WTN: 2005 Calera Ryan Pinot Noir

2005 Calera Ryan Vineyard Pinot Noir Mt. Harlan 14.0%
While rummaging through old papers a few months ago I found a 2001 NYT article by Frank Prial singing the praises of Calera as being ne plus ultra. Saw a half bottle of this recently and went for it.

All labels should be as detailed: average ripeness 26.0% sugar, fermented with native yeasts, spent 16 months in 60 gallon French oak barrels, 18% of them new...

Nose a bit closed - no fruit, just some dishrag, mint and marigolds. Tastes thick and chewy, highly extracted. Good acid/sweet balance, bitter finish. Cherry flavors emerge, with some leafy green and judicious oak (which I'd rather not have, but it's not excessive, just a condiment).

Blind, I would never have guessed pinot. No pinosity whatsoever. While I'm not one of those who want new world pinots to taste like Burgundy, except cheaper, I do want them to somewhow relate to my internalized notion of pinot, to be an interesting twist on it. But no relation whatsoever is a bit much.

Marcia thinks it may be designed for people who know that pinot is the hippest of the big name grapes (or have seen Sideways) but don't want to let go of the modern palate. But Calera seems like a conscientious company (from the label, at least), and this was no means excessive or unenjoyable. So I find it hard to believe that their business plan is based on fooling brown belts. Maybe I opened this too young, even for a half bottle, but I don't think it will ever taste like an interesting twist on Burgundy, or even something entirely sufficient on its own.

[David M. Bueker]

I have never thought of Calera as designed for anything. Of course more often than not I drink them with a lot more age than this.

I have never thought of Calera as designed for anything. Of course more often than not I drink them with a lot more age than this.

Every artifact is, by definition, designed, whether the makers are aware of it or not!

Blind, I would never have guessed pinot. No pinosity whatsoever.

Pinosity, love that descriptor.

Anyway, I wonder if 26% sugar is just too high for Pinot. I can't imagine Burgundy ever reaching those sorts of ripeness levels. Then again, there must surely be some new world Pinot that have that kind of ripeness yet retain the pinosity....so maybe high yields?

Pinosity, love that descriptor.

Anyway, I wonder if 26% sugar is just too high for Pinot. I can't imagine Burgundy ever reaching those sorts of ripeness levels. Then again, there must surely be some new world Pinot that have that kind of ripeness yet retain the pinosity....so maybe high yields?

We can all thank Otto for that term! See my note today...I made the exact same complaint about another California Pinot (Hope & Grace Russian River Valley) which did not taste like California Pinot, let alone Burgundy.