2016 Calluna Estate CVC Bordeaux Blend Chalk Hill 750 ml

Many California winemakers strive to emulate Bordeaux for its freshness, austerity, minerality, and tension, but few are able to succeed in the under $50 segment—let alone under $30. Fewer still receive the “Top 100 Winery” endorsement from Wine & Spirits, and can boast inclusion among “25 of Our Favorite Under-the-Radar California Reds” from Food & Wine Magazine.

Truly “among the finest Bordeaux blends at its price point” as Wine Enthusiast aptly noted of previous Calluna releases, wines with this much Old World sophistication usually either come from France, or cost over three times our $29 bottle price—the lowest in the country. 

Enticing bright fruit aromas draw you in with an intriguing savory depth. On entry, fresh black cherry, dark raspberry, plum, and black currant intertwine with earthy notes of forest floor, bay leaf, and cedar. The fresh, delineated structure has a finely integrated tannic grip that will help it cellar for another 10-15 years. 

We recently discovered this 2016 Calluna at a small Napa dinner showcasing California’s more restrained side of Cabernet and Merlot. Aside from the Calluna, the only other wines on the table were Ridge Monte Bello, Mayacamas, Mount Eden, and Dominus—California legends without equals for elegance, grace, and cellar potential. Our friend presented Calluna as “a baby Monte Bello,” and upon tasting its classic, savory fruit notes and loamy undertones, we heartily agreed.

Calluna Estate winemaker David Jeffrey began collecting Bordeaux in the mid-1980s, when he worked in finance. As he explored California wines, he gravitated toward the more structured, savory bottlings, realizing that there was more potential in the Golden State than he had initially assumed. It inspired Jeffrey to turn his wine obsession into a profession. He quit his job, completed the viticulture and enology program at Fresno State, then spent three months working for Alain Raynaud at Château Quinault L’Enclos in St-Émilion (Raynaud is the vigneron legend who features prominently in Robert Parker’s book, Bordeaux: A Consumer’s Guide to the World’s Finest Wines). 

It was Raynaud who urged Jeffrey to establish Calluna at Chalk Hill—one of the few sites in California with growing soils and a climate that emulates Bordeaux. Bordelaise winemakers have a particular affinity for this small AVA: It’s also home to Calluna’s neighbor Vérité Wines, the multiple 100-point ($400+ per bottle) estate established by Bordeaux-native Pierre Seillan. The Lurton family of Château Cheval Blanc and Château d’Yquem also recently snapped up property on the other side of Calluna Estate—not a bad quality endorsement for those (very same) soils. As Wine Spectator put it, “David Jeffrey made one of the year’s top-rated Merlot blends from his vineyards in Sonoma’s Chalk Hill appellation.”

This tiny subzone is situated between the cool climate Russian River Valley, and the warmer regions of the Alexander, Knights, and Napa Valleys (making it optimal for the growing of Bordeaux varieties). It’s a cool, hilly site, exposed to the same maritime Chalk Hill influence that makes the valley below such prime Pinot Noir country. The name Chalk Hill comes from the unique volcanic soil of chalky white ash, which translates into a mineral-driven character in the wine, as well as ultra-fine, integrated tannins.

We’re just glad Jeffrey got in when he could. With its impressive Chalk Hill terroir and signature Bordeaux aesthetic, this 2016 Calluna Estate CVC runs circles around its under-$30 California peers.