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 are in decline. Cork in excellent condition.
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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.
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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 very well over 2 days. 2nd day was at least as interesting, if not more so.
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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.
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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.
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Definitely some heat from the high alcohol (15%), but the wine doesn't come across as overripe or too heavy due to reasonably high acidity. Served cooler on day 2, and was much improved as it mellowed out a bit and showed nice ripe strawberry fruit and forest floor and better balance.
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Nose of cherry and hoisin sauce. Palate initially dominated by cedar/soy sauce as you can only find in Calera. Day two developed a more forest floor and violets, but never developed too much complexity. Tannins have integrated. Moderate length and finish. Medium bodied. A nice bold option and a solid Calera. No rush, but doubt it'll get much more interesting.
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Hard to assess this wine as I'm predominately an Oregon Pinot Noir drinker. PN from California is usually a bit of a shock to my palette as they are much bolder and full-bodied. That said this is obviously a very well made wine, with prominent cherry and cedar notes on the nose, a bit of funk and quite high alcohol, the previous reviews say it all. The palette is a bit overwhelming in its jammy fruit presentation, but is complex and layered and with reasonable acid, good as it keeps the wine from becoming a bombastic confection. Medium finish. I like it, but miss the subtleties that cooler terrior's produce.
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Ruby red color. Very burgundian nose with classic red cherries, forest floor, wet leaves and violets. The palate is well proportioned with sweet-tart red cherry and plums, damp earth, nice acidity, a fat mid-palate and a long minerally finish.
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The wine looks Ruby colored. The legs are Slow. It smells like Raspberry, Strawberry Jam, Cherry, Violet, Stems, and Cool/Menthol. The body is Medium/Full. The wine has Linear texture. The wine finishes Medium.
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Quite expressive nose, almost from the moment it was opened. On the nose, a bit of funk together with fark fruits and a touch of forest floor. Perhaps a bit thinner on the palate than the nose promised. mediumish finish. This is drinking quite well now, but given the track record of the producer, there should be no rush to consume it.
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Nose of cherries, underbrush, and some cedar-like spice. This has become more balanced since last tasting 2011. Nice fruit in the mouth and pleasant tanins. Medium length finish.
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This was nice. I was very nervous about the 15% alcohol as I usually don't enjoy such pinots, but this was nicely balanced. A beautiful nose of dark berries and some oak. Plush palate, but this was never heavy as the acidity was there to keep it fresh. Clearly pinot sour cherry flavors - I wouldn't mistake the grape. Long and smooth. There is a slight cooked plummy note in the middle, but it is not too distracting. The finish is warm, but with just a minor alcohol burn. For the $12 I paid for the half, I think this was very good value and I enjoyed it. Too bad I picked the last bottle in the store. This is never going to be extraordinary, but should be a solid weeknight drinker for at least another 5 years.
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Loved this for the nose. Dusty red earth, cherries, spice and some wet desert mesquite. Sweet up front, then firm but approachable tannins throught the finish. Also decent acid making this a good choice for roasted duck.
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Last bottle. Has surprisingly improved over last year. Nose and flavors still bright red fruits. Still great balance and no perceptible alcohol. Getting better. Wish I had saved a couple bottles.
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Still young, but I think drinking rather nicely at this point. Lots of alcohol for a Calera, but it seems pretty put away at this point, as long as the wine is served cool. Ruby red, lighter in color and on the mouthfeel than most CA pinot's, this has nice red fruits and some floral components. Did not get the sweetness others have mentioned. Well made, would drink again.
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Nose of cherries with a pleasant earthy component. Good balanced acidity for the 2nd course at Bob & M.E.'s dinner party. Excellant with the lamb chops. Decently long finish. Drink now.
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Nice spice, cola flavors. Mix of red and black fruits but didn't taste fresh despite decent acidity. Good flowery nose but also had some band-aid mixed in.
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Almost translucent in color, beautiful spice nose, in the middle between bright and dark red fruits. has matured nicely and is now in peak drinking period. Nice acidity, alcohol in balance. Nice wine.
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This is a debacle for a Calera. 15% Alcohol PN doesn't work. Like rocket fuel day 1. Still has some tannin structure and interest despite the HOT alcohol and astringency. Day 1: 84 points. Day 2: the alcohol blows off more and there is still some dark fruit and spiciness. Definitely better, but Calera can't be proud of this effort. A disappointment. Serve chilled.
