On Wednesday, March 27, 2024, we had the opportunity to once again interview Mike Waller. Mike is the winemaker for Calera winery. We covered seven new-release wines with Mike during our interview. We covered two more Calera Pinots in subsequent tastings. Our previous interview with Mike was in March of 2023. Then, we covered eight of his earlier-vintage wines. Check out what we learned from Mike this time in our latest blog post.
Before we get to the wines, I thought I would share some tidbits Mike shared.
- 2023 Harvest at Mt. Harlan. Started 2nd week of October and finished October 31st. 3 weeks
- 42 inches of rain in 2023. 15 to 18 inches is average.
- Early 2024 has been half the rain, but above average.
- Chenin is back in 2023. But not from Jurassic. Instead from Gemelli Vineyard.
- Their crews (15 people) are there for the entire harvest.
- Unfortunately, the Aligote they used to source was pulled out.
- Reed is one of the original vineyards along with Jensen. 1975.
- It has northern exposure and is usually picked last.
- Ryan is the newest vineyard. 1998. Highest elevation.
Below is a summary of the wine offerings from Calera that we covered with Mike. The links below are to our full reviews. If you are interested in ordering and trying these wines, you will find some of these wines via your favorite fine wine shop or on top quality wines lists. You can also purchase these wines on the Calera website.
Calera Winery Logo
1) Calera 2021 Chardonnay “Mt Harlan” $65 (KWGTP 94)
2) Calera 2021 Pinot Noir “Chalone Vineyard” (Monterey County) $54 (KWGTP 93)
3) Calera 2021 Pinot Noir “de Villiers Vineyard” (Mt. Harlan) $95 (KWGTP 94)
4) Calera 2021 Pinot Noir “Reed Vineyard” (Mt. Harlan) $95 (KWGTP 94)
5) Calera 2021 Pinot Noir “Jensen” (Mt. Harlan) $125 (KWGTP 96)
6) Calera 2020 Pinot Noir “Ryan Vineyard” (Mt. Harlan) $95 (KWGTP 93)
7) Calera 2020 Pinot Noir “Mills Vineyard” (Mt. Harlan) $95 (KWGTP 94)
8) Calera 2021 Pinot Noir “Ryan Vineyard” (Mt. Harlan) $95 (KWGTP 94)
9) Calera 2021 Pinot Noir “Sanford & Benedict” (Santa Rita Hills) $54 (KWGTP 93)
You can find reviews of past and future Calera wines that we cover on the Calera KWG winery page on our website. We hope you enjoy these terrific wines as much as we did. Cheers! – Ken