Mark Flesher

9.2

@Delectable Wine this is the 2017 Calais Rocher Sauvignon Blanc.... New release that is not in the computer...

This wine poured a little bit heavy into the glass. The nose of peaches and white chocolate with chamomile. The entry is rather viscous upfront. Has a very soft and round profile, but then really gets edgy and leans out to the finish showing excellent acidity. The oak barrel aging definitely shows in the front and middle. The structure on this is quite good. This white wine will go with a huge number of dishes given its profile, and an immediate acquisition for the cellar. — 6 years ago

Stephen Pierron

9.3

Outstanding Texas Merlot! When your wife is traveling and you can't open a bottle without her...... Helloooo Coravin! 😂

Delicious Merlot from the Texas High Plains AVA (yes Texas 🇨🇱 has an AVA!) and made by Calais Winery. Owner and Winemaker, Ben, is a mad French scientist when it comes to Texas grapes.

Notes of anise/licorice, rosewater, plum, blueberry, blackberries, and toast.

Aged 22 months in French oak barrels.

@Mark Flesher and @Shay A you both have got me hooked on these Texas Wines! Thank you!! 😀🍷👍 — 6 years ago

Mark Flesher

9.2

RMV. Very nice wine with good weight. This one has a nice nose of youthful lemon and pear, and starts off the same way with very good acidity. The wine get much more dense in the middle with crescendo to a full bodied supple finish that had some pineapple crush, ripe pear, and spice. The wine is really equally good served chilled or unchilled. The first glass was a bit cold, where the last glass was probably a little too warm, and both of them were equally enjoyable. This wine was enjoyed with Mexican food, but it was also very enjoyable (and probably moreso) by itself. The wine starts off showing the Roussanne/Marsanne and finishes with classic, well-done Viognier! I'm rather certain this wine will hold 3-5 years without a single shred of doubt! Definitely one of the better production wines by Calais. — 8 years ago

Mark Flesher

9.4

After fantastic wine tasting at Calais with that amazing Ruisseau and new Cantegral, and the new 16 Gaston, we're kicking it off here in FBG! This 08 Brunello is interesting to say the least. The nose on this Brunello is good. No, DAMN good. Black cherry and herbal notes abound. This wine enters rather smooth, still with INCREDIBLE youth. Black cherry and herbal goodness with a hint of tart raspberry in the middle. The middle of this wine is a little undeveloped....it just didn't show after an hour of air, but the front and rear are so good! Finishes smooth. Tannin and acidity are still out of balance just a wee bit. Gonna give the other bottles a couple of years! — 8 years ago

Stephanie

9.0

A nice bite at the front that's not syrupy. Notes of vanilla and brown sugar. Excellent. — 8 years ago

Mark Flesher

9.2

Rosé swap this past week. One of these for a bottle of Kuhlmanation Rosé. I was certainly hesitant. But dang, glad I did. This wine had my attention from the start. Poured a salmon color. Nose of strawberry, kiwi and mango. Palate more peach and mango. Acidity is there, but not too crisp and sharp. More rounded with food and a little more edgy without. Some dried herbs and wildflowers in the middle. Finishes with a subtle bit of grit. Delicious. Reminds me of Calais Rose of Cinsault with lots of delicious parallels. — 6 years ago

Matt Trader

9.3

Completely blown away by this Texas Malbec. Blind tasted, guessed Barbera from Napa, or Old world Zin... it was elegant, herbaceous in a great way, and minty - drank like an aged Cahours almost. Wow. — 6 years ago

Mark Flesher

9.4

Floral bouquet and very young raspberry and black cherry immediately hit you after pouring this one into the glass. Immediately you know that you have committed infanticide. As you are contemplating what to do, you are Sinister hand pours a glass of this for you to get a nice with this one on a more personal level. Boysenberry, black fruit, a little bit gamey. Yet, a little bit youthful and floral. What the hell is going on here!? The Sinister hand forces this one to your mouth, to enjoy an immense pallet of black cherry, wild berry pie. The middle of this one dries to a dehydrated red fruit character. Finishes long, with the perfect pairing being leftover Halloween candy from your 4 year old who already forgot she went trick-or-treating this year. So good on so many levels, and this one is still insanely tannic. I give it another 10 or 15 years easily. I would say this is the most immense wine in the Calais lineup other than the Gravitas. Still drank insanely well. — 6 years ago

