From a 13.1-acre vineyard planted in 1997, the 2007 Pinot Noir Mills Vineyard was cropped at an absurdly low .84 tons of fruit per acre. This beauty offers up notes of forest floor, raspberries, fresh mushrooms, sweet currants, and meat juices. The provocative, riveting aromatics are followed by a medium to full-bodied wine with sweet tannins, dense, chewy, lush fruit, good acidity, and a 40-second finish. Drink this profound Pinot Noir over the next decade or more. This may be the strongest group of wines Calera has produced in many years. From their less expensive whites through the generic and single vineyard Pinot Noirs, this remarkable portfolio showcases this idiosyncratic terroir isolated on Mt. Harlan. For starters, Calera has once again made the finest Aligote in America. Tel. (831) 637-9170; Fax (831) 637-9070

Typically Calera’s most luscious, delicious wine in youth. The year 2007 was kind, and the result is a Pinot rich in cherries, raspberries, licorice and cola, wrapped into a silky texture, with near perfect acids and tannins. As good as it is now, it should develop over the next 6–8 years. ——S.H.(12/15/2010)—— 94