2023 Le Clos du Caillou Cotes-du-Rhone Cuvee Unique France

2023 Le Clos du Caillou Cotes-du-Rhone Cuvee Unique France

with No Comment $30 and underCotes du RhoneFranceKevin VogtRhone ValleyRhone Valley

Le Clos du Caillou

Côtes-du-Rhône
Cuvée Unique Vieilles Vignes
Rhône Valley, France 2023

2023 Le Clos du Caillou Cotes-du-Rhone Cuvee Unique France

Le Clos de Caillou’s 2023 Cuvée Unique emerges from a domaine synonymous with perfection, revealing that excellence is measured not by appellation but by the integrity of its terroir and the hands that bring it to life. With ‘Cuvée Unique,’ the estate channels its mastery into a red of remarkable elegance, offered at a fraction of its more famous counterparts.

Its tale is as compelling as its character. In 1936, surveyors seeking to include Le Clos de Caillou in the Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC faced armed opposition, leaving an enigmatic void on the map that persists to this day. Only in the 1950s did vines take root, allowing this singular terroir nestled within the heart of Châteauneuf-du-Pape to flourish under the Côtes-du-Rhône banner.

The 2023′ Cuvée Unique’ is a symphonic blend of 70% Grenache, harmonized with Syrah, Carignan, and Counoise, drawn from vines rooted in ancient, mineral-rich soils. In it, there’s a quiet power and earnest confidence. For lovers of Rhône wines, this is not just a hidden gem but a compelling testament to place, heritage, and vision.

Le Clos du Caillou
Côtes-du-Rhône
Cuvée Unique Vieilles Vignes
Rhône Valley, France 2023

Your Price: $29.99

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“The 2023 Le Clos du Caillou Côtes du Rhône Vieilles Vignes Cuvée Unique is a strong performer from this appellation, reflecting a vintage of balance and consistency. It combines elegance with freshness and moderate ripeness, avoiding excess weight or overextraction. The nose opens with clear notes of pomegranate, backed by iron minerals, violets, and a touch of scorched earth that adds complexity without heaviness. On the palate, it delivers fresh cranberries and spicy minerals, integrated with vibrant, fresh, and penetrating red fruits. The acidity provides lift and focus, supporting a medium-bodied structure that feels precise and well-proportioned. Tannins are fine-grained, contributing to a clean, persistent finish. This is a versatile Côtes du Rhône that drinks well now, or that will age gracefully for 5-10 years, gaining further nuance. A standout value at this level.”

95 points

2018 Domaine Santa Duc Gigondas Aux Lieux-Dits

2018 Domaine Santa Duc Gigondas Aux Lieux-Dits

with No Comment $30-$40Cotes du RhoneFranceKevin VogtRhone ValleyRhone Valley

DOMAINE SANTA DUC

2018 GIGONDAS
AUX LIEUX-DITS

2018 Domaine Santa Duc Gigondas Aux Lieux-Dits
Domaine Santa Duc embodies the cumulative knowledge, heart, and experiences of six generations, each contributing to the wine’s signature, becoming a permanent part of their evolving story. Aux Lieux-Dits is a blend of eight unique parcels of Grenache, Mourvèdre, Syrah, and Cinsault, farmed biodynamically, bringing out the purest essence of Gigondas terroir.
 
Meticulous in every aspect of production, Domaine Santa Duc’s team handpicks and hand-sorts the grapes, feeding them into stainless-steel thermoregulated vats by gravity, ensuring the quality of each berry remains intact. Aging takes place in 3600-liter Stockinger oak foudres and 800-liter terra-cotta amphorae, emphasizing the wine’s fruit and spice characteristics, creating an ethereal mouthfeel and tantalizing finish that’s profoundly memorable, vastly overdelivering at this value price.
 
DOMAINE SANTA DUC
2018 GIGONDAS
AUX LIEUX-DITS
 
Your Price: $39.99
 
 
“….Black-cherry and mulberry flavors are ripe but briskly balanced by a dazzling mineral freshness and salty, chalky finish. Fruity yet shaded by subtle kisses of charcuterie and dried earth, it’s a complex, hedonistic wine that’s at peak now through 2030. Made from organic and biodynamic grapes.”
94 Points
 
“Discreetly floral with blueberry and liquorice – rounded and juicy. A discrete style of wine, but it’s well balanced and has a sense of drinkability. There’s a nice sense of tannic finesse and it has good sense of direction and focus. Firm and well balanced, without excesses. Eight different plots around Gigondas, biodynamically farmed, partly destemmed. Drinking Window 2021 – 2027.”
94 Points
 
“Ripe but understated style, with a mix of Damson plum, black cherry and blackberry fruit flavors mixed with wood spice and black tea notes. Stylish, pure finish. Drink now through 2033…”
93 Points
2018 Saint-Galet Chateauneuf-Du-Pape

