Calera, Mills Vineyard Pinot Noir, Mt. Harlan

Developing slowly in my cellar. Profound, dark fruited mountain pinot with impeccable structure. Needs another 5 years.

2007 vintage

A Remarkable Wine Evening with Atlanta Oenophiles at Brasserie Margot (Atlanta, GA) : Tasted at the "Out of Towners' Dinner" at Brasserie Margot in the Four Seasons Atlanta. Given the rapid succession of wines at this social event, I wrote down only my score and some brief notes. This California Pinot from pioneering producer Calera had moved slightly past its peak but was still showing admirably, providing an interesting New World counterpoint to the aged Burgundies surrounding it in our …

2007 vintage

wow, I've always said I don't like 99% of Cali / USA pinot due to it being generally too big / bold / alcoholic... CAlera once again proves to be (at least one of) the only domestic pinot I love and which can age into elegance... this bottle was fantastic, elegant but with a slight punch of palate fruit (purple?) and a bunch of mellow spices, all riding on a beautiful acidic train... yum!!!

1997 vintage

Stoge Off at the Sedgwick's, this was awesome... going strong in its old age and I think has 5-10 more years left... def'ly needed the 5 hours of decant I gave it, brightness, red fruit (med - dark), almost some minerality to it... lovely

1997 vintage

with baby lamb chops, easter egg roast potatoes, amazing asparagus.

1997 vintage

Medium garnet with bricking at the rim. Medium intense nose of damp soil, wet clay, damp forest floor, cedar, dried cherry, old leather. Medium alcohol, medium- body, medium+ acidity. Fine, resolved tannins gives a velvety mouthfeel. While it feels a bit past peak, this is still drinking well and speaks to the condition it was stored in over at the estate. Fantastic peek into the potential of California Pinots when done right.

1997 vintage

Properly cellared - Fabulous dark fruited modestly earthy nose. Satisfying, virile taste balancing rich black & blue fruits against proper acid & tannin with not excessive oak influence. Very happy where this is now, & looking forward to retaste in 4-5 years.

2007 vintage

Garnet not brick. Sturdy legs. Forever finish of perfectly ripened dark bing cherries. with Sicilian seafood linguine. Drinking well now at 25

1997 vintage

375ml. Decanted two hours. Aroma: Dried red berries (cherry, cranberry, raspberry, strawberry), with some underbrush, baking spice and cigar box. Very perfumed and complex. Taste: Complex red cherry, strawberry and dusty / chalky Pinot Noir notes. Somewhat stewed and oxidized fruit — the flavor is a little less youthful than the aroma. Extremely long and interesting finish. Well integrated and perfectly balanced. Drink soon, this bottle was surprisingly youthful with a decent amount of fruit remaining, but I suspect some …

2004 vintage

A little baked in the nose but shows richness and balance in the mouth. i stored this in the trunk of my car for 5 hours before dinner, in an ice filled cooler. the neck of the bottle was out of the ice, and the first glass out of the bottle was the only smelly one. i learned my lesson.

2008 vintage

Drank over five hours Dark burgundy in color. medium +++ body Fragrant floral nose. Tons of dark fruit. Baking spice. Intoxicating. Dry, balanced. Tastes like the nose. Long finish. First class product. In its drinking window for sure. Still has up to two years left IMHO. Pizza+wings

2008 vintage

This needed a half an hour decanted to come together. A little more one dimensional than I hoped for, considering the bottle age. Sour fruits and herbal on the palate. The nose was heavy on the prunes and somewhat astringent at first, but mellowed after some time and showed faint cherry cola. At $129 Canadian, I hoped for more. Glad I tried it though. The wine looks crimson colored. The legs are medium. There is no sediment in the bottle. …

2007 vintage

NR. Nothing technically wrong with the bottle I opened and decanted but just left me indifferent and unimpressed. Maybe my bottle didn't age well. Have another bottle, so hope springs eternal (even if its drinking window says "by 2020").

2008 vintage

From glass. Coppering around rim, but still dark at its core, rather an ordinary, greener nose of dilled red fruit, sour veg. What a surprise on the palate then, after getting those notes on the attack, to be flooded with clean, refreshing dark fruit and lots and lots of flavorful cocoa. Rich, deliciously rich, but never too rich; still some powdery sweet tannin, but smooth and never heavy. Some nibble of earthy mineral there too on the long finish. Evoking …

2007 vintage

Plenty of fruit left, but also elegant and complex. Soft red fruit, with earth and spice notes.

