Calera Mt. Harlan Viognier 2009

At the Wine & Spirits Magazine tasting today we found a number of delicious wines, among them this gem from an icon estate in the Gavilan Range.

Calera, Mt. Harlan, Viognier 2009 This Viognier showcases floral notes and minerality in the nose. In the mouth it is quite an elegant expression of the grape, eschewing the heavy-handed approach of some winemakers. In this wine there is a sense of Viognier’s delicate side – very nice.

The grapes behind this wine are certified organic and grown in the Gavilan Mountains up at 2,200 feet elevation in the AVA of Mt. Harlan. The wine went through full malolactic and was aged for 10 months in older French oak barrels. In this case the malolactic conversion and oak aging add nuance rather loud stamps of butter or oakiness.

Produced and bottled in Hollister 13.9% $30 at the winery, a media sample.

Calera

About RJ

Ray Johnson is the Executive Director of the Wine Business Institute at Sonoma State University. He writes about food and wine, his travels and the business of wine. He makes his home in Sonoma County, California.
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