With the increasing presence of hotshot, high-scoring California Pinot Noirs in the market (Aubert, Black Kite, Emeritus, Kosta Browne and Sea Smoke come quickly to mind), some of the pioneering producers don’t get the attention they deserve, simply because they aren’t new. Count Josh Jensen’s Calera Wine Co among them.
In 1975, Jensen began planting vines in limestone-rich soils – rare in California – on Mt Harlan in San Benito County (his 2005 Mt Harlan Cuvee Pinot Noir celebrates Calera’s 30th anniversary). It was foolhardy, many thought, to plant in the rugged, chilly, mountainous region 25 miles...