2007 vintage

Decanted at 5pm and tasted mostly from 8-11pm. Translucent light to medium ruby. Forward, fruity cherry and minty nose along with a noticeable level of alcohol which remained through the evening. Palate has bright acidity and modest tannin. Good but slightly crystalline texture. There is some tart cherry, forest floor, minty menthol and a smokey spiciness. Labeled ABV is 14% but seems higher. Finish is long and shows cherry and a little vanilla and chocolate. Enjoyable with a seared duck …

2008 vintage

Dark cherry and purple fruits with cola, vanilla, mocha, baking spices, and lots of chocolate. Very rich and powerful at 14.9 % alcohol. Very fruity and California in style, but with some lively Burgundian acidity and sous bois too. A little simple, but so delicious. Great match with lamb. I would buy more and curious about the Jensen too. Unlike some other Cali Pinot Noirs, this drank well without too much air.

2007 vintage

congrats J+J : cloudy ruby color. Nose sappy, candied red fruit; slightly musty -- definitely tastes aged. Palate candied cherry, some sweetness to the fruit; some earth. The palate was definitely better than I expected from the nose, and still offering a lot of pleasure. 92 pts

1997 vintage

Mature, balanced, delicious - sadly my last bottle.

2007 vintage

Lively and delicious.

2008 vintage

Delightful pinot drank with pan grilled red salmon. this wine had everything you can expect in good mature pinot. Sadly my last bottle of this beauty.

2007 vintage

Lovely color, with subtle bricking around the edges. Beautiful nose, showing both Sonoma fruit and a Burgundian funk. On the palate, there’s a perfect balance of earthy fruit and nice acidity. Finishes just a tad short, or it would be a point higher. Even so, this is one of the finest Pinots I’ve ever had. Edit: After 3 hours of air, the funky notes smell like a wonderful Gigondas. I’ve never seen this in a Pinot.

2007 vintage

saw my last note this AM and I didn't do this bottle "right"... opened it mid evening and didn't allow for any decant... big mistake -- it had the "protruding acidity" I mentioned in my note from 11/25/16 and was too dry for me... perhaps just time / air would have rounded it out (as it did in 2016)... oh well

1997 vintage

Wowser! What a stunning bottle of Pinot. Delicious earthy cherry fruit. Superb balance. Probably wouldn't be a hit with the AFWE crowd but for those who like fruit driven Pinot this is amazing wine. Drink or hold... happy to have another bottle.

2007 vintage

Decanted. Fruity nose with a little smoke. The fresh fruit is very concentrated and a sensation of sweetness prevails. No hurry.

2008 vintage

balance, low acidity, jammy strawberry, sweet cedar notes, stew cherries on the palate and long finish violet

2004 vintage

Dark red in color. Stewed red cherries, licorice, flowers, spice and forest floor on the nose. Palate shows sweet and ripe dark cherries, good mid-palate sap, no tannins or wood, low acidity and a long licorice and violets perfumed finish.

2004 vintage

Med red. First wiff is rather stinky so we decanted and swirled - much better now. Cherry and red currant and red currant jelly, plus some smoke. Medium body, lots of fruit, a little oak and a little herbaceous, suave tannin followed by dry tannin. The flavours are initially broad, building in power and then fading without fireworks. Perhaps time will bring the fireworks.

2008 vintage

this wine was great, slightly behind the Ridge MB '95 on the pnp, then with about an hour of air it changed significantly, rounded out with fruit that balanced what had been protruding acidity, this had red and black fruit, and great structure (especially acidity), classic aged Calera, I think of Calera as the savior of Cali pinot and one of very few I like to drink (preferring burgundy)

1997 vintage

Hot. Unbalanced. A bit astringent.

2004 vintage

Delicious but can use more time. Fruity nose took time to develop, body/complexity of flavor was markedly better late-night and 1 glass day 2. Possibly 92+ in a few years, wish I had a few more.

