Guillemot-Michel Vire-Clesse Charleston is made from 100 percent Chardonnay.
This cuvée is produced from hundred-year old vines that the great-grandfather planted after he returned from World War I. The family wanted to honor his memory and vinify these vines the same way he did, in old demi-muids.
Charleston is a deep and complex wine that gently express itself in the glass, offering juicy white fruit flavors and a lengthy finish.
Charleston is vinified and aged for one year in demi-muids of over 10 years old. During the following harvest, the wine is racked and placed in vats for another 6 months of aging before bottling.
Fish in white sauce, poultry in creamy sauce, hard cheeses.
Review:
"The 2019 Viré-Clessé Charleston is brilliant, opening in the glass with notes of buttered citrus fruit, pear, beeswax and vanilla pod. Full-bodied, layered and textural, with huge concentration, lively acids and a seamless, multidimensional profile, it's long and penetrating. It's one of the very best wines I've ever tasted from the domaine. Readers will remember that the Guillemot family's oldest parcel of vines dates back to 1918, and the idea behind this cuvée is to work the vines and make the wine in the same way as their grandfather—who planted them—did. It spends a year in old demi-muids followed by six months in tank on the lees. - William Kelley"
- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (August 2021), 94+ pts
Our DuMOL Estate Vineyard is our original high-density vine planting from 2004. It’s organically farmed without irrigation – these vines work hard each season. We make a strict selection for this bottling, one of our flagship wines, so that only three acres of its nine total comprise this bottling; the balance forms the core of Highland Divide. This is the best of the best. The high vine density and exclusively Calera Selection produce a wine with a significant level of both tannin and acidity. This structure is buffered by a deep core of fruit extract, the product of the ripe grape skins themselves, and the essence of the wine. Each vintage can age for many years, and it gradually deepens into a woodsy, truffley, and enveloping wine with grand scale complexity while never relinquishing its inherent brightness.
The wine’s aromas and flavors are akin to black cherry, boysenberry, hibiscus, anise, moss, and juniper. The palate is simultaneously bright yet dark, with mineral drive, violet floral lift, and bay laurel freshness. Tannins and acidity fuse to lengthen these flavors, and the wine finishes with dried herbs and orange zest lift. Great aging potential. Drink between 2025 and 2034 and decant for an hour in its youth to hasten the development.
Review:
Medium to deep ruby-purple in color, the 2022 Pinot Noir Estate Vineyard comes barreling out with bold notes of fresh blackberries and black cherries opening out to suggestions of anise, garrigue, and lilacs. The medium-bodied palate reveals impactful black berry flavors with wonderfully spicy accents supported by grainy tannins and great tension, finishing long with a minerally lift. This is an all Calera vineyard. (LPB)
-The Wine Independent 97 Points