Tasting Notes

V97

The 2009 Pinot Noir Jensen Vineyard is the biggest and richest of the 2009s. It boasts stunning depth in its dark fruit, licorice, spices and sweet, balsamic notes. Layers of fruit totally saturate the palate as this majestic Pinot opens up in the glass. The sheer depth and nuance of the Jensen is simply breathtaking. Readers will have to be patient as the Jensen is very much built for the cellar. It is an American classic to savor and enjoy to age 20 and perhaps beyond.

WSM93

Josh Jensen’s remote mountain estate is surrounded by dry chaparral and it’s tempting to read its imprint in this wine’s exotic, garrigue-like aromas of lavender, pine and dried sage. The Jensen block, planted in 1975, has a wider range of exposures than Calera’s two other original blocks, Selleck and Reed. At first this wine’s fruit seems almost brambly, perhaps due to the concentrated ripeness of the south-facing compo- ­nents, but it’s girded by distinctly stern tannins; the vineyard’s high-elevation, its limestone soils and, likely, Jensen’s commitment to whole-cluster fermentation all contribute to that structural integrity. With a day of air, the wine relaxes, its beguiling fragrance and satiny fruit leaning back on cool minerality.

Other wines you may like