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.
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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
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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").
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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 breast and salad. Would have scored higher if not for the alcohol which I felt was distracting.
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.
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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 $45. $8 bottle i would be okay with
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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.
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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 one they are very good. It won't be a rockstar, but this is a solid stand up double and I'd ignore any off reviews from prior since this simply wasn't open. We guzzled it so it was showing well from the start.
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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.
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4/8/2021 - KVM wrote:
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.
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10/25/2020 - Genghis88 Likes this wine: 91 Points
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
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5/12/2020 - iamandyc wrote:
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").
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2/1/2020 - oldwines Likes this wine: 91 Points
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 breast and salad. Would have scored higher if not for the alcohol which I felt was distracting.
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11/18/2018 - KVM wrote:
Lively and delicious.
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11/21/2017 - KVM wrote:
Decanted. Fruity nose with a little smoke. The fresh fruit is very concentrated and a sensation of sweetness prevails. No hurry.
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11/26/2016 - KVM wrote:
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.
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4/28/2016 - Griffeyfan04 wrote: 85 Points
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 $45. $8 bottle i would be okay with
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4/22/2016 - VinoGuy932 Likes this wine: 91 Points
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.
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11/8/2015 - yossarian.livez wrote: 89 Points
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 one they are very good. It won't be a rockstar, but this is a solid stand up double and I'd ignore any off reviews from prior since this simply wasn't open. We guzzled it so it was showing well from the start.
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4/27/2015 - MichielV wrote: 91 Points
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.
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6/22/2013 - KikeG wrote: 92 Points
Fantastic!
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5/30/2012 - Miceri wrote: 90 Points
Quite dark; fruity nose; lots of strawberry, good acidity, density; quite nice
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5/11/2012 - steinersing wrote: 88 Points
Ripe, solid, usd 150 at the 4-seasons
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2/24/2012 - Reblin wrote: 90 Points
Immediately fruit-forward nose. Cherry, a little tart. Favored over the Sea Smoke Southing tasted this evening.
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12/10/2011 - wineduggery wrote: 90 Points
A solid wine, but poor QPR. I won't get this again.
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8/22/2011 - bambam wrote: 91 Points
Family Winemakers 2011 SF; 8/21/2011-8/22/2011 (San Francisco, Fort Mason): I agree with Richard on all the Calera Pinots at Family Winemakers. This and Jensen were my favorites. The whole line up showed well.
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