Josh Jensen
World renowned winemaker
on Calera, limestone, and the gentle benefits of gravity. |
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Minneapolis, Minnesota - July 9th, 2009 - Enjoy 20% off Calera wines online (see below)
 180 earnest wine lovers were held in rapt attention as Josh Jensen led them through a rare line up of engrossing wines from Calera. Stretching back to vintages 18 years old, the wines were a testament to the awesome stamina and complex development for which Calera wines are celebrated. Jensen possesses an elegant modesty about everything. Jensen never mentioned that Calera's Chardonnay and Pinot Noir receive glowing praise year after year, that Wine & Spirits named Calera Winery of the Year for 2008, that the great pen of Marq de Villiers wrote a winning book about Jensen's tireless hunt for the limestone rich soil that is ideal for the finest root stocks of Burgundy.
 Jensen would rather speak of the wine in your glass, the delicate methods used to make it, and share the inspiration he found while working in the Côtes d'Or at such revered sites as the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti and Domaine Dujac. Jensen even makes a Viognier of poised balance and wondrous breadth. To hear that Jensen once worked in Condrieu comes then as no surprise. He is that special sort of man that always perceives the world around him, takes note of everything important and puts to practice all he learns. The results are remarkable wines which is why the world sings his praises.
Jensen would not say he put Calera on the map. Its core of limestone has been there from time immemorial but there is no question that he did seek it out and foster a world class array of wines from this yet unknown Mt. Harlan. Perhaps he raised the Gavilan Mountains to new heights. What Domaine de la Romanée-Conti is to the Côtes d'Or, Calera is to the United States. Here is a winery that is inextricable from the soil on which it stands. Wine and place are one. Terroir yet again trumps all the scientific tricks on which so many rely only to pale in comparison. Calera wines speak in ways few of the new world can. Enjoy a glass of Calera wine and one suddenly knows how that perfect plot of limestone land expresses all the wonders the varietal is capable of. See for yourself:
 Watch Wil Bailey and Josh Jensen delve into the limestone behind Calera here. |
