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William James Cellars and Talisman Calera Drops By Artisan James and Christine (owners of Artisan Wine Depot) were nice enough to invite us to taste the wines of Calera, justifiably famous for their pinot noirs. We jumped at the chance. As we learned, Calera’s vineyards are atop Mt. Harlan, a designated American Viticultural Area. And Calera is the sole winery in this AVA. That gives them quite a marketing edge. If you like grapes from Mt. Harlan, Calera is the only game in town. According to Marta Rich, National Sales Manager, the Mt. Harlan AVA was designated in 1990. And Calera still owns and manages the only vineyards in the AVA. Marta assures me that Calera does not sell any Mt. Harlan fruit. As an economist and small business owner, I appreciate the benefits of market power like this! Four Whites The tasting opened with two chardonnays. The Central Coast blend ($20) opens with aromas of oak and Meyer lemon. The palate that tension between pineapple and green apple with a hint of caramel. Thoroughly satisfying and fairly priced. Kudos to Calera for truth in labeling. The back labels of the Central Coast blends give the percentages from each vineyard. The Mt. Harlan varietals include vast amounts of technical information. 2013 Central Coast Chardonnay back label (click for larger version) The Mt. Harlan ($36) had too much oak for our taste. With age it may come around. We detected some lime and almonds that make it worthwhile to age a couple of bottles for several years. And then there were two 2013 viogniers, also from the Central Coast and Mt. Harlan. The Central Coast blend ($18) opens with aromas of honeysuckle followed by lime and bosc pears. The finish is lemon custard. This is a relatively austere viognier with outstanding scents. The Mt. Harlan ($32) is very austere.Hints of pear and honeysuckle on the nose followed by a mineral palate with a touch of green mango. The best way to describe the finish is juicy and long. Mt. Harlan back label (click for larger image) On to the Pinots Like the chardonnay and viognier blends, Calera also offers a 2013 Central Coast pinot noir ($28). Starting with aromas of rose petals and black cherries, the palate is predominately black cherries with a hints of spice and butterscotch. 2013 Central Coast Pinot Noir back label (click for larger image) The first single-vineyard pinot was the 2012 de Villiers ($48). Wet slate and dark fruit aromas are followed by more minerality on the palate. The technical notes on the website say this wine was not racked and is unfiltered. The chewy texture fits that perfectly. The Ryan 2011 ($48) has a gritty, dark, earthy profile. Herbs and pepper on the nose lead to more earth and a hint of spice. The 2012 edition of Ryan ($50) is much better. Aromas of black cherry and herbs are followed by more black cherry and blackberry on the palate. Nice structure and a long, delightful finish. Calera’s Mills 2011 ($54) is lighter than the Ryans. Aromas of red raspberries and bing cherries lead to darker cherries and spice on the palate. The tasting closed with the Jensen 2012 ($85). Like a number of high-end pinots, this one is beyond the scope of our taste buds. We did recognize aromas of cherries and leather followed by complexity and depth that we could detect (if not fully appreciate). Calera’s Story Calera is sited near an old lime kiln in the Gavilan Mountains. The vineyard is atop a mountain of limestone, just like Calcareous in Paso Robles. Calera Location (click for larger image) As we’ve learned, limestone is part of the classic terroir for pinot noir. Here’s the Calera vineyard map: Calera Vineyard Map (click for larger image) Owner Josh Jensen studied winemaking in Burgundy and searched for two years before finding the ideal location. Despite being 25 miles from the ocean, the vineyard’s 2,200 foot elevation yields the cool nights pinot noir and chardonnay need. It happens that “calera” is Spanish for limekiln, serving as both the basis for great wine and the winery’s logo. Calera Logo Compare with the original: The Calera (click for larger image) Josh Jensen Josh planted his first pinot noir grapes in 1975. That same year he released his first wine. Clearly it wasn’t from those grapevines. In fact, it was a zinfandel made from purchased grapes. From the Calera website: In 1977 Josh purchased property on which to build the winery. He chose a 100 acre site on Cienega Road halfway between the vineyard and the town of Hollister. Located 1000 feet lower in elevation than the vineyard, this property was blessed with the all-important attributes of a paved road, and both telephone and electrical service (services which to this day are unavailable on Mt. Harlan). On the Cienega Road property. a multi-level rock crushing facility had been built into the steep