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The color is still a gorgeous ruby red. The bouquet is full of red fruit and flowers. The fruit comes out on the palate but fades into an odd aftertaste that drops the score to the 90. Still, very enjoyable.
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Plenty of the classic Calera rhubard aromatics. Didn't notice any overt heat on this. Sappiness has settled down and is much more balanced now. Very good depth of fruit , a little bitter at the end and turns a little dryer than I remember in the past. Very drinkable right now and ageing very well.
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This has seemed to firm up quite a bit since we last tried it about a year ago. I remember then a much more sappy and heavy-handed mouthfeel, whereas last night the finish showed much more drive, depth and length. Very nice and no rush to drink.
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Terrific aromatics of red fruit and earth. Follows thru on the palate with some steminess that adds to the complexity. Plenty of acidity to make this refreshing to drink. Went very well with a beet and goat cheese salad and breaded cod with couscous and beans. Nice bottle.. but expensive.
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Not the most memorable Pinot of the 14 that we drank, but solid and well made. Calera always delivers. This one was balanced and elagant with plenty of red fruit.
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An aggressive 15.0% alcohol, sayeth the label, and you feel every bit of it on the warming, spirit-like finish. The 2004 heat wave must have hit them hard. In addition to the heat, this is extremely ripe, glossy, and sweet by the standards of Calera, with an aroma of fruit jam.
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This was a great bottle. Extremely fragrant and much more balanced than previous tastings. Had next to the 2005 Thibault Liger-Belair Nuits St. Georges La Charmotte and liked much better. (The Thibault was boring compared to the Calera). There has definitely been some bottle variation in the Calera but this one tasted like I remember them from the past. Lots of cherries, rhubarb and fresh air on the nose. Some brush and vibrant fruit flavors with good structure and length. Very flavorful and perfumed. The steminess that can be in these wines early on from the whole clusters is much more integrated and gives it good character. This is a very good Mills which usually don't have the depth of the Selleck or Jensen.
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This was okay. Maybe a killer Leroy tasting spoiled me; but this is nothing close to even the baby Leroy, imo, which, by the way, we tasted right up against this. $40? Really? (think snl skit) Really? All who tasted were in agreement - perhaps this was a bad bottle... The actual taste/smell: cherry flavors that were nice but with a bit of outbalanced barnyard smell.
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Excellent nose, but still not fully integrated- big for a Pinot which I like- great fruit- cherries mainly with spice. I think this will improve with age
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Totally different than the first bottle I had. The first bottle obviously had bottle shock. I've got to learn to not touch them after delivery for at least several weeks. This is the nose that I remember on Calera pinot's. Very Fragrant cherries, rhubard and spice with a blast of Spring air freshner at the end. This Nose is unique to Calera Pinots and very seductive. Excellent depth of fruit and good acidity. This is very good for a Mills which usually has more tartness and less depth of fruit than a Selleck or Jensen. These are not subtle pinots but very expressive in taste and smell with good structure. At around $40 it's a gem. Its a little sweet which is keeping me from rating it higher. 92-93Pts
Decanting the rest overnight: Still great the second day.The sweetness died down which is good. Should develope really well in the next few years. I'm picking up a couple more of these and several of the 2004 Calera Selleck as well.
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Let me first state I love the single vineyard Calera Pinot's. The Selleck and Jensen vineyard Pinot's have been amoung the best I've ever had from California and that includes the likes of Marcassin,Williams Selyem and Kistler. I'm rooting for them to kick butt because of this. When RP gave this 93 points I was excited and bought a few bottles taste unseen. I was a little dissapointed in how out of sync this wine seemed. Nothing was very integrated. The usual Calera Nose and fruit seemed to be missing. I'm hoping to try the other bottles in about a year or so and that this is just really young still and closed down.
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Bottle opened 1 hour before serving. I had high hopes for this low production, highly sought after Pinot. The color was a beautiful with dark purple while the wine graciously swirled around the glass. The nose was exploding with fresh cherry, dark raspberry, violet and a touch of sweet wood. On the palate, the wine showed good fruits, but I had expected a bit more complexity of flavors. A bit tight perhaps? Good balance, medium tannins and brief touch of spice led to a medium finish. Overall good, may be better in 2010 or later. Served with Thanksgiving Turkey (good pairing). (Also posted on foodandwineblog.com)
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Pinot Days - Chicago (Navy Pier): Bright nose of red cherries and spice. Wide open, round and fleshy fruits on the palate, bid still only medium-bodied. Pure, bright and delicious fruits are openly knit. Spice and minerals add complexity. This is singing - my short tasting note has "open" written 3 times.
