety texture to the energetic red and
dark berry flavors. Finishes with admirable clarity and a persistent
note of sweet red berries. This is delicious right now.
Wine Enthusiast
Ratings
2007 Bien Nacido Vineyard Pinot Noir 94 pts.
Elegant, supple
PN of great charm and impeccable balance. Flavors of cherry pulp and
skin, cola, bacon, sandalwood and Asian spices. Drink now through 2013
2007 Julias Vineyard Pinot Noir 90 pts and
cellar
selection. Fresh in primary cherries and currants. Richness and
balance are easily there. Give it a good 3-4 years in the cellar.
Burghound.com
This winery was founded in 1984 by the high energy and cheerful Lane Tanner, who was mentored by the legendary Andre Tchelistcheff. Tanner runs what is basically a 'one-woman show' with production of about 1,500 cases annually. She strives for a 'deft touch of oak' at about 20-30% new French barrels, with lower alcohols and is consistently one of the earlier pickers in Santa Maria with the aim of crafting well-balanced wines. It is interesting to note that the wines are 'very low in sulfites' because she is allergic to them. The wines are sold through the on-line mailing list. For further information visit www.lanetanner.com.
2007 Pinot Noir - Bien Nacido Vineyard: (Santa Maria Valley, 13.9%, 295 cases). This required several hours of air to really open up and display the complexity that it is capable of so be sure to allow it time in a decanter if you're going to try one young. A spicy and very pure nose of red and blue pinot fruit, plum and dark cherry aromas lead to rich, round and naturally sweet medium-bodied flavors that possess fine detail and vibrancy on the solidly intense finish. The acidity isn't as tightly integrated as that of the Julia's but this is one case where it appears as though it will in time. 89/2012+
2007 Pinot Noir - Julias Vineyard: (Santa Maria Valley, 13.8%, 447 cases produced). A lightly spiced and admirably fresh nose of red and blue pinot fruit trimmed in a background note of earth that is also picked up by the nicely detailed and vibrant middle weight flavors that possess good depth and an attractive mouth feel. This is not especially ripe, at least not compared to many offerings from the Santa Maria Valley in 2007, and as such it manages to preserve a real sense of varietal character and is quite refreshing to drink. This will most please those who enjoy classically styled pinot. 91/2012+. One of Burghound.coms 72 California Pinot Noir Selections.
This next bit is a review from the Prince of Pinot's newsletter,
The PinotFile:
Lane Tanner's Enticing Pinots
"Its a
no-brainer: great Pinot at a sensible price made by a pioneering
and highly respected California winemaker."
Lane Tanner, the Pinot Czarina, is a California treasure who has not
received the notoriety that she deserves. She was one of the first
female California winemakers to make a credible Pinot Noir in
California (1984) and has demonstrated a remarkable resiliency and
consistency over the past 25 years. Fortunately, author Judy Reynolds,
in her book, Once Upon a Vine: The Secret Stories of California's
Artisan Wineries, writes about Lane (who she affectionately calls
"Bette Midler in a bottle). Reynolds says, "What do you get when you
blend a wry sense of humor with pixy good looks and a yen for
chemistry....In the madcap life script that Fate wrote for Lane Tanner,
you get a winemaking woman who started her own brand in the earliest
days of Santa Barbara Pinot Noir.....and lots of laughs."
2007 Lane Tanner Bien Nacido Vineyard Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir
13.9% alc., 295 cases, $33. From N Block (Martini clone on its own
rootstock planted in 1973). Back label says, "Laugh More-Flirt Often."
Appealing intense aromas of blackberries, raspberries, plums, raisins
and herbs. Tasty earth-dusted berry flavors with pepper in the
background. There is a slight roasted quality to the fruit. Alluring
richness, smoothly textured, with a tenacious persistence on the
finish. Lane Tanner Pinot amped up a notch. Not as expressive as it
will be but great cheekbones now.
2007 Lane Tanner Julia's Vineyard Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir 13.8%
alc., 447 cases, $36. Sourced from block B4 (Martin Ray selection) of
Julia's Vineyard which is located about 3 miles east of Bien Nacido
Vineyard. The crop was low so it ripened earlier and harvest occurred
about a month earlier than in 2006. Lane was the first to pick at this
vineyard. Aged 11 months in 33% new French oak and 44% one-year-old
barrels. The wine was not finned and was gently filtrated. Watch out
for this spiced-up mother as it will seduce you. On the extroverted
nose there are lovely scents of framboises des boise and cassis liquors
which draw you into the glass. The lush berry fruit is rich and opulent
with well-integrated tannins and a whisper of oak. Balance is spot on.