hillside in the 1950s. The facility was abandoned before it was ever used for crushing rock, but 20 years later the walls and terraces, with some substantial seismic retro-fitting, (the San Andreas fault lies just 100 yards away) became the heart of Calera’s gravity-flow winery. The multi-layered hillside construction has allowed for the gentlest possible handling of the Calera wines. Wines move through the winemaking process by the mere force of gravity, rather than by the use of pumps. Conclusion We’ve encountered Calera many times over the years. It was a pleasure to experience a focused tasting of their wines. Field Recordings in Paso Robles We spent a long July 10 weekend in Paso Robles. Naturally we spent two afternoons visiting wineries. Our exciting newcomer is Field Recordings. More on those folks in a minute. The Canyon Villa William and Katherine [pullquote]William Carter and Katherine Bloxsom-Carter purchased The Canyon Villa from former Innkeepers Diane and Jim Babcock in early April. The Canyon Villa plans to upgrade the guest experience by offering unique dining experiences, winemaker-led private tastings, holiday celebrations and special weekend packages.[/pullquote] Our other purpose was to get acquainted with the new owners of the Canyon Villa. From the e-mail announcing the ownership change→ William and Katherine are absolutely delightful hosts. Pizzas and other dishes from the wood-fired pizza oven are now regular events. For those staying at least three nights, they offer a Sunday supper at no additional charge. They have added catering services and are planning to host business events during the workweek. We are pleased to continue our five-star rating for this wonderful experience. The Canyon Villa. Copyright © 2015 William S. Carter. Used by permission. (click for a larger version) Field Recordings Andrew Jones This winery boasts one of the most unusual names we’ve encountered. Owner-winemaker Andrew Jones knows grapes from the ground up — literally: Field Recordings is 34-year old winemaker Andrew Jones’ personal catalog of the people and places he values most. Spending his days as a vine nursery fieldman planning and planting vineyards for farmers all over California, Andrew is sometimes offered small lots of their best fruit on the side. Having stood in just about every vineyard on the Central Coast, he has a keen eye for diamonds in the rough: sites that are unknown or under-appreciated but hold enormous untapped potential. As friendships are made and opportunities are embraced, Andrew produces small quantities of soulful wine from these unusual, quiet vineyards. Taken from photographs of starlings in flight, the artwork for the Field Recordings label documents natural, un-staged patterns that can never be repeated nor replicated. In the same way, each bottle of Field Recordings Wine captures the inimitable circumstances of each vineyard, vintage, and friendship that made it possible. As our tasting room host Jennifer Bartz put it, “Andrew believes wine should reflect the vineyard and grapes as much as possible. His wines are faithful recordings of what happened in the fields where the grapes were grown.” The Wines Field Recordings’s annual production varies wildly depending on where Andrew can get grapes he can work with. They make 50 wines, with 80% of their production going into cans. Their biggest markets are Chicago and Texas. Canned wine for sporting events that don’t allow glass bottles! The winery boasts two secondary labels, Wonderwall and Fiction. These are vineyard-specific, but the Wonderwall label is exclusively reserved for pinot noir and chardonnay. Before diving into the reviews, we have to note one thing. Each and every one of these wines is a bargain. We’ll especially recommend the Wonderwall chardonnay. To our tastes (and economist minds) it competed well with chardonnays priced 50 percent higher — in the $30 range. We started with the 2014 chenin blanc ($22). Unusually, this wine was aged in acacia barrels. And it worked. This is close to a French Chablis but without the minerality. It’s light, refreshing, and very quaffable. Wonderwall Chardonnay Next up was the 2014 Wonderwall chardonnay from the Spanish Springs vineyard in Edna Valley ($22). Andrew put this wine in barrels just long enough for some oak aromas. But there is none on the palate. Flavors of lemon cream, hints of lime and pineapple lead to a mineral finish. This is a major bargain, competing easily with wines priced over $30. The 2013 tempranillo ($18) was from the Ventucopa vineyard in Santa Barbara County. We’ve tasted tempranillo before and even bought a few bottles. But this is absolutely unique. Aromas of boysenberries and earth are followed by a flavor fruit bomb including ripe figs and oranges with a hint of cranberry.
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