Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
My favorite in the lineup, the 2017 Pinot Noir Jensen Vineyard is stunning in every way. Gorgeous black raspberry fruits, lots of floral, scorched earth, and sappy herb aromatics, medium to full-bodied richness, flawless balance, and a great finish all make for one of the most captivating Pinot Noirs in the vintage. It's brilliant today yet should easily evolve for 15 years or more.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Aged 17 months in 20% new oak, the pale to medium ruby colored 2017 Pinot Noir Jensen Vineyard is scented of cranberries, Earl Grey tea, dried flowers, dust, crushed stone, dried thyme and blackberries with hints of mushrooms, tree bark and cured meats. The palate is light to medium-bodied and intense with very pretty layers, a gently grainy frame and a long, juicy, nuanced finish.
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Wine Enthusiast
Shy aromas of black plum, mace and rusty earth show on the nose of this bottling. Dried cherry and cranberry flavors meet with dried mushroom on the palate, which is elegant while mellow.
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Wine & Spirits
This has sunny and seductive ripeness in 2017, with notes of caramelized cherries and toasty oak that point it toward pork loin.
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Wine Spectator
Burnished, with vanilla and spice notes accenting the plum pastry and dark cherry flavors. The toasty finish lingers, offering sandalwood details.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
At elevations reaching well over 2,000 feet, the Mt. Harlan AVA in the Gabilan Range is an anomaly among its surrounding Central Coast appellations. Recognizing the splendor of the area and its ideal limestone-rich soils, Josh Jensen chose Mt. Harlan as the home of his Calera Wine Company in the 1970s. Awarded his own AVA in 1990, Calera is the only commercial winery in the appellation.