2019 Calera Chalone Vineyard Pinot Noir

Calera is located in the Mt. Harlan AVA, which is east of Monterey and Salinas on the northern tip of Central California. The Mt. Harlan AVA isn’t well known since the only commercial vineyards in the AVA belong to Calera. Calera was founded in 1975 by Josh Jensen, who was much impressed by the wines of Burgundy when he lived in France after college. Determined to make Burgundian style wines in California, Jensen spent several years looking for land with a high limestone content. He finally found acreage 90 miles south of San Francisco on Mt. Harlan. He named his winery “calera” after the Spanish word for limekiln. Today the winery is comprised of 47 acres of vineyards. Calera is known for its Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. About 30,000 bottles are produced annually. Robert M. Parker Jr. has written that "Calera is one of the most compelling Pinot Noir specialists of not only the New World, but of Planet Earth. Credit must be extended to its visionary founder, proprietor Josh Jensen."

Monterey AVA is in Monterey County, south of San Francisco. The long, narrow appellation is a 100-mile ribbon of land that extends from north Monterey County south to the edge of Paso Robles. Most of the AVA is considerably inland from the Pacific Coast, and to the east of the Santa Lucia mountain range. About 40,000 vineyard acres are inside the AVA, making it one of California’s larger appellations. Monterey County, in fact, produces almost as much wine as Napa County because the floor of the valley is taken up by large industrial vineyards producing grapes for bulk wine. However, there are also many premier wine estates within Monterey AVA and its numerous sub-appellations. Monterey AVA includes four recognized micro climates, ranging from a cool, maritime climate at the north end to what is known in California as a Region 4 climate in the south, meaning relatively hot and dry. Monterey AVA includes parts of Carmel Valley and Salinas Valley. More than 50% of the grapes grown in the Monterey AVA are Chardonnay, though the many terroirs and micro climates mean that numerous grapes grow well. Merlot, Pinot Noir, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Zinfandel and Pinot Blanc are widely planted.

This red wine is relatively light and can pair with a wide variety of foods. The grape prefers cooler climates and the wine is most often associated with Burgundy, Champagne and the U.S. west coast. Regional differences make it nearly as fickle as it is flexible.