2008 Calera Pinot Noir Ryan Vineyard

The 2008 Pinot Noir Ryan Vineyard comes across as soft, delicate and perfumed. Sweet red berries, crushed flowers, licorice and tobacco are some of the notes that flow from this understated Pinot. The Ryan Vineyard is already a touch forward, suggesting it is best enjoyed sooner rather than later.

The 2008 Pinot Noir Ryan Vineyard comes across as soft, delicate and perfumed. Sweet red berries, crushed flowers, licorice and tobacco are some of the notes that flow from this understated Pinot. The Ryan Vineyard is already a touch forward, suggesting it is best enjoyed sooner rather than later. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2018. I was deeply impressed with the wines I tasted from Josh Jensen and Calera. Vintage 2008 was not an easy one, as a severe spring frost reduced yields to less than one ton per acre. Most of the Pinots are made with 100% whole clusters. I am not sure each of these sites is ideally suited to such a high percentage of stem inclusion, especially in this vintage, but time will tell. Calera has what are easily the most informative back labels I have ever seen, with much more information and detail on each wine than I can reproduce here. Kudos to Josh Jensen for providing his customers with the maximum level of detail one could ever ask for. Unfortunately I was not able to taste the Chardonnays, but I will report on those wines as soon as possible. Tel. (831) 637-9170; www.calerawine.com