2010 Calera Central Coast Pinot Noir: QPR Alert?

When Wine Spectator dropped a 93 point rating on the 2010 Calera Central Pinot Noir it was a second validation that this bottling has become one to be reckoned with in the California Pinot Noir value spectrum.

The 2009 vintage was rated 92 points by the Wine Advocate, and combined with its modest $24 release price and relatively high production levels (around 10,000 cases) the wine seems destined to join the likes of Siduri and Loring as perennial Pinot value plays.

I was just browsing through the Wine Spectator rating database and man...I had a hard time finding a 93 point California Pinot Noir for $25 or less. I had to go back into the early '90s to a time when Pinot was in its infancy in California and producers were just getting started with the grape to find a Pinot this affordable and highly rated.

But when you're buying by the numbers you're hanging your hopes on one person's palate. In the case of Wine Spectator that's James Laube who has a reputation with some for preferring ripe wines - and he states as much in his tasting notes for the wine: "very ripe but still complex". [Spectator online subscription required]

If we consult the wisdom of the masses we currently see a Cellar Tracker community rating for the 2009 at 89.1 and the 2010 is currently averaging 90.3.

If we run these metrics through the WWP QPR Calculator (what's that?) we get a 2.5: A Very Good value.

The wine is also referred to as the 35th Anniversary Vintage - and there's some confusion and duplicate entries on Cellar Tracker for sure. But there's no special bottling to seek out. If you're buying the 2010 Calera Central Coast Pinot Noir you're getting the wine that Spectator rated 93 points. Here are my thoughts on the wine:

2010 Calera Central Coast Pinot Noir [35th Anniversary Vintage]
$24 Release Price
14.9% Alcohol
7,688 Cases Produced

Primary [very] ripe plum notes mug the otherwise nice Pinot characteristics lurking in the background. 14.9% alcohol (up from 14.2% in 2009) and it shows. The wine clings heavily to the glass and there's heat at the backend of every sip. An instantaneous aerator the first night and an evening of rest under stopper didn't help accelerate the aging process. Will this be better with time? I wouldn't count on it. But for $24 retail it's a decent wine I guess. I just can't see my way to 92 or 93 points.

88/100 WWP: Very Good

Where to Buy


In Massachusetts:
Elsewhere: Search on Wine-Searcher.com in your state

Question of the Day: Have you had this wine? If so, what did you think?


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Alan Kerr?s Vintage?s April 14th Release ? Tasting Notes

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Half off 1 Year of Unlimited Shipping from Wine.com

Wine.com is offering half off their Steward-Ship program through Sunday August 26th with code "SSAFF".

Steward-Ship is kind of like Amazon Prime. For a flat rate of $49 ($24.50 with this offer) Wine.com will ship wine to you for a year. Steward-Ship can also be used to ship wine and gift baskets to other addresses since it's tied to your account rather than a single receiving address.

I've had Steward-Ship for a couple years now and, especially when you can get it for half off, it's a good deal. What I like about it is how it enables quick shipment of just a bottle or two without having to fret about building towards a mixed case to reduce the per-bottle shipping costs. Like last week when I wanted to get a bottle of 2010 Cosme Gigondas shipped out here. Other retailers had it for a few dollars less. But none would ship a single bottle out for free. So Steward-Ship worked nicely.

Yes, Wine.com's prices are a little high compared to other retailers. But if you keep your eye out for coupons and especially half off vouchers they've run the past couple years, a year's worth of wine shipments for $24.50 is a nice deal.

You can buy Steward-Ship now without place a wine order. Just add Steward-Ship iconto your cart, enter "SSAFF" in the Promotional Code box, click "Update Cart" and you should see the price reduce to half off. Check out without adding any wine and your account should have Steward-Ship applied for the next year.

If you already have Steward Ship active on your account, you can extend the duration of your subscription with this offer. To check when your current subscription expires, go to the Wine.com home page and Log In. Click on "'s Account->My Account" then off to the left it should say when Steward-Ship renews. If you buy Steward Ship now before your current subscription renews, your account will show that Steward-Ship renews a year from today so you'll have to call them to get it corrected. I did that. It took just a few minutes - no problem. If you intend to keep Steward-Ship going forward now is the time to buy.

50% off Wine.com Steward-Ship membership. Enjoy free shipping on wine and gifts all year. Join Steward-Ship and enter code SSAFF in cart. Offer ends 8/26/2012


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