Château Calissanne - Clos Victoire 2010

Calissanne is located in Lançon-de-Provence. This very large Provençal estate spans 1,100 hectares, including 110 hectares of vineyards and 60 hectares of olive groves, forming a single, contiguous, south-facing cultivation area. The terroir consists of brown, stony, well-drained soils over Urgonian limestone colluvium, which are ideally suited for growing grapes and olives. Planted on gently sloping hillsides across 25 plots, 11 grape varieties contribute to the production of Calissanne’s wines. Legend has it that the famous calissons of Aix—a sweet made from almond paste—take their name from a hillside in Calissanne that was once planted with almond trees.

Once a Celtic-Ligurian stronghold, La Calissanne was owned by the Order of Saint 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, his wife, manages this vast 1,200-hectare estate, which includes 60 hectares of olive groves and about 100 hectares of vineyards, spread across 25 plots of gently sloping, stony hillsides. This cornerstone of the Côteaux-d’Aix AOC—managed for twenty-five years by Jean Bonnet, who conducted an in-depth analysis of the vineyard’s planting strategy and maintenance—is now led by Christophe Barraud.