2023 Le Clos du Caillou "Le Caillou" Ctes du Rhne, Rhone Valley, France

ABOUT THIS WINE

Hand-picking with sorting in the vineyard and then in cellar. 80% destemming (20% wholes clusters) and vinification in concrete and stainless-steel tanks with wild yeasts. Start of the harvests on 11th September for the Syrah, on 20 st September for the Grenache and Cinsault, and on 30th September for the Mourvdre. AGEING: In concrete tanks for 4 months.80% Grenache 10% Syrah 5% Mourvdre 5% Cinsault.

ABOUT THIS PRODUCER

The Clos du Caillou winery was founded in 1895 when lie Dussaud settled there and created an old cellar. The land was originally used as a hunting preserve and ironically this history led to its exclusion from the Chteauneuf-du-Pape appellation upon its creation in the 1930s. When the government experts arrived at the Clos in 1936 to survey the land for its inclusion in the new appellation, they were met with armed caretakers telling them they were not welcome! This is the reason for the seemingly inexplicable blank spot in the Chteauneuf-du-Pape appellation map. Clos du Caillou gives us some of the most spectacular terroir classified as simply Ctes-du-Rhne, and the wines which hail from this clos are anything but simple in their complexity and depth.

In 1955, Paul Pouizin acquired the Clos, quickly realizing the amazing terroir that lay in this forested hunting preserve, he set about clearing portions of the land and planting vines. Today, his daughter, Sylvie Vacheron, manages the estate with her winemaker Bruno Gaspard.