The Calcareous vineyard was founded upon the idea of first and foremost growing exceptional Cabernet Sauvignon. The perfect combination of soil and climate allows our site to play to both the fruit and structural elements of the varietal, allowing us to produce one of our region’s great examples of this most noble cultivar.
A Rhone white blend of Viognier, Grenache Blanc and Roussanne
Trés Violet is our Estate’s take on a traditional Rhone-style red wine. By combining the depth and richness of Syrah, spice, and leather from Mourvèdre with the bright fruit elegance of Grenache, we can produce a multifaceted yet cohesive wine. In this way, the Trés Violet is perhaps the fullest expression of our Estate.
Vin Gris, French for “Grey Wine” is a traditional name for a white wine style produced using red grapes. Bottled extremely young, this wine is always our first indicator of the quality of a vintage and is meant to be enjoyed as fresh as possible. These wines cut to the core that wine is to be simply enjoyed and shared.
Grenache, the most commonly planted red wine grape in the world, has found a home in Paso Robles as not only a key contributor to our Rhône blends but as a standout single varietal as well. Known for elegant texture, lively fresh fruit, and great balance, our Grenache is easily one of our best food pairing wines.
Lloyd Messer always envisioned the Calcareous Vineyard site as being a classic producer of Bordeaux varietals. This Estate blend is an annual confirmation of that vision. Highlighting our plantings of Merlot, Cab Franc, Malbec, Petit Verdot as well as Cab Sauv. This wine is a testament to our sites ability to produce transcendent examples of a wide range of varietals.
Moose is dedicated to the alter ego of our founder, Lloyd “Moose” Messer. It was conceived to be the most profound expression of our Estate Syrah. By blending in Petit Verdot, we add color, weight, and structure to an already substantial wine to create a singular wine, Moose.
One of the most surprising aspects of the Calcareous Vineyard has been its ability to successfully produce a wide range of varietals. Our Estate Malbec and Cab Franc have always been cellar favorites and blending the two produces a genuinely stunning expression of our site. The name Messer is in honor of our founders Lloyd and Dana, whose family name means sword in German.
Viognier is a white Rhone varietal that is perfect for Paso Robles. It is best when allowed to fully ripen to open up aromas and give weight and texture to the palate. The chalky soils here accentuate this by allowing the the pH to remain low enough to perfectly balance this riper style of white.
The warmest, steepest, and driest part of our Estate Vineyard is "lovingly" called Devil's Canyon by those that farm it. The Syrah grown there is a profound statement on the effects of our climate and soil upon the grapes we grow. This wine embodies why we feel our site is such an incredibly unique place to grow and make wine.
The 2020 Cab Franc was our first single varietal bottling of Estate grown Cabernet Franc since planting a second block of Cabernet Franc in 2016, doubling our yield and allowing us to produce individual bottlings when the quality calls for it. The older vines of Block 3 produce a more restrained and elegant wine, with lighter color and texture, yet full of spicy tannin. The younger vines in Block 2022 currently produce a more full throated, deeply colored Cab Franc full of ripe red fruit and round juicy tannin. The combination produces a more all encompassing expression of the varietal and shows the true potential of our Estate.
Perhaps the greatest testament to our unique soils is our Estate grown Chardonnay. The warm, dry climate of Calcareous does not at first appear to be a suitable place to grow this Burgundian varietal. But the soil allows the grapes to maintain incredible acidity, the structural back bone of world class Chardonnay, and we can achieve perfectly ripened fruit that maintains clarity and purity.
The hearty growing and heat loving nature of Syrah has made it one of the most successful varietals to plant at the challenging conditions presented by the Calcareous Vineyard. Spread out over our entire Estate, the unique clones, aspects, and soils of each or our Syrah blocks allows us to create a single varietal wine of amazing depth and complexity.
At 1800 feet above sea level, from atop the highest peak of our Estate, the breathtaking panoramas of Paso Robles were a favorite of our founder. Ascending the east-facing slope that leads to this lookout, a head-trained block of Grenache is interplanted with small amounts of Syrah and Mourvèdre. Harvested and fermented as a singular field blend, this bottling captures a highly-focused expression of place.
Zinfandel was always synonymous with Paso Robles. It’s distinctive big fruit and easy charm is embedded in the local winemaking spirit. Our Kate’s Vineyard Zinfandel has been a staple our Estate Bottlings and a constant reminder that wine is meant above all to embody joy and pleasure.
The Signature Cabernet Sauvignon is made to showcase what's possible within out vineyard and cellar, regardless of cost, labor, or time. Worthy of our proprietor's signature and at home in the most thoughtfully-curated collections, the stunning result represents the best of what we and our Estate vineyard are able to produce.
