History
The Durneys bought the 1,200 acre Cachagua ranch as a retreat and put in seven acres of Cabernet Sauvignon in 1968 (the Historic Vineyard Society dates the vines to 1969): own-rooted cuttings from the Mirassou family's Santa Clara Valley vineyards, material the Mirassous had originally imported from France. It was the first vineyard and the first winery in Carmel Valley. The debut Durney Cabernet took a gold medal at the Orange County Fair, the wine reached White House dinners during the Reagan years, and general manager David Armanasco filed the petition that won Carmel Valley federal recognition on 13 January 1983. Durney died in 1989. Gilbert and Toby Heller renamed the property Heller Estate, certified it organic in 1996, and their winemaker Richard Tanguay made some of the first organic wines in the valley. After the Hellers died a month apart in 2017, Bill Massa bought the 998 acre estate for his wife Laurie in January 2018 and handed both the winemaking and the fruit brokering to Ian Brand. In 2025 the family sold to an undisclosed buyer, reportedly the owner of a New Jersey commercial construction company, and the vineyard's direction under new ownership is unresolved.
The Site
Between 88 and 92 acres are planted in the remote Cachagua fold of upper Carmel Valley, Monterey County, at roughly 1,200 to 1,500 feet on Arroyo Seco series gravelly sandy loam. The vineyard sits above the fog that cools the lower valley, so days run hot and nights cold, with swings of as much as 40 degrees in 24 hours. Farming is organic and essentially dry: the vines root deep toward the underground springs that vein the property rather than drink from a drip line.
Vines and Blocks
The original Cabernet Sauvignon is own-rooted Mirassou massale wood, and about three acres of Chenin Blanc date from the same first plantings. A second Cabernet block went in during the 1980s from the same Mirassou selection and Merlot followed in the 1990s; Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Petit Verdot, Petite Sirah, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and a small parcel of Riesling complete the roster.
The Wines
Ian Brand made the estate wines and placed the fruit with a roster few old vineyards can match. Arnot-Roberts bottles the Cabernet and the Merlot; Bedrock, Maître de Chai, Desire Lines, Broc Cellars, Outward and I. Brand & Family have all made Massa Cabernet, wines that mostly hold to the old Durney model: structured, higher in acid than Napa Valley and built for the cellar. The three acres of Chenin Blanc may be the most contested white grapes in Monterey County, bottled by Jaimee Motley, Margins, Broc, Common Thread and I. Brand & Family, with Ryme and Rajat Parr among those who have queued for fruit. Desire Lines takes the Riesling, and by the winery's account its 2022 was the first Kabinett-style Riesling bottled in California.