2007 Calera Viognier, Mt. Harlan

The name “Calera” is the Spanish world for “limekiln,” which serves as
the winery’s symbol and appears on every bottle of wine.
Josh Jenson, owner and winemaker for Calera began his career making wine in Burgundy. A native Californian, he decided to move back and search for limestone soil to emulate the wines of Burgundy. He found it in the AVA of Mt. Harlan that sits 2200 ft. above sea level, 25 miles from the cool breezes of the Pacific. The grapes have a very long growing season here in the central coast, developing mature flavors with pronounced minerality from the limestone soil.

Aromas: silky wine with pronounced flavors of white peach, nectarine, honeysuckle, and underlying minerality
Body: medium
Color: yellow

From their website: Calera’s 2007 Mt. Harlan Viognier is amazingly alluring, silky and distinctly white peach in both aroma and flavor. Honeysuckle, also very prevalent, is accented by a wonderful floral bouquet, succulent nectarine flavors and typical mineral undertones so notable in Mt Harlan wines.

Josh Jensen's winemaker mentors in Burgundy were adamant that pinot noir and chardonnay must be grown in limestone-rich soils, as present in the Côtes d’Or, to make great wines. Upon his return from France in 1971 he spent two years searching throughout California to find limestone before finally purchasing, in early 1974, a high-elevation parcel with a limestone deposit of several million tons. Located 90 miles south of San Francisco and about 25 miles inland from the Pacific Ocean, it is near Mt. Harlan in San Benito County. Its elevation is 2,200 feet above sea level, making it one of the highest and coldest vineyard properties in California. Limestone had been commercially quarried from Jensen’s Mt. Harlan property a hundred years earlier, and to this day, next to his Viognier vineyard, there stands a magnificently well-preserved 30- foot tall masonry limekiln.

Eat with: sautéed Maryland soft shell crabs, white corn, piquillo peppers, fingerling potatoes
& smoked paprika vinaigrette

Website: http://www.calerawine.com/news/index.html