The mouthfeel is satiny and the long, powerful finish is seductively
perfumed. This is a wine with considerable cleavage that is hard to say
no to.
The Los Angeles Times Review
of the
2006 Santa Barbara Pinot is
here
A Great Book for you to check out!
Here is a great new wine book that just came out called Once Upon A
Vine, The Secret Stories of California's Artisan Wineries. Judy
Reynolds is the author and I am in it...along with lots of other fun
people...CHECK IT OUT.... www.OnceUponAVineTheBook.com
Other Recent Reviews
Burghound.com - October 6, 2008
2006 Lane Tanner Pinot Noir - Bien Nacido Vineyard red 91
2006 Lane Tanner Pinot Noir - Julia's Vineyard red 90
2006 Pinot Noir - Bien Nacido
Vineyard: (from Santa Maria Valley fruit and bottled at 14.1%).
A subtly spicy layered and intense red pinot fruit nose that is nuanced
by hints of earth that leads to delicious, fresh, vibrant and
beautifully balanced flavors that possess a discreet sauvage component
on the precise and vibrant finish where a very mild touch of warmth can
also be found. This is lovely and has an attractive Burgundian element
to the mouth feel. Lovely and worth a look for those who like
classically styled pinot. 91/2012+
2006 Pinot Noir - Julia's Vineyard:
(from Santa Maria Valley fruit and bottled at 14.5%). Here the nose is
higher-toned than the Bien Nacido with red cherry and touches of
raspberry and cranberry that introduces round, rich, delicious and
attractively sappy flavors that possess fine depth and breadth as well
as much better than average length. Moreover, there is virtually no
warmth here and while this does not have quite the same sheer depth of
the Bien Nacido, there is no warmth either. I give the Bien Nacido the
nod because of the depth of material but this too is certainly worth a
look. 90/2011+
The 2006 Bien Nacido Vineyard was included in Allen Meadows,
Burghound.com's 49 California Top Pinot Noir Selections in a recent
issue!
WINE ENTHUSIAST
December 2008
91 2006 Bien Nacido Vineyard Pinot
Noir Santa Maria Valley $33
Lovely and delicious, a balanced PN with soft acidity and tannins that
frame perfectly ripe flavors of cherries, blackberries, black
raspberries and smoky vanilla. Very elegant and upscale. (The least
expensive of all 47 Pinots that scored 90 points or more)
89 2005 French Camp Vineyard Syrah
San Luis Obispo $21
Silky, low tannin mouthfeel. Waves of currants, cherries, cola, orange,
cocoa, pepper and cinnamon constantly change. (The least expensive of
all of the Syrahs rated)
89 2006 Julia's Vineyard Pinot Noir
Santa Maria Valley $36
Balanced with crisp acidity and oaky tannins, it flatters the mouth
with a wealth of red and black cherry, currants, cola, bacon and
vanilla flavors.
The Pinot Czarina Wine Club
Yes, I have a wine club. Here is how it works..I don't send you
wine whenever I need cash or want to off load something. You buy wine
from me one time and you are automatically enrolled (that is the only
way you get membership). Once a year, I mail you my special, members
only newsletter. You get a 15% discount on your order. The
wines
available to you will be my new releases plus any library wines I may
want to offer. You are the first ones that have access to my library
wine offers.
YOU PICK THE WINES YOU WANT...YOU GET THE DISCOUNT!
Order now, operators are standing by.
Prince of Pinot Features Lane
May 7, 2008 Features include: The Boys of John Ash & Co., Kastania Pinot Noir, Pinot Czarina: Lane Tanner, Twin Oaks Cellars, Small Sips of Pinot, Pinot Briefs, Pinot Events, The Long and Winding Pinot Road, Part X.
Fun Media Links of Lane
A really cool news piece was shown on the NBC station in San Francisco on, well, ME! Here's a link to the video:
http://www.nbc11.com/video/6216804/index.html
And here's a video
of Lane at the Morrell
Wine Store in New York
Newsletter
Happy Valentines Day, My Sweets!
I
hope this note finds you happy, healthy and thirsty. Another year has
passed..as they all do...and it's once again ...Pinot Czarina Wine Club
Discount Time.... For those of you that are new members - this is what
that means: You have purchased my wine-babies from my website (or you
are a relative or best friend). That entitles you to a once yearly 15%
discount on any wine I make. Sooo much more fun than the other wine
clubs that send you their special blends (read...stuff they couldn't
sell) or library selections (read...off vintage). In my club, YOU get
to
pick the wine AND the amount you want because, really, shouldn't it be
about you? (The part about me is next..)
