Calluna

Look what John Gilman wrote about Calluna's estate red:

"2010 Calluna Estate (Chalk Hill)
The Calluna Estate bottling is the flagship wine from Calluna Vineyards, with the 2010 version made up of a blend of fifty-three percent cabernet sauvignon, twenty percent merlot, seventeen percent cabernet franc, eight percent petit verdot and two percent malbec. It was raised in a bit more new wood than the Calluna Vineyard Cuvée in this vintage, with sixty percent of the barrels new and the wine is just a touch riper at 14.3 percent alcohol. The 2010 Calluna Estate delivers and excellent nose of cassis, black cherries, cigar smoke, a fine base of dark soil tones, espresso, a bit of lead pencil and a judicious framing of cedary new wood. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and seamless, with a young and very classy personality, a fine core of fruit, firm, well integrated tannins and excellent length and grip on the bright and still very primary finish. I love the sense of inherent balance and restraint on this young, elegant and very complex wine, and it should be a cellar treasure in the fullness of time. This is a very high class bottle of Bordeaux-inspired Sonoma red wine that will need at least another decade to really start to come into its own, but which should firmly cement the reputation of Calluna Estate as one of the brightest new producers in the firmament of California wine.
Fine, fine juice! 2023-2050+. 94."

Best, Jim

Sounds like a great wine.

Of course, I liked their neighboring "Bordeaux-style" winery, Verite, too. Can't afford it, but it is very good.

Thanks Jim. I just spent 20-30 minutes on their web site and I am sold. This may sound weird but I have found that I prefer wines made by the people who have a similar philosophy of grape growing as I do. The part about the myth of warm days and cool nights pulled me in and the the info on height of fruiting wire, vine density, and rootstock used closed it. Now the hard part is waiting until shipping season.

Brian/Brian,
Verite is too expensive for me. Tasted once with a friend and thought it nice but I ca't afford it either.

I actually work in the same facility as Calluna and have helped sort fruit with David. His standards and philosophy are in keeping with is old style Bordeaux training.
I have also tasted his wines over the years and notice that he seems to be getting a better understanding of his vineyards, especially regarding tannin management. IMO, his wines get better every year and that is not just a function of vintage.
And I can afford them - at least for the moment.

I may have mentioned it here before; his 2009 merlot is better than most right bank Bordeaux I have tasted, regardless of vintage or producer. And his 2010 is very close; I think another year in bottle may make them even.

Best, Jim