CASE PRICE = $18.99 per bottle (add 12+ quantity to your basket)
About This Wine:Luscious and long yet very lively—this succulent white wine has both body and cut, with the aromatic intensity of a fine Condrieu and the juicy middle of a Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc. A bouquet of white and yellow roses mixes with warmed pine nuts on the perfect nose. The mouth is deep and sexy, coating the palate with suggestions of ripe Williams pears, apricots and acacia honey. A blend of 50% Grenache Blanc, 20% Clairette Rose, 20% Viognier and 5% Bourboulenc; Caillou's Grenache Blanc grows on sandy soils, which gives the wine its texture and mouth-coating persistence.
From robust Côtes-du-Rhône to memorable Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Clos du Caillou wines arguably represent some of the finest red blends in all of France. Proprietor Sylvie Vacheron and winemaker Bruno Gaspard are keeping the great work of the late Jean-Denis Vacheron alive with wines that are heady, robust and mouth-wateringly lush.
Caillou tends wonderfully old Grenache vines, some of which are 70 to 100 years old. With older Syrah and Mourvèdre added to the mix, it’s no wonder that Caillou wines are across the board impressive for their power, extract and deep minerality.
Yet many of the Vacheron-Pouizin family's old vines are classified, by a quirk of 1923 politics, Côtes-du-Rhône and Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages. It’s why our Côtes-du-Rhône barrel selections show surprisingly like its kin in Châteauneuf-du-Pape--as the terroir is, in both style and substance, the same as neighboring Châteauneuf-du-Pape vineyards.
- Caillou tends Grenache vines that are 75 to 100 years old; the domaine also has older Syrah and Mourvèdre vines as well.
- The domaine's Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc is 100% Roussanne.
- Caillou's Châteauneuf-du-Pape vineyards border impressive plots at Chateau Rayas and Beaucastel.
- Many of the Vacheron-Pouizin family's old vines are classified Côtes-du-Rhône and Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages, while the quality of the wines are more akin to Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