Mike Howdeshell

9.5

Wonderful finish. Pair with strong red meat or beef stew. — 7 years ago

Mark Flesher

9.4

OK, so this wine was DOUBLE DOUBLE decanted, and still needed 30 minutes of air before the tart funk blew off. But, when it did, HOLY MAMA this one had floral perfume ROLLING out of the glass. If tasted blind, you would go to petit verdot, petit sirah, or syrah almost assuredly. The nose is INTOXICATING floral perfume. The entry is dark, but jammy purple fruit is right there on the front. The middle goes a little darker. Still lots of jammy fruit with floral undertones. Tobacco shows up, as does a dried apricot. The middle of this wine for a hint of a second shows the merlot. The finish is acidic, yet not too much. Perhaps a LITTLE bit better with food, but makes you really guess when enjoyed alone. QUITE a stunner IMO. I was not ready for this. This wine showed much better than it did at the winery, which means that, at least for me, the other bottle is going to sit for a WHILE. When it IS served, it just might go through the VitaMix first! :) — 8 years ago

Arif Karim

9.0

Nice and peppery but still well balanced. I can tell these flavors are already evolving a lot. — 8 years ago

Mark Flesher

8.9

This is actually the "Source" or Roussanne, Marsanne, Viognier RMV broken down to 43/35/22. Quite an expressive little wine. Didn't take much viognier in this blend for the more structured backbone. But this wine had excellent acidity that was able to cut through jalapeño encrusted salmon filets and showed kiwi and lemongrass up front with a nice, thick core. One of the two top winemakers in Texas. Wouldn't recommend many Texas producers but this is a great producer through and through. Benjamin Calais from France is doing some great things here in Texas. — 8 years ago

Mark Flesher

9.2

If tasting this blind next to a Calais Cuvee du Canton, you would think it was two different vintages of the same wine. Similar to the Calais, this has a nose of roasted fig and plum. Opens with a black fruit, fig, and spice cake note. Plum comes in to play towards the fimish and almost a blood orange type of citrus comes in as well. Finishes with some acidity but overall I'd say this is where the Calais actually exerts a little bit of dominance. Overall, a very nice wine. Still think it has a few years to develop. Wanted badly to rate it 9.3, but it just wasn't there. — 6 years ago

Jennifer Taylor

10

This is outstanding. The best wine I’ve had from the Calais Winery yet. WINNER. — 6 years ago

Edward Coxhead

9.0

Majestic Calais — 6 years ago

Mike Howdeshell

9.8

Great white wine. Aged in oak so pairs well with flank steak. — 7 years ago

Mark Flesher

9.2

Paired perfectly with thin-sliced parmesan pork chop. Tx reds can be tricky, and there are only a few who really know what they're doing to get the fruit but also just a bit of the terroir. The nose of this wine is a little bit of funk, a little bit of tart, healthy amount of black cherry, and a whole buncha perfumed flowers. The front is youthful, punchy and absolutely gorgeous brambleberry fruit with a hint of plum and cinnamon baking spice to the middle. Finishes with a hint of cola and a lot of black cherry. Nice wine, and will definitely appreciate for the next 2-3 years, and last another 5-6. — 8 years ago

Mark Flesher

9.1

I have posted the 2015, but not this one (to my knowledge). Whereas 2015 is definitely more strawberry crush and red fruited in general, this 2016 is more watermelon, pink grapefruit, and mango on the front. The wine is very acidic on the front. The wine is of medium weight with sharp acid. There is a little less fruit here than the 2015 overall. The wine is still rather solid to the finish with the watermelon and mango notes, some kiwi here as well. I think this has very good aging potential. I think the 2016 Rose wines from the TX Hill Country are all less strawberry on a whole. But all, with exception to one thus far, are pretty damn delicious. — 8 years ago

Joe Weinberger

9.1

Very good Malbec from Texas. Not super crazy about the nose on this wine but the taste makes up for it. Crunchy, pure fruit with minerality and acidity. — 8 years ago

Mariko Misumi

10

My favorite buttery wine from Hunter Valley, always the best — 9 years ago