2008 vintage

looked at my last note, and apparently I am stupid -- opened this too early based on my last note, indeed it was very good with tons of promise but still needs to settle down a bit, great fruit, grip and potential, just drinking too young for optimal consumption (unless you like the bigger style usually associated with domestic pinot, but which I find isn't there - thankfully - in many 10-25 year old bottle of Calera)

1997 vintage

Don't get it. Read the notes and had high hopes. Decanted for half an hour and drank over the next hour. Not a big nose but some fruit only. On the palate astringent with a single dimension to it of just some darf fruit and not a lot of it. Tannins were pretty rough as well. I tasted this many times and could not get much from it. Seemed to be nothing at fault with bottle either. Thoroughly unimpressed for …

2008 vintage

Beautifully done, well balanced and still has 2-4 more years on it. The wine is retaining lighter notes of red fruits and starting to move to secondary flavors.

2008 vintage

this is still drinking you (and slightly large scaled)... doesn't have an extracted feel but just plenty of material still benefitting from cellar time, if I am smart i will hold of for five years before trying the next bottle (four left), this had great acid, plenty of fruit but wasn't drinking rounded -- the spice was big (and therefore in great balance with the copious red fruits) and not yet smoothed out by age... gotta love Calera, one of …

1997 vintage

This wine is too sweet. Maybe was stored badly. Very disappointed.

2004 vintage

Definitely an interesting wine. Color is medium to dark ruby red with moderate browning. Nose and palate remind me of how Williams selyem pn smelled and tasted, but this has less finesse and elegance. More in your face with aged or stewed red fruit. Not in a bad way, but maybe too much for some. Very viscous and smooth mouthfeel, especially for a 15% alcohol wine. It's so well integrated, I'd never guess the alcohol was so high. Held up …

2004 vintage

took this to Joe's house on friday night, my prior note applies although i will say this seemed younger and bigger, more large scaled, the cork on this bottle was hard and tight and not stained so i'm wondering if this had less aging due to excellent conditions, my instinct is to wait three years before opening another (i have five left)

1997 vintage

PnP and it was pure Calera. You get that rich cherry yet fresh fruit at 7 years to go with the mineral and acidity to balance with notes of earth and hoisin sauce which is a packaged that sticks out in any line up. It's just at the start of its secondary phase. The 08's were a funny closed off vintage almost across the board in Cali, but they seem to be finally opening and if they do like this …

2008 vintage

had this on the day of purchase, this was a fine cali pinot but a little too big for my tastes, some red but mainly darker fruit, a hint of grittiness which i hope portends some spice, cinnamon, grip etc if i hold off for ten to 15 more years, i love the Mills from Calera from the 90's these days so maybe this just needs a long sleep

2007 vintage

Drinking well on a pop and pour. This wine has mellowed a good bit, I certainly wouldn't regard it as either big or subtle, but somewhere between the two Expressive nose, lingering finish, like many of the producer's wines it has aged well, and promises to go longer.

2004 vintage

Brilliant! Perfectly aged so good right now!!!

2004 vintage

This seems to be in an awkward phase right now. The nose has dark fruit, a kirsch like liqueur smell, some dried flowers, and baking spice. The palate has big dark fruit and spice, but is a bit hot. I'm not sure on this, I think it will come together as it has plenty of fruit and with another 4-5 years should come back around and have some more interesting tertiary notes, but it seems to lack acidity and not …

2007 vintage

w mushroom risotto after 45G annual mtg. This was a bit dry but good otherwise. Very nice pinot color, good nose of wood and fruit, strawberry closer than cherry. On palate a lot going on with great finish. This was perfect wine and in very good place right now.

2008 vintage

Rich but not overpowering fruit; mild acidity. Slightly heavier than the Calera Jensen of the same year.

2007 vintage

Awesome

2007 vintage

Huge New world pn. If I didn't know what it was, I'd guess it was a zin. 15% alcohol. It is a solid drink. Lots of medium and dark red berry fruit with some cola. Drinking with more complexity than last bottle but should still last and evolve.

2004 vintage

Dark garnet color. Huge nose of candied cherries and red licorice. The nose has one note, and it's beating it with a big drum. Medium body, medium acidity. Overall quite a nice wine, but was a bit warmer than I normally like my pinots.

2007 vintage

really good right out of the bottle, great red fruit, some oak but nice not overpowering, and some really nice spice edge -- cinnamon which i love, interestingly it continued to drink nicely over four hours but the cinnamon receded significantly after the first 30-45 mins, that was disappointing but overall another great Calera Mills from the 90's… bingo (tiff thought this was very prunes in nature, me less so)

1997 vintage

Big, harmonious, great drinking Pinot. Lots of structure. Give it time.

2007 vintage

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Calera, Mills Vineyard Pinot Noir, Mt. Harlan

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