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11/11/2021 - Wine_Poobah Likes this wine: 95 Points
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 are in decline. Cork in excellent condition.
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10/21/2017 - wenfyt Likes this wine: 90 Points
balance, low acidity, jammy strawberry, sweet cedar notes, stew cherries on the palate and long finish violet
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5/31/2017 - devraj Likes this wine: 91 Points
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.
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11/5/2016 - lebo9968@gmail.com Does not like this wine: 85 Points
Hot. Unbalanced. A bit astringent.
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2/8/2016 - ttriant Does not like this wine: 75 Points
This wine is too sweet. Maybe was stored badly. Very disappointed.
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1/30/2016 - lebo9968@gmail.com Likes this wine: 91 Points
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 very well over 2 days. 2nd day was at least as interesting, if not more so.
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8/23/2015 - thalver wrote:
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.
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7/15/2015 - Mad Dane wrote: 93 Points
Brilliant! Perfectly aged so good right now!!!
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12/22/2014 - lebo9968@gmail.com wrote: 91 Points
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.
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12/13/2013 - bill00 wrote: 89 Points
Definitely some heat from the high alcohol (15%), but the wine doesn't come across as overripe or too heavy due to reasonably high acidity. Served cooler on day 2, and was much improved as it mellowed out a bit and showed nice ripe strawberry fruit and forest floor and better balance.
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11/23/2013 - Poisey Does not like this wine: 85 Points
Cranberry and cherry with strawberry jam notes. Full bodied with a sour alcoholic finish. Almost syrup like. Not that great for this pallet.
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9/1/2013 - yossarian.livez wrote: 88 Points
Nose of cherry and hoisin sauce. Palate initially dominated by cedar/soy sauce as you can only find in Calera. Day two developed a more forest floor and violets, but never developed too much complexity. Tannins have integrated. Moderate length and finish. Medium bodied. A nice bold option and a solid Calera. No rush, but doubt it'll get much more interesting.
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2/22/2013 - pbard wrote: 90 Points
Hard to assess this wine as I'm predominately an Oregon Pinot Noir drinker. PN from California is usually a bit of a shock to my palette as they are much bolder and full-bodied. That said this is obviously a very well made wine, with prominent cherry and cedar notes on the nose, a bit of funk and quite high alcohol, the previous reviews say it all. The palette is a bit overwhelming in its jammy fruit presentation, but is complex and layered and with reasonable acid, good as it keeps the wine from becoming a bombastic confection. Medium finish. I like it, but miss the subtleties that cooler terrior's produce.
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2/12/2013 - devraj Likes this wine: 93 Points
Ruby red color. Very burgundian nose with classic red cherries, forest floor, wet leaves and violets. The palate is well proportioned with sweet-tart red cherry and plums, damp earth, nice acidity, a fat mid-palate and a long minerally finish.
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12/29/2012 - pelwart Likes this wine: 94 Points
A great pinot, great nose, still very flavorful for a 2004, it should hold for a couple more years
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12/27/2012 - lebo9968@gmail.com Likes this wine: 91 Points
The wine looks Ruby colored. The legs are Slow. It smells like Raspberry, Strawberry Jam, Cherry, Violet, Stems, and Cool/Menthol. The body is Medium/Full. The wine has Linear texture. The wine finishes Medium.
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3/25/2012 - thalver wrote:
Quite expressive nose, almost from the moment it was opened. On the nose, a bit of funk together with fark fruits and a touch of forest floor. Perhaps a bit thinner on the palate than the nose promised. mediumish finish. This is drinking quite well now, but given the track record of the producer, there should be no rush to consume it.
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2/5/2012 - RR47 wrote: 91 Points
Nose of cherries, underbrush, and some cedar-like spice. This has become more balanced since last tasting 2011. Nice fruit in the mouth and pleasant tanins. Medium length finish.
