Wines from Le Clos du Caillou are Rhône blends at their most intense. Concentrated and richly textured, these older-vine wines capture the spice and silk of old-vine Grenache grown on the region’s finest terroirs. Each wine reflects the native perfumes of the south, the “garrigue” blend of thyme, rosemary and lavender that grows wild among the estate’s vines.
Of all the terroir in the Côtes du Rhône appellation, the “clos” of Caillou has to be one of the most exceptional. Completely surrounded by Châteauneuf-du-Pape vineyards, this walled parcel of land was intentionally left out of the appellation by the owner, following a bureaucratic spat back in 1936. What this means today is that Caillou’s Côtes du Rhône wines are the qualitatively the same, with regard to terroir and exposition, as top Châteauneuf wines.
The estate in Courthézon, in the northeastern part of the Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation, boasts a mix of terroirs with a predominance of sand, which gives Caillou wines their silky elegance and fine-grained texture. The estate has been practicing biodynamic viticulture since 2003, and was certified organic as of 2010.
Grapes are harvested by hand and manually sorted in both the fields and at the cellar, then partially destemmed and fermented on indigenous yeasts in cement tanks. Wines are aged in a combination of large foudre, demi-muid and barrel, depending on the wine and the vintage, for approximately 15 to 18 months in the estate’s cool underground cellars, and are bottled unfined and unfiltered.
This wine has a pretty shiny yellow topaz color with bright reflections. On the nose, aromas of white flesh fruits and white flowers including delicate Mirabelle prune blossoms. The mouth is full and creamy with a nice long finish.
Current Vintage: 2020 CSPC: 802844
Brilliant colour of Cavaillon melon flesh. The nose is intensely fragrant with exotic fruit aromas, Antilles banana accompanied by notes of grapefruit. The mouth is creamy and tonic, insinuating white flesh fruits and peach, with a long elegant finish.
Current Vintage: 2021 CSPC: 802681
Deep purple color with Rubis reflections. A delicate nose of red fruits, blackberry, gooseberry, and Pyrenees cherry. The mouth is unctuous, dynamic with nice tannins accompanied by notes of cherries and blackcurrant jam. A fresh finish.
Current Vintage: 2021 CSPC: 802680
Andrinople red color with Carmine reflections. The nose is magnificent with aromas of forest fruits, dominated by wild blackberry and raspberry, all accompanied by spicy notes of wild badiane and thyme in bloom. The mouth is complex with a superb length, dominated by notes of liquorice and violet.
Current Vintage: 2018 CSPC: 808386
Brilliant garnet red color with purple highlites. Beautiful nose dominated by wild red fruits combined with spicy notes of badiana, cardamom and Indian curry. Opening to seductive aromas of liquorice and black plum cream. The mouth is all finesse and elegance on very silky tannins.
Current Vintage: 2018 CSPC: 8026853
Beautiful deep Bismarck red color with Vermeil reflections. The nose is expressive with complex aromas of orange peel and wood strawberries. The palate is dense with silky tannins where we find notes of dark fruit compote associated with cloves, black pepper, Sichuan berries and Bourbon vanilla.
Current Vintage: 2019 CSPC: 775354
Deep Cardinal red color with Garnet reflections. The nose is beautiful with delicate aromas of plum and raspberry coulis. The mouth is superb, creamy and dynamic with notes of fresh fruit compote, wild blackberry, wild strawberry, and blueberry all accompanied by some spicy notes of Malaysia curry.
Current Vintage: 2019 CSPC: 775353