This is also my
yearly newsletter, so here is what happened to me and the winery since
last Valentines Day. I did the usual sales travel. The trip to Calgary,
Canada was an outstanding example....They picked us up at the airport
(many wine people from the Enovations sales book) and took us to this
swanky hotel in town. The newly redone rooms were Zen-sheik and there
was a swag bag waiting (Mom, that means a bag full of free-cool stuff)
plus instructions for the two night stay. We all met at the bar down
stairs at 6:00 for cocktails, then walked over to a great restaurant
where we took over the downstairs dining room. Bubbles and hors
d'oeuvres were served while we perused the menus and chatted. I ordered
the pressed duck (they have one of the only duck presses left in the
country-and the dinner came with the brass id tag from the duck I
ate....kinda neat). The next day, the trade tasting was at 2:00, so I
had
a yummy room service breakfast and just stayed in bed with the fluffy
down comforter over me while I read and watched the this beautiful dry
snow dance down from the sky. At 1:00, I put on my pretty pouring
outfit and good jewels and went downstairs. I ordered a bottle of Veuve
champagne (I like drinking sparkles while I pour at these
events...keeps
me more talkative) and set up my table. The trade and press people
trickled in and out while we poured, chatted and ate wonderful little
snacky foods. After the event, we were all packed into two limo buses
(That is a bus that's set up like a limo..all the cushy black leather
seats were in a circle facing the center, lighting was sparkling disco,
tunes cranked up on a superior sound system and ...of course a bar with
more bubbles). We were driven about an hour out of town, to this
beautiful hunting lodge/restaurant in the country. We had the place to
ourselves. All of the food was prearranged and fabulous (course after
course). We had all the open, leftover wine from the tasting plus some.
By the end of the night, there was lots of kissing and laughter. Then
back to the bus after making a few dozen snow angels...sweet dreams and
home again. Life on the road is hard, but it must be done.
I could go on about stuff but let me introduce this years wines before
I run out of space....
2005 French
Camp Syrah
(retail $21.50 your price $18.25)
I
call this one Spicy. I make it like the Pinot's so it isn't one of
those over the top Syrahs. It is however packed with more fruit than in
previous years. The soft texture turns voluptuous as it opens, it's
structure is based more on it's refreshing acidity than on tannin. The
fruit starts with red berries then slides into wild ripe blueberries.
Spices and slight hints of floral notes tickle and tease you.....
2006 Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir
(retail $26.00 your price $22.10)
I
call this one Fruity. No nonsense, just great drinking wine. Come home,
open and pour then start returning phone calls; turn around and the
bottle is empty, how did that happen... Crunchy red fruit and wisps of
silky smoke slide down while oh-so soft tannins leave the youthful and
supple hints of rose, white pepper and strawberry.
2006 Bien Nacido Vineyard Pinot Noir
(retail $33.00 your price $28.00)
I
call this one Elegant. There's a delicacy to this wine that's
transparent and beautiful. Fresh cherries and strawberries weave into
sweet, wet earth with hints of pepper, smoke and wild flowers. The
essence of fruit lingers on the remarkably classy finish making your
mouth whisper, ... more please....
2006 Julias Vineyard Pinot Noir
(retail $36.00 your price $30.60)
I
call this one Bold. A stunning wine that won't be ignored. Dark black
plums and berries play peek-a-boo with long streams of smoke and cola.
The tannins are there but the sweet fruit and toasty flavors equal and
surpass them, so all your left with is haunting, breath taking Pinot
Noir at it's best.
Over all, this years wines are slightly
bolder the lovely 2007 line up. Any of the above wines are good to go
now but will also do nothing but improve over the next ten to fifteen
years. (Right now, I'm drinking my 1992-1994 wines and they are
wonderful).
On a personal note, husband Ariki is doing super and
his label, Labyrinth is going great guns. Sister Suz and family are
Sunset perfect. Uncle Don turns 80 this year and in general, we are all
fit and fine....accept for the fact that my little eel ate my yellow
blenny this morning....o-well, such is life.
May each one of
you have a super Valentines Day and remember to order something just
for yourself...because you deserve it! Cheers...
Love, Your Pal,
Lane
Also, here's a link to past newsletters.