Calera Pinot Noir Selleck Vineyard 2010

Winemaker notes: "This 2010 Selleck Vineyard Pinot Noir is astoundingly complex and exquisitely balanced. Alluring aromas include rose petal, cassis, fenugreek, black cherry, pencil lead and ruby grapefruit. The palate is intense, deep and lingering, showing flavors of roast duck, red fruits, savory basil and limestone dust. The finish is taught and focused, accentuating the long life ahead for this fascinating and alluring youngster."

Vineyard notes: "Calera's Mt. Harlan Vineyards are located in the Gavilan Mountains 25 miles east of the Monterey Bay. The site was chosen for its limestone soils and ideal climate. At an average elevation of 2,200 feet it is among the highest and coolest vineyard sites in California."

Vintage: "Spring time temperatures brought on an average bud break, but an unusually cool summer made for a very long growing season and late harvest. Most of the Mt. Harlan Pinot Noir was harvested from mid-October through early November. The result was wine with bright acidity and lower alcohols. Each day's picking became a separate lot up until shortly before bottling. Each lot was fermented by the action of native yeasts in small open top fermenters. Each lot was pressed 14 days after harvest, racked by gravity to French oak barrels, then aged without racking in those barrels, 30% new, for sixteen months. The lots were then combined and the resultant wine was bottled without filtration, as always."