Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
From a vineyard that Josh Jensen planted in 1975 comes this bottling that shows sultry black plum, minty herbs, tarragon, black slate, smashed mulberry and a touch of pork fat. A wondrous array of baked red and black fruit meet with clove, nutmeg, more tarragon and minty flavors on the palate too, producing delicious, dynamic flavor. It's like an expertly cooked stew of fruit, spice and herb.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Calera's 2013 Pinot Noir Reed Vineyard is a beauty, and one of the standout vintages of this cuvee. Harvested on October 8th and 9th, with a scant 1.14 tons per acre, and aged 17 months in 30% French oak, its light ruby color is followed by a sweet, perfumed bouquet of sassafras, mint, sweet cherries and dried flowers. This cooler site always imparts a lively, sappy, almost green note, but it's always balanced by a solid core of fruit. Medium-bodied, supple, elegant and silky, it has tons of charm, no hard edges and should evolve nicely on its overall balance.
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Wine Spectator
Firm and spicy, with floral and wilted rose scents and a core of chalky, dusty earth. The core of red and dark berry fruit rises to the forefront and gains depth and persistence. Most impressive on the long and layered aftertaste. Drink now through 2022.
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.