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Le Clos du Caillou Chateauneuf-du-Pape La Reserve 2018 - First Bottle

Technical Details

Blend	50% Grenache, 50% Mourvedre
Country	France
Region	Rhone
Appellation	Chateauneuf-du-Pape
Alcohol	14.5

Le Clos du Caillou Chateauneuf-du-Pape La Reserve 2018

Rhone Blends | France

JL98, VN96-98, JD97, WA97, WS94

$144.95 $200.00 - 750mL

One of our favorite CdP producers, Le Clos du Caillou’s rare Reserve is the ultimate silky, refined, gorgeous expressions of old-vine Grenache. A beatiful new label adornes this iconic wine this year too, Organic, and biodynamic. VERY old-vines. Very little made and in this vintage a beautiful Mourvedre heavy blend (more than 50%!) gives this wine so much density and power. A cellar treasure to gaze at for a few years before popping it and reveling in the sheer fruit intensity and layered complexity of this mind-blowing wine!!! We might mention that we bought the last of this from the importer before the new round of tariffs on French wine hit in early January, what does that mean? This price of this wine moving forward will be substantially higher so lock up this final pre-tariff parcel at this incredible price!

Clos du Caillou continues to be red hot in the rare and fine wine market --- picking these up on release is ALWAYS advised. You can read the mouth-watering review below, but whatever amount of bottles you decide on...do it quick! The Clos du Caillou was founded in 1895 when Elie Dussaud settled there and created an old cellar. In 1996, Sylvie Vacheron and her husband, Jean-Denis Vacheron, decided to leave Sancerre terroirs for a huge challenge: take over the vineyard Le Clos du Caillou and produce great wines, and they have done just that. Read the reviews below, but not too long...we have very little to go around!

Technical Details

Blend	50% Grenache, 50% Mourvedre
Country	France
Region	Rhone
Appellation	Chateauneuf-du-Pape
Alcohol	14.5%

About The Producer

The Clos du Caillou was founded in 1895 when Elie Dussaud settled there and created an old cellar. It started as a hunting preserve and this history ironically led to its exclusion from the Chateauneuf-du-Pape appellation upon its creation in the 1930's. IN 1996, Sylvie Vacheron and her husband, Jean-Denis Vacheron, decided to leave Sancerre terroirs for a huge challenge : take over the vineyard Le Clos du Caillou and produce great wines. Jean-Denis has very high ambition for the vineyard. He is determined to produce wines that suits him, free of any diktat. He like the finesse, the elegance, the Burgundy style.

Reviews

Jeff Leve: The Wine Cellar Insider
Rich, deep, meaty, peppery, powerful and packed with dark red berries, spice and herbs. One of the densest wines of the vintage, due to the preponderance of Mourvedre in the blend, this full-bodied, concentrated wine is in contention for the wine of the vintage.

96-98

Vinous
Limpid ruby-red. An assertively perfumed, expansive bouquet evokes ripe red berries, cherry preserves, exotic spices and incense, with bright floral and mineral nuances emerging as the wine opens up. Utterly stains the palate with sweet raspberry preserve, cherry pie, allspice, candied licorice and lavender flavors that suavely convey both power and finesse. Smooth, harmonious tannins build very slowly through the floral- and spice-dominated finish which shows absolutely no rough edges. This wine is shaping up to be monumental. (aged in demi-muids for 18 months)

Jeb Dunnuck
The flagship is the 2018 Châteauneuf Du Pape La Réserve and it’s an even split of Grenache and Mourvèdre that was all destemmed and was brought up mostly in demi-muids (there was a small part in larger, clay amphora. Slightly deeper hued than the Les Quartz, it has a Mourvèdre dominated bouquet of red and black berry fruits, loads of spice and dried garrigue, graphite, and a hint of mint. With full-bodied richness on the palate, it has an incredible sense of purity and finesse in its tannins and texture, flawless balance, and a great, great finish. I’d put this in the top handful of wines in the vintage and while it’s approachable today, it’s going to benefit from 4-5 years of bottle age and keep for two decades.

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Hints of cedar and vanilla appear on the nose of the 2018 Chateauneuf du Pape La Reserve, which is aged in demi-muids (20% new), adding a human-derived aspect to the mouthwatering notes of cherries and raspberries. It's full-bodied, silky and even almost lacy in texture, delivering intense pleasure on the palate without excess weight, then lingering on the finish, where the red-fruit flavors come to the fore, practically vibrating in intensity. Because of the effects of mildew on the Grenache, this vintage is just over 50% Mourvèdre.

Wine Spectator
Ripe and silky in feel, with waves of creamed plum, blackberry and cherry fruit gliding along, while licorice snap, rooibos tea and incense notes weave through. Offers nice persistence on the finish. Grenache and Syrah. Best from 2021 through 2033. 295 cases made, 60 cases imported.