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11/3/2011 - pifcho wrote: 90 Points
This was nice. I was very nervous about the 15% alcohol as I usually don't enjoy such pinots, but this was nicely balanced. A beautiful nose of dark berries and some oak. Plush palate, but this was never heavy as the acidity was there to keep it fresh. Clearly pinot sour cherry flavors - I wouldn't mistake the grape. Long and smooth. There is a slight cooked plummy note in the middle, but it is not too distracting. The finish is warm, but with just a minor alcohol burn. For the $12 I paid for the half, I think this was very good value and I enjoyed it. Too bad I picked the last bottle in the store. This is never going to be extraordinary, but should be a solid weeknight drinker for at least another 5 years.
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7/27/2011 - RR47 wrote: 90 Points
Loved this for the nose. Dusty red earth, cherries, spice and some wet desert mesquite. Sweet up front, then firm but approachable tannins throught the finish. Also decent acid making this a good choice for roasted duck.
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6/8/2011 - Edclr wrote: 93 Points
Last bottle. Has surprisingly improved over last year. Nose and flavors still bright red fruits. Still great balance and no perceptible alcohol. Getting better. Wish I had saved a couple bottles.
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3/20/2011 - cadamson wrote: 91 Points
Still young, but I think drinking rather nicely at this point. Lots of alcohol for a Calera, but it seems pretty put away at this point, as long as the wine is served cool. Ruby red, lighter in color and on the mouthfeel than most CA pinot's, this has nice red fruits and some floral components. Did not get the sweetness others have mentioned. Well made, would drink again.
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10/2/2010 - RR47 wrote: 90 Points
Nose of cherries with a pleasant earthy component. Good balanced acidity for the 2nd course at Bob & M.E.'s dinner party. Excellant with the lamb chops. Decently long finish. Drink now.
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7/30/2010 - iamandyc wrote: 88 Points
Nice spice, cola flavors. Mix of red and black fruits but didn't taste fresh despite decent acidity. Good flowery nose but also had some band-aid mixed in.
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6/15/2010 - Edclr wrote: 91 Points
Almost translucent in color, beautiful spice nose, in the middle between bright and dark red fruits. has matured nicely and is now in peak drinking period. Nice acidity, alcohol in balance. Nice wine.
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4/20/2010 - winegr wrote: 86 Points
This is a debacle for a Calera. 15% Alcohol PN doesn't work. Like rocket fuel day 1. Still has some tannin structure and interest despite the HOT alcohol and astringency. Day 1: 84 points. Day 2: the alcohol blows off more and there is still some dark fruit and spiciness. Definitely better, but Calera can't be proud of this effort. A disappointment. Serve chilled.
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10/7/2009 - mjerome wrote: 90 Points
The color is still a gorgeous ruby red. The bouquet is full of red fruit and flowers. The fruit comes out on the palate but fades into an odd aftertaste that drops the score to the 90. Still, very enjoyable.
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10/1/2009 - beachnic wrote: 92 Points
Plenty of the classic Calera rhubard aromatics. Didn't notice any overt heat on this. Sappiness has settled down and is much more balanced now. Very good depth of fruit , a little bitter at the end and turns a little dryer than I remember in the past. Very drinkable right now and ageing very well.
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9/27/2009 - AdamWallstein wrote: 92 Points
This has seemed to firm up quite a bit since we last tried it about a year ago. I remember then a much more sappy and heavy-handed mouthfeel, whereas last night the finish showed much more drive, depth and length. Very nice and no rush to drink.
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6/9/2009 - Colima74 wrote: 91 Points
Terrific aromatics of red fruit and earth. Follows thru on the palate with some steminess that adds to the complexity. Plenty of acidity to make this refreshing to drink. Went very well with a beet and goat cheese salad and breaded cod with couscous and beans. Nice bottle.. but expensive.
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5/29/2009 - stocksandbondage wrote: 90 Points
Not the most memorable Pinot of the 14 that we drank, but solid and well made. Calera always delivers. This one was balanced and elagant with plenty of red fruit.
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3/14/2009 - redderthanred wrote:
Decanted for about 3 hours.
Nose was of cherries, little stem, spices and other brighter red fruits.
Palate was very balance, not hot, nice finish...really nice...lots of cherries.
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2/8/2009 - Chrisinroch wrote: 90 Points
delicious bright fruit, great nose, yummy but not complex
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1/10/2009 - Keith Levenberg wrote: 77 Points
An aggressive 15.0% alcohol, sayeth the label, and you feel every bit of it on the warming, spirit-like finish. The 2004 heat wave must have hit them hard. In addition to the heat, this is extremely ripe, glossy, and sweet by the standards of Calera, with an aroma of fruit jam.
