2007 Calera Mt. Harlan Pinot Noir Ryan Vineyard
I’ve written about Calera once before. We loved their 2008 Central Coast pinot.
Apparently the name is Spanish for “limekiln.” The vineyards and winery on Mt. Harlan rest on the site of an old limestone quarry. The Calera web page even shows a beautiful image of a recently restored limekiln. Perhaps it is all the lime in the region that gives Calera pinots noir their excitement? Well, whatever the explanation, this 2007 Ryan Vineyard is a hit.
This wine was a deep brownish red with a musky loamy nose full of blackberry and raspberry. Masculine, the wild blackberry and raspberry flavors predominate but are complemented by mineral and earth. Are we tasting limestone here? This is full bodied with a lingering, thrilling finish. This tannin-rich wine could benefit from some time in your cellar (if you can bear to wait!)
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I love trying new wines, so I’ll have to take your high review on this one and buy a bottle. Also, how did miss that you are in San Francisco…one of my absolute favorite places in the world! Also, thank you for all Paris suggestions!
A thrilling bottle of wine. Still barely into puberty, but already showing classic burgundy characteristics combined with expensive oak…in balance. Delicious and sweet and long palate, yet astringent indicating a candidate for a further 5-10 years in the cellar before it’s drinking well. Valera make some of the best pinots outside Burgundy.