Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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The Somm Journal
Aromas and flavors of sweet earth and vibrant rose petals open this ethereal red. Jasmine takes shape with underlying notes of crushed rock and sugared beets. Hedonistic as it is, it gradually gentles, paving the way for the elegant finish.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Lots of dried herbs, leather, redcurrants, and a touch of sassafras emerge from the medium-bodied 2017 Pinot Noir Ryan Vineyard. With a rounded, elegant texture, beautiful acidity, and a terrific, lengthy finish, it opens up nicely with time in the glass and is just a complex, nuanced beauty to enjoy over the coming decade.
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Wine & Spirits
Ryan is among the highest of the parcels on the property, planted in 1989. In 2017, its wine is lean and vinous, redolent of smoke and forest floor, the fruit sensuous and alluring, dark and plummy, with a demonstrative ripeness that remains elegant, acid-driven and energetic.
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Wine Enthusiast
Baked cherry, star anise, clove and chai elements show on the ripe and spicy nose of this bottling, which was harvested after this vintage’s huge Labor Day heat spike. The wine is rich, heavy and layered on the palate, with black plum flavors coated in cardamom and sagebrush.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2017 Pinot Noir Ryan Vineyard, aged 17 months in 30% new French oak, has a pale to medium ruby-purple color and is youthful and shy to begin. With coaxing, aromas of prosciutto, wild blackberries, lemon peel and redcurrants emerge, with nuances of oolong tea leaves and dusty earth. Medium-bodied, it's broody and earthy with lifted citrusy accents in the mouth, a finely grained frame and juicy freshness on the finish.
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.