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11/15/2008 - kfr01 wrote: 92 Points
An outstanding pinot. The other bottle wasn't right; this one was oh so right!
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10/16/2008 - beachnic wrote: 93 Points
This was a great bottle. Extremely fragrant and much more balanced than previous tastings. Had next to the 2005 Thibault Liger-Belair Nuits St. Georges La Charmotte and liked much better. (The Thibault was boring compared to the Calera). There has definitely been some bottle variation in the Calera but this one tasted like I remember them from the past. Lots of cherries, rhubarb and fresh air on the nose. Some brush and vibrant fruit flavors with good structure and length. Very flavorful and perfumed. The steminess that can be in these wines early on from the whole clusters is much more integrated and gives it good character. This is a very good Mills which usually don't have the depth of the Selleck or Jensen.
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10/11/2008 - kfr01 wrote: 84 Points
This was okay. Maybe a killer Leroy tasting spoiled me; but this is nothing close to even the baby Leroy, imo, which, by the way, we tasted right up against this. $40? Really? (think snl skit) Really? All who tasted were in agreement - perhaps this was a bad bottle... The actual taste/smell: cherry flavors that were nice but with a bit of outbalanced barnyard smell.
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7/25/2008 - stevewinebets wrote: 90 Points
Excellent nose, but still not fully integrated- big for a Pinot which I like- great fruit- cherries mainly with spice. I think this will improve with age
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5/5/2008 - beachnic wrote: 92 Points
Totally different than the first bottle I had. The first bottle obviously had bottle shock. I've got to learn to not touch them after delivery for at least several weeks. This is the nose that I remember on Calera pinot's. Very Fragrant cherries, rhubard and spice with a blast of Spring air freshner at the end. This Nose is unique to Calera Pinots and very seductive. Excellent depth of fruit and good acidity. This is very good for a Mills which usually has more tartness and less depth of fruit than a Selleck or Jensen. These are not subtle pinots but very expressive in taste and smell with good structure. At around $40 it's a gem. Its a little sweet which is keeping me from rating it higher. 92-93Pts
Decanting the rest overnight: Still great the second day.The sweetness died down which is good. Should develope really well in the next few years. I'm picking up a couple more of these and several of the 2004 Calera Selleck as well.
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4/28/2008 - ckcorrea wrote:
solid pinot, not exciting
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4/10/2008 - ckcorrea wrote:
not sure how i feel about it
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1/31/2008 - beachnic wrote: 89 Points
Let me first state I love the single vineyard Calera Pinot's. The Selleck and Jensen vineyard Pinot's have been amoung the best I've ever had from California and that includes the likes of Marcassin,Williams Selyem and Kistler. I'm rooting for them to kick butt because of this. When RP gave this 93 points I was excited and bought a few bottles taste unseen. I was a little dissapointed in how out of sync this wine seemed. Nothing was very integrated. The usual Calera Nose and fruit seemed to be missing. I'm hoping to try the other bottles in about a year or so and that this is just really young still and closed down.
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11/23/2007 - foodandwineblog wrote: 90 Points
Bottle opened 1 hour before serving. I had high hopes for this low production, highly sought after Pinot. The color was a beautiful with dark purple while the wine graciously swirled around the glass. The nose was exploding with fresh cherry, dark raspberry, violet and a touch of sweet wood. On the palate, the wine showed good fruits, but I had expected a bit more complexity of flavors. A bit tight perhaps? Good balance, medium tannins and brief touch of spice led to a medium finish. Overall good, may be better in 2010 or later. Served with Thanksgiving Turkey (good pairing). (Also posted on foodandwineblog.com)
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11/23/2007 - lebo9968@gmail.com wrote: 90 Points
Big new world pinot noir with lots of depth.
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11/10/2007 - winefool wrote: 91 Points
Pinot Days Chicago (Navy Pier): Cherry and spice with a green note. Nice.
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11/10/2007 - Nanda wrote: 93 Points
Pinot Days - Chicago (Navy Pier): Bright nose of red cherries and spice. Wide open, round and fleshy fruits on the palate, bid still only medium-bodied. Pure, bright and delicious fruits are openly knit. Spice and minerals add complexity. This is singing - my short tasting note has "open" written 3 times.
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