Winemaker Notes
At more than 20 years of age, the beautifully mature vines of Ryan Vineyard have produced a stunning wine with enticing aromas of Rainier cherry, lavender, yellow plum and raspberry. On the plush palate, supple tannins and luxurious flavors of blackberry and cherry cola emerge, with hints of black pepper lingering throughout a long, complex finish.
Blend: 100% Pinot Noir
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Aromas of honey and hints of balsamic and candied fruit as well as ripe strawberries. Some grilled meat. Strawberry tart. Full-bodied and tight and reserved with a rich flavor but lots of tension. Juicy at the end.
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Wine Spectator
Nicely packed, with a mix of raspberry, damson plum and cherry fruit flavors that meld steadily, showing off red tea, dried anise and sous-bois hints as this moves along. The focused finish is underscored by fine, buried chalky minerality. Drink now through 2035.
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Wine Enthusiast
Baked cherry aromas are dusted in toasty oak and a flinty minerality on the nose of this bottling from a vineyard planted in 1998. The palate is tense and initially tart with sour cherry and cranberry flavors before the baking spice and wild mint elements add depth.
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.