Domaine Calendal 2023 Cotes du Rhone Villages Plan de Dieu

The Wine

Make no mistake, this is a big wine. Which is a rarity in our portfolio, as our wine palates lean towards the lean. But now and then, a wine hops out of the glass, smacks you on the back and engages you in such a way you just can't forget it for several hours after tasting it. This is that.

Despite all the volatility brought by climate change, Calendal is dense in the most beautiful way, year after year. Even those who share our "less is more" bias toward extraction and density make a happy exception for Calendal. the wine has enviable, complex aromatics and palate detail. There is a plushness here that really, really works.

Jeb Dunnuck, 4/25 "The 2023 Côtes Du Rhône Villages Plan De Dieu is the usual blend of 70% Grenache and 30% Mourvèdre that was destemmed and brought up in 20% new French oak barrels. Black raspberries, peppery garrigue, acacia flowers, and sweet spice-like notes all emerge on the nose, and it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, a plush, seamless, sexy mouthfeel, and no hard edges. It reminds me of the 2018. (reviewed at $40). 92-94 points."

The Winery

Plan de Dieu translates as "God's Plain", but it is also an appellation in the Southern Rhone that was created in 2005. It is celebrated for its low-yielding Grenache-based wines that sit atop cold clay (remember this cold clay bit when discussing the wine with your friends as it's the factor that really makes Calendal stand out and is more important than ever in today's hot climate). 

Those familiar with this part of the world may enjoy knowing the appellation covers the villages of Camaret-sur-Aigues, Jonquières, Violes and Travaillan (a prestigious wine-making town in its own right), extending up to the foot of the Dentilles de Montmirail, bordering Gigondas and Vacqueyras.

Calendal may just be the most sought-after bottling in the appellation. Up until Philippe Cambie's death in 2021, this project was a joint venture between Cambie and the Ferran family of Domaine des Escaravailles.