My favorite from Calera is usually the Jensen Vineyard, and the 2005 Pinot Noir Jensen is prodigious. Complex notes of sweet plum, pomegranate, and cherry are followed by subtle wood smoke, forest floor, underbrush, and sauteed mushrooms. This broad, complex, full-bodied wine has stunning concentration, length, and richness. Very primary and young, it seems to have at least 15 years of aging ahead of it. This is a very impressive wine from Calera, as is the 2005 vintage overall. In retrospect, 2006 does not appear to be a very strong vintage for Calera Pinot Noir, but the wines are complex, approachable, and very Burgundian. In a completely different style, the more concentrated 2005s exhibit deeper color as well as more texture, depth, and length. This is a vintage for Calera that should age beautifully for 15 or more years, given the winery’s history of its top vintages aging brilliantly. Tel. (831) 637-9170; Fax (831) 637-9070

This is the biggest, ripest, most Californian of Calera’s new ’05s. It has delicious berry, orange tea, spice and vanilla flavors, and is very dry, but also quite soft. There’s not a whole lot of structure. It may be going through an awkward phase. Could surprise over the years, as previous Caleras have.——S.H.(12/1/2008)—— 87