Rich Bluth

9.1

killer….this wine is just getting to peak!
benchmark pinot — 21 days ago

Eric Urbani

9.3

A tasting of six aged white Rhônes, including 20 and 35-year-old Hermitages vs Chapoutier Saint-Joseph Blancs from Les Granits and a 19-year-old Esprit from Tablas Creek, Beaucastel's sister winery in Paso Robles, as well as one of the first great Viogniers to come out of California, the 2009 Calera Mount Harlan. The Tablas Creek held up well against these heavyweights, coming in second place. — 4 months ago

John Howard

Harvest production at Hirsch and Cobb Wineries

9.8

Insane like before! — a year ago

Jessica Cansler

9.0

Great with Cuban! — 14 days ago

Mark S.

9.5

Garnet ~ orange. Complexity, lots of spices in melty Syrup, mysterious liquids!!! Now should be peak. 03 @29700, Pieroth, 240413 — 3 months ago

Rich Bluth

9.2

drink now! perfect! — 8 months ago

Shengli Hu

8.9

Couldn't find entry, logging Stella Sonoma Coast Pinot 2017 here: 225 and Calera clones. Elevated acidity, med tannins. Cola nuts, faint herbs, red plums, blackberry, med+/elevated concentration, overripe strawberry, black tea bag, lavender, tomato, stony characters. ~13% abv. 2017 was super hot in Sonoma, >100 degree heat spikes in June-July cause vines to shut down, rapid ripening more akin to Oregon of erratic growing season (whereas usually California boasts of constant long growing season). Gravel loam soil. 10-40% whole cluster, hand punchdowns, stem inclusion. Foot treaded. WC raises pH as high acid -> more stem inclusion to balance the pH. Failla picks on pH at ~23-24 Brix which would be a bit too high. — 2 years ago

Delectable Wine

Follow to learn about our favorite wines & people.

9.3

The 1989 Pinot Noir Jensen Vineyard from Calera is a real surprise. I am inexperienced with respect to mature Californian Pinot Noir, and Josh Jensen’s wine was a revelation. Candied red fruit commingles with blood orange and Kirsch, unmistakably not from Burgundy because it is too rich, but it is certainly not over-ripe. The palate is overly sweet and Californian on the entry. Still, there is structure behind this Pinot extant after more than three decades, with quite plush raspberry fruit on the quintessentially Californian finish. It's just a lovely wine that is, once again, perfect to drink now. (Neal Martin, Vinous, April 2024)
— 3 months ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.1

2020 vintage. Via Coravin. A little lighter than usual upon release. Need to revisit in six months. 2.7.24. — 6 months ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.3

2020 vintage. Swan & Calera clones if correctly remembering. Some chunky/earthy/grounding power frontal and mid-palate slightly thinning out on a concentrated finish. Really nice acidity/tannins for balance with the fruit punch. 4.13.23. — a year ago