Clos du Caillou

The history of the winery

Originally, at the end of the 19th century, the clos was a hunting reserve, on which the engineer Elie Dussaud decided to build a building. He also wanted to supply the town of Courthézon with water. This great wine enthusiast took advantage of this work to create galleries to house his wines.
The Châteauneuf du Pape appellation was delimited in 1936, but the reserve's hunters refused to allow the estate to be classified. From then on, the land was enclosed within the appellation, but without becoming part of it.
In 1955, the Pouizin family bought the property and decided to start a winegrowing activity, replacing the woods with vines. In 1970, the first Clos du Caillou cuvées were produced. By 1980, exports had begun to the United States and the whole of Europe. The estate's reputation has grown ever since.
The estate is still run by the family. Sylvie Vaucheron has been running the Clos since 1996, assisted today by her children. With her husband Jean Denis, she had begun a conversion to organic viticulture. Unfortunately, he died in a car accident, and the estate never obtained certification. The estate is now developing biodynamic viticulture practices.

The estate

With 9 hectares in the Châteauneuf du Pape appellation and 44 in Côtes du Rhône, Clos du Caillou works with a parcel-by-parcel approach and cultivates several grape varieties. Red grapes include Mourvèdre, Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah, Carignan, Counoise and Vaccarèse. White grapes include Clairette, Roussanne, Bourboulenc and Grenache Blanc.
Three main terroirs stand out, with soils consisting of pebbles, cassenets and garrigue. There are also varied subsoils with marl, sandy subsoils, pebbles and marine molasse. The soils are well drained, and the Mistral wind, combined with the sunny southern climate, provides optimal growing conditions for the vines.

Committed viticultural practices

Harvesting is carried out by hand, with strict sorting to preserve only the highest quality berries. Human intervention during vinification is kept to a minimum, and the wine is then aged in French oak barrels for 12 to 18 months, depending on the vintage.

The wines

Les quartz 2018 is a particularly successful cuvée. This is an organic Côte du Rhône from the Quartz terroir, composed of rolled pebbles. The nose is aromatic with notes of tapenade and red fruit, and the palate offers a palette composed of gourmet notes of blackcurrant, licorice cream and candied cherry.

Les safres 2019 is an intense, silky, gourmet red Châteauneuf du Pape. Made with Mourvèdre, Grenache, Cinsault and Vaccarèse grapes, it offers a nose with subtle notes of strawberries and berries. On the palate, it's smooth and luscious, with flavors of redcurrant, licorice and spicy notes. A fresh, well-balanced wine with long-lasting aromas. A perfect match for a lamb tagine or a stewed meat dish.