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: 2011 Calera "de Villiers" Mt. Harlan Pinot Noir

2011 Calera "de Villiers" Mt. Harlan Pinot Noir

SKU #1150683 93 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Outer quote mark First up and seriously perfumed, the 2011 Pinot Noir de Villiers is a gorgeous wine that excels both for its complexity and for its richness and breath on the palate. Giving up notes of ripe cherries, wild strawberries, exotic flowers, citron and spice, it has medium to full-bodied richness, a core of sweet fruit and a rich, seamless texture. In fact, it has a rare level of depth and texture in the vintage, and while beautiful today, I imagine it will evolve gracefully. These latest releases from Calera are rock-solid across the board, and looking at the 2011 Pinot Noirs specifically, they show the best of the cooler vintage and are gorgeous wines. Starting with the two Chardonnays, these are both outstanding whites that represent serious value. Moving to the 2011s, these are beautiful wines across the board and show perfumed, fresh and lively profiles. (JD) Inner quote mark (8/2014)

90 points Vinous

Outer quote mark Bright red cherries, cranberry, spices, mint, hard candy and anise all jump from the glass in the 2011 Pinot Noir de Villiers Vineyard. Hints of crushed flowers and tobacco follow, adding lift, inner perfume and a sense of sweetness. The de Villiers is the most open and radiant of these 2011s today, partly because it is the only single-vineyard Pinot in the range made from fully destemmed fruit. (AG) 90+ Inner quote mark (7/2014)

90 points Wine Spectator

Outer quote mark Tight, with a gritty, earthy edge to the firm strawberry, dark berry, violet, spice and cedar notes, gaining depth and ending with a persistent finish. Should gain with age. (JL) Inner quote mark (6/2014)

Wine Enthusiast

Outer quote mark Raspberry jam, orange peel and sweet oak flavors mark this Pinot Noir. It's very dry, acidic and tannic, not showing much of interest now, but the complexity suggests limited ageability. *Cellar Selection* Inner quote mark (6/2014)

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2011 Calera "de Villiers" Mt. Harlan Pinot Noir

Price: $49.99

Quantity:

RP: 93

VN: 90

WS: 90

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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.