Home
: 1996 Calera "Mills" Mt. Harlan Pinot Noir

1996 Calera "Mills" Mt. Harlan Pinot Noir (Previously $80)

SKU #1146504 90 points Wine Advocate

Outer quote mark One of the deepest colored wines of this vertical, the 1996 possesses abundant aromas of black cherries, earth, and a cherry cough syrup-like flavor profile with tremendous depth as well as tannin, body, and muscle. Not the most delicate or elegant of these Mills Pinots, it is one of the beefiest and richest. Inner quote mark (4/2003)

90 points Wine Spectator

Outer quote mark A ripe and elegant California Pinot, with bright and juicy black cherry accented by anise, sage and tea notes. Firms up on the finish, where the tannins add backbone. (JL) Inner quote mark (1/2000)

K&L Notes

Situated in the Gavilan Mountains just twenty-five miles east of the Monterey Bay, at an average elevation of 2,200 feet above sea level, Calera's Mount Harlan "Mills Vineyard" is among the highest and coolest sites in California. Calera farms these limestone soils organically, ferments using native yeasts with minimal racking, and bottles unfiltered to produce an intense, structured Pinot Noir with a real sense of place.

Share |

1996 Calera "Mills" Mt. Harlan Pinot Noir

Price: Hidden

RP: 90

WS: 90

Real Time Inventory by location:

The item you have chosen is not in stock in our retail stores or within our main warehouse.

Product turnaround time varies by location of inventory and your chosen method of shipping/pickup. For a detailed explanation click here.

Related Items

Additional Information:

Varietal:

Pinot Noir

- One of France's most legendary grapes and the grape that earned Burgundy its reputation. The parent of varietals like Pinot Gris/Grigio and Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir is blue to violet to indigo in color with relatively thin skins, and it is said to have been cultivated in France for more than 2,000 years. At its best, Pinot Noir creates elegant wines that are filled with primary red fruit aromas and flavors while young, revealing with an array of secondary characteristics like earth, smoke, violet, truffle and game with age. The varietal is also known, perhaps better than any, for its ability to translate terroir, or a sense of place. While the best Pinot Noir still comes from Burgundy, it is being produced with increasing success in cooler climates around the world. In France, it is part of the trifecta of grapes that can go into Champagne, and it is also grown in Alsace, Irancy, Jura, Savoie, Lorraine and Sancerre. Outside of France it is produced under the names Pinot Nero and Blauburgunder in Italy's mountainous regions, as Spätburgunder in Germany and as Blauburgunder in Austria. In the US, Pinot Noir has found suitable growing conditions in the cooler parts of California, including Carneros, the Russian River Valley, the Anderson Valley, the Sonoma Coast, Monterey County, the Santa Lucia Highlands and Santa Barbara County, as well as in Oregon's Willamette Valley. In recent years, New Zealand has demonstrated its ability to interpret this hard-to-grow varietal, with successful bottlings coming from careful and attentive growers in Central Otago, Martinborough and Canterbury. Chile is also an up-and-coming region for Pinot Noir, creating fresh, fruit-forward, early-drinking and affordable Pinots from the coastal Casablanca Valley and the Limari Valley.

Country:

United States

- When people consider domestic wine, they normally think about the state of California. The fine viticultural Region within California, including the Napa Valley, Sonoma, Santa Cruz Mountains, Mendocino and Santa Barbara, are capable of growing grapes of world-class quality. But there's plenty of fabulous wine coming from other states, too. Oregon, Washington and New York are also causing eyebrows (and glassware) to be raised around the world.

Sub-Region:

California

- With the explosive growth that California's wine industry has seen the past several years, it's easy to view winemaking and grape growing in the Golden State as a recent phenomenon. And while it's true that California's viticultural history is brief compared to several European countries, this state's roots date back well over 200 years. Due to the enormous response to California wine within the United States and worldwide, there are thousands of excellent and diverse wines being produced within the state each year.