Top Pick. From one of the best producers of chardonnay, this wine has a burgundian quality with melon aromas, tropical fruit flavors and a lingering finish.

Maryland Gazette
Tom Marquardt and Patrick Darr
August, 2001

86 points. Pretty peach and tropical fruit aromas, enveloped in smoky oak, are accompanied by leesy notes. Drinks easy and soft, with plenty of fruity flavors and vanilla-oaky contrasts. The polished finish is pleasant.

Wine Enthusiast
Steve Heimoff
December, 2001

Excellent. The Calera chardonnay 1999, Central coast, is pure and intense, satiny and very ripe; it features orange peel, honeysuckle, pineapple and grapefruit leaning a bit toward tropical nuances and a hint of caramel, but plenty of minerals keep it balanced and aimed for a very spicy finish.

Scripps Howard News Service
Fredric Koeppel
October, 2001

87 points. Fresh, lumber aromas with hints of white peach and clove. Tangerine and vanilla flavors with balanced acidity. Ripe finish with a kiss of sweet oak.

The Wine News
June/July 2002

91 points. Sometimes a young Pinot is deceptive. This wine is young and silky, supple and fruity and has some sharp acidity, but it doesn’t overwhelm. It’s the kind of wine that doesn’t overshadow food. But it’s excellent Pinot. The depth of flavor and long finish suggest aging possibilities, but there’s no reason not to drink and enjoy it now.

Wine Enthusiast
July, 2002

88 points. A sleek, elegant, well-defined wine, with pretty black cherry fruit accented by smoke, orange rind, tea and cola notes. Firms up and shows a ripe wall of tannins. Drink now through 2006.

Wine Spectator
James Laube
May 31, 2001

90 points. Classic reddish-brown hue. Complex aromas of smoke, licorice, and leather with hints of dried cherry. Supple flavors of cranberry and tea with a whisper of orange peel and chocolate. Youthful tannins and crisp acid in the finish suggest a long life.

The Wine News
April/May 2001

One puff. With a touch of complexing bottle bouquet just beginning to develop, this nicely centered and fairly hefty Pinot draws upon generous themes of ripe cherries for direction, and it counts on more than a little oak for increased spice and added richness. A broad-beamed and fairly fleshy wine, it shows a fine spine of underlying tannins that presently both firms and toughens. It is capable of keeping for quite some time and may not see its best until another five years have gone.
Connoisseurs’ Guide to California Wine
November, 2001

90 points. A blend of lots left over from Calera’s three prime vineyards, it’s an intriguing combination of delicacy and power. The color is pale, the aroma is cola-like and it’s light on the palate. But the depth of fruit is great, and so is the complexity. This wine will age well.

Wine Enthusiast
July, 2002

One puff. The kinship is clear between this bottling and the attractive wine immediately below (Mills 1997), but the relationship is fraternal rather than identical. Both possess a fine center of ripe cherries, lots of first-rate oak and the kind of muscle that encourages keeping, but, of the two, this one has slightly deeper fruit while its partner the slightly tougher frame. Another few years of positive growth is a bet without risk.

Connoisseurs’ Guide to California Wine
November, 2001

87 points. For Calera’s least expensive Pinot, this is pretty darned nice stuff. It’s packed with true varietal character, from the pale color to the spicy, fruity, tomato-infused flavors to the silky tannins and crisp acids. It’s what people want in a delicate yet assertive wine, and defines Central Coast Pinot in a general sense.

Wine Enthusiast
July, 2002

One puff, 89 points. Once past its momentary wisps of brush and bark in the nose, this wine displays intriguing aromas of cherries, caramel, dusty spice, smoke and toasted herbs, and it follows with ripe-cherry flavors that are well-appointed with sweet-oak highlights. Fairly fat and full in feel, it runs into unwelcome heat at the finish but its essential fruit and sense of richness persist and conspire to earn it comfortable recommendation.

Connoisseurs’ Guide to California Wine
March, 2002

Exceptional. The Calera Mt. Harlan chardonnay 1997 - notice the year – is completely rich and luscious yet restrained, beautifully expansive yet elegant, resonant with weight and substance yet ineffably delicate and filled with vibrant subtleties; it teases us with exotic spice that spills from a core of candied pineapple and lemon curd, all impeccably framed in the most discriminating oak.

Scripps Howard News Service
Fredric Koeppel
October, 2001

89 points. Fermented with native yeast, this estate wine from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir pioneer Josh Jensen is classy, earthy and firm. Apple and yellow plum flavors mingle with mineral elements on the palate. It finishes nutty and tart, with good length and a solid acid spine. One of the few California wines that are Burgundian in spirit, this is still tight. Although it was one of the oldest wines we tasted, it can still use a few years to fully unfold.

Wine Enthusiast
Tasting 150 of California’s Top Chardonnays
July, 2001

Very much in the French style with its sleek body and mineral undertones. Opens with lots of smoky oak, which gradually eases to reveal aromas of lemon cream and tangerine. Round and creamy on the palate with ripe tropical fruit and citrus flavors and underscored by a mountain terroir minerality. Poised to gain even more complexity with several years of cellaring.

The Wine News
California’s Best Wines of the Year – 2001
Steve Pitcher
December/January 2001-2002