Domaine Messier: Cosmically Aligned

September 7, 2024 – Stopping to admire the Zen-like sign that marks the entrance to the Domaine Messier property in Quintana Estates in Carmel Valley, I was instantly wrapped in the warm embrace of lavender. So much lavender! The bees were in heaven as they buzzed about the slender stalks waving in the breeze like Swifties at a concert. 

As I came through the gate, I noticed a man on a bicycle approaching in my rearview mirror.  Pulling up beside me, he extended his hand enthusiastically: “Luc!” he said, with a smile wider than the cosmos. Clearly, I had come to the right place. Luc Messier and his wife Julie had both arrived to greet me on their bicycles: a heckuva ride up the steep access road to their property which sits above Pelio and to the southwest of Albatross Ridge in an area that has become ground central for some of the most compelling examples of Burgundian varietals grown in Monterey County. In fact, the petition to officially call this area the Carmel Coast AVA, is expected to be approved by the TTB soon.

“Do you mind if I ride with you?” Julie asked, lugging saddlebags that turned out to be filled with wine. Did I mention I love these people? She also has a smile that’s wider than the cosmos. Their inner joy and pride are infectious. 

We proceeded down the steep hill to the 19+ acre vineyard and the impressive barn, a handsome structure that will someday house the winery and, hopefully, a tasting room. Most importantly, they are installing an apartment where the two of them will live while their incredible dream home comes to fruition. Meanwhile, when they’re not living in Texas, they live at Carmel Valley Ranch. 

These two delightful people, he, a Frenchman from Quebec, Canada, and a civil engineer who builds big things all over the world, and she, an associate professor of French studies who hails from New Jersey and teaches at Rice University in Houston, exude the kind of positive lifeforce that pulls you immediately into their orbit. She was recently awarded the chevalier award in the Ordre des Palmes académiques, for her contributions to education in French culture. 

Their story is movie script worthy. Both were previously married, divorced and living in Texas, when they were set up by some friends who figured the two had something in common: they could at least exchange pleasantries in both English and French. Love has no language barriers, and they quickly found themselves sharing their innermost dreams. “I want to have a vineyard and a winery!” said Luc, whose grandfather was a farmer. “I want to move to California!” said Julie, who is one smart gal. 

In 2018, they found this slice of sandy soil, the remains of millions of sea creatures who lived under the same less ancient stars as we do now. It was raw land, with a power that spoke of possibility. Windswept with a constant mix of ocean chill and mesmerizing summer sun, it was perfect for Burgundian varieties. Less perfect, perhaps, for a home, but a clever architect from Canada has a solution. 

Their dream house will be built into the brow of the southwest facing hillside, only a curved eye of glass behind a deck revealing the inner secret. Entirely off the grid, their water comes from wells powered by the sun. 

For now, they taste at picnic tables on a flat disc of sand, perched on a knoll above the vineyard, with a commanding blue water ocean view. They have a wine club, and have already held two events at their charmingly rustic property, bursting with possibilities. 

Look at their label and you will grok all the cosmic innuendos. While their last name, Messier, means guardian of the harvest in old French, it also happens to be the name of famous astronomer, Charles Messier, who discovered what are called the Messier Objects, among them 110 nebulae and star clusters. It is these celebrated collections of cosmic dust that adorn their wine labels. 

Their first vintage was 2022, and thus, the label bears a rendering of Messier 22, an elliptical globular cluster of stars located in the constellation of Sagittarius. Julie says they are looking forward to using Messier Objects as seen by the James Webb Space Telescope for subsequent harvests. After 88 vintages, they’ll reset to Messier 1. Hopefully, their yet to born grandkids will carry on the tradition. 

Inside the bottles is some truly inspiring juice and I found myself transfixed by the purity and grace of the Chardonnays, which are made at the Caraccioli custom crush facility, by the father-son winemaking team of Greg and Chris Vita. Starting with Peter Figge, the first to plant Chardonnay at the bottom of this toney development for the Pelio family, the wines from here are exemplary for their fluidity and transparency. 

Domaine Messier Chardonnays are made by the Vita duo, while the two Pinot Noir offerings have vastly different influences. The “New World” Pinot Noir is made by the Vita’s, while the second is made with the guidance of Luc Messier’s dear friends from Burgundy Etienne Grivot and Marielle Bize, who have consulted on all the clones planted at the property.

The vineyard consists of 16 blocks, with 4 clones of Pinot Noir (72, 143, 828 and 943) and 4 of Chardonnay (38, 70, 72 and 80). Several of the clones are new to me, including clones 38 and 80 of Chardonnay. Note there are none of the typical Dijon clones like 114, 115, 667 and 777 that dominate the plantings in Carmel Valley and in the Santa Lucia Highlands. They also have 500 olive trees, among them, Ascolana, Aglandau, Bouteillan, Itrana and Picholine. They expect their first olive harvest in 2026. 

The Messiers have had a couple of vintages of wines to find their groove. Their currently released wines are the 2022 vintage, including a Chardonnay (richly endowed with ripe orchard fruit), a rosé of Pinot Noir (satisfyingly saturated with ripe wild strawberry and red grapefruit and plush in the mouth), two different executions of Pinot Noir (the 2022 Cuvée du Nouveau Monde, which emphasizes ripe red raspberry with a hint of cake and spends 12 months on new French oak, and the 2022 Cuvée Sagitairre, which is considerably darker and more extracted, wearing a blue-black robe of 18 months in French), all of which are solid representations of a very warm year that ended with a fairly hot, early harvest.

The Cuvée du Monde Nouveau Monde is meant to represent the fresher California style, and is made by the Vita’s, while the Sagittaire is made with direction from Etienne Grivot. It is done in the Burgundian style: deep, dark and brooding, and endowed by generous oak aging with an age-worthy structure. Domaine Messier also just launched a sparkling wine, which I did not taste. Considering the pedigree of the facility where their wines are being made, this all bodes well. 

Julie and Luc also shared a preview of their 2023 Chardonnay, which I found absolutely brilliant, exhibiting an almost ethereal palate presence that emphasizes floral and citrus notes, along with nectarine, Bosc and Comice pear. Most memorable is the telltale calcareous vein that echoes the dirt in which the vines bury their toes. With no malo and only 15% new French for 8 months, this is one of the most intriguing Chardonnays I have tasted yet this year. Similarly, the yet to be released 2023 rosé shows a sass and bite that makes it more French than Californian.  

Domaine Messier is absolutely a place you want to linger and appreciate. You really don’t want to leave, especially if you have a long bike ride ahead of you. On the way out, though, we had to stop to say hello to “The Girls,” a vibrant flock of chickens who produce a variety of lovely and delicious eggs, and all of whom were beyond delighted to see Luc, who absolutely adores them. Perhaps a guard donkey or llama might be added to the farm. 

This place has so much potential. And to think it shares a fence—and certainly some of the same incredible terroir—with the famous Diamond T Vineyard, that was planted by Robb Talbott. It’s akin to sacred ground: a perfect place to build a dream home. Perhaps also an opportune place to build solstice observation posts. 

Our fate may or may not be written in the stars, but we know that our past was surely written among them. Perhaps drinking wine born under the clear heavens and further blessed by the mark of an ancient astronomer, might bring us closer to the stardust from which we come. 

Domaine Messier wines are available to try at Edwin’s in Carmel and they can be ordered online at domainemessier.com, where you can also sign up for their wine club.

See you under the stars.