Château Calissanne - Clos Victoire 2009

Bettane & Desseauve

About the domain :

Calissanne is located in Lançon-de-Provence. This very large Provencal estate covers 1100 hectares, 110 of which are planted with vines and 60 with olive trees, and forms a single, south-facing cultivation area. The terroir consists of brown, stony, filtering soils on Urgonian limestone colluvium, ideally suited to the cultivation of vines and olive trees. Planted on gently sloping hillsides in 25 parcels, 11 grape varieties are used to make Calissanne wines. The story goes that the famous calissons d'Aix, a delicacy made from almond paste, originated on a Calissanne hillside once planted with almond trees.

Guide Hachette des vins

About the wine:

The history of Calissanne goes back to time immemorial: an ancient Celto-Ligurian stronghold, of which an oppidum known as Constantine remains overlooking the estate, it was owned by the Order of Malta in the 13th and 14th centuries, by a member of the Aix-en-Provence court in the 17th century, by Charles Auguste Verminck, a leading figure from Marseille who ran soap and oil mills in the 19th century, and finally by Philippe Kessler in 2001. Today, Kessler's wife Sophie runs the estate, still at the top of the appellation. Twelfth "coup de coeur", if you can believe it, for Jean Bonnet, who has been managing the estate for over twenty years. This Clos Victoire 2009, made from 60% Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon, delivers an intense bouquet of black fruits and mocha. The palate holds its note for a long, long time, with great freshness, tannic strength and perfectly controlled oak. Wait two or three years, even if the desire to taste it is already very tempting...

About the domain :

A former Celto-Ligurian stronghold, La Calissanne was owned by the Order of St. John of Jerusalem in the Middle Ages, by a parliamentarian from Aix in the 17th century, by a soap manufacturer in the 19th century, and finally, in 2001, by businessman Philippe Kessler, who passed away in 2008. Today, Sophie Kessler-Matière, the latter's wife, manages this vast 1,200-hectare estate, including 60 hectares of olive groves and around a hundred vines, spread over 25 parcels of gently sloping, stony hillsides. This pillar of the Côteaux-d'Aix AOC, managed for twenty-five years by Jean Bonnet - who gave careful thought to planting policy and vineyard maintenance - is now run by Christophe Barraud.