2018 Saint-Galet Chateauneuf-Du-Pape

with No Comment $30-$40Cotes du RhoneFranceKevin Vogt

SAINT-GALET 

CHATEAUNEUF-DU-PAPE
2018 VINTAGE

2018 Saint-Galet Chateauneuf-Du-Pape
Venerated for marrying power and grace, Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines are the pinnacle of the Southern Rhone Valley, envied for their fruit intensity and garrigue, a French term referring to a savory mix of lavender, juniper, thyme, rosemary, and sage. Their nobility, supreme quality, and scarcity result in prices that start around $50 and climb to over a thousand per bottle. How did we find one for $32? This wine is the direct result of France’s restaurant shutdowns, and fueled by a pause on tariffs, we seized this opportunity.  
 
Eric Bonnet blended this wine, and he is the winemaker at La Bastide Saint Dominique. This Saint-Galet Chateauneuf-du-Pape bursts with black raspberry, dark plum, and new leather, offering supreme balance, energy, and classic garrigue. 
 
Aged in a combination of stainless steel tanks and French oak to best highlight the fruit, this wine reflects the elegance of the 2018 vintage. The Wine Spectator’s Vintage report sights, “Reds are supple and velvety, low in acid, offering flattering, forward fruit.”
 
SAINT-GALET 
CHATEAUNEUF-DU-PAPE
2018 VINTAGE
 
Your Price: $32
 
 
“The nose has an alluring blend of pie cherries, savory fresh herbs, cold smoked meat, violets, and hints of spearmint. On the palate it is rich, supple, and penetrating with a complex blend of black raspberries, Burgundy plums, red currants, kitchen spices, crushed minerals, and a rustic elegance. The finish is smooth and supple, but with enough mouth-quenching acidity to keep it lively and long. I love wines like this because they are a wonderful break from my everyday routine.” 
93 Points
2017 Clos Du Caillou Cotes Du Rhone Cuvee Unique VV

2017 Clos Du Caillou Cotes Du Rhone Cuvee Unique VV

with No Comment $30 and underCotes du RhoneFranceKevin VogtRhone ValleyRhone Valley

CLOS Du CAILLOU

2017 COTES Du RHONE
CUVEE UNIQUE VV

2017 Clos Du Caillou Cotes Du Rhone Cuvee Unique VV
Clos du Caillou is a top producer of Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines, who at their core are stewards of their land. They’ve practiced biodynamic viticulture since the early 2000’s, and they were certified organic in 2010. Interestingly, their Old Vine Cotes-du-Rhone comes from a parcel walled by renowned Châteauneuf-du-Pape vineyards. It was intentionally left out of the appellation by the owner, following a bureaucratic spat back in 1936. It’s truly one of the best Cotes-du-Rhone wines made.
 
The winery forged Clos du Caillou’s old-vine Cotes-du-Rhone Cuvée Unique from 45-year-old vines grown in sandy soils, which lends to the silky elegance and fine-grained texture that’s become a hallmark of their wines.
 
The 2017 vintage harmoniously married 82% Grenache with 18% Syrah and was kept for 16 months in Oak. The wine offers supple yet compact fruit that spans black cherry, wild lavender, hints of wild game, and a touch of spices on the palate.
 
CLOS Du CAILLOU
2017 COTES Du RHONE
CUVEE UNIQUE VV
 
Your Price: $29.99
 
 
“This classically built wine begins with a complex nose including red cherries, baking spices, minerally iron, and sweet violets. The concentrated flavors carry red plums, kirsch, red currants, and earthy mushrooms to a delightfully long finish on the palate. This wine is a stunning value in every vintage, and one that almost everybody who tastes it loves.”
92 Points
2016 Clos Du Caillou 'Cotes Du Rhone" Cuvee Unique VV

2016 Clos Du Caillou ‘Cotes du Rhone’ Cuvee Unique VV

with No Comment $30 and underCotes du RhoneFranceKevin VogtRhone ValleyRhone ValleyUncategorized

CLOS Du CAILLOU

2016 COTES Du RHONE
CUVEE UNIQUE VV

2016 Clos Du Caillou 'Cotes Du Rhone" Cuvee Unique VV
When searching for the greatest value in wine, it pays to look at any winery that’s capable of producing 100 Point scores.  Le Clos du Caillou is a paragon producer of Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines and they make hundred-pointers look easy.  Their Old Vine Cotes-du-Rhone is a stunning value and comes from a parcel that’s completely walled by renowned Châteauneuf-du-Pape vineyards.  It’s predominantly old-vine Grenache, accentuated with Syrah and Carignon and the 2016 leaps from the glass with a palate energizing perfume of sweet raspberries, dried cherry, lavender and a touch of spices… At under thirty per bottle, it’s one of the highest quality, complex gems out there…
 
It’s created from vines averaging over 45 years old, which are grown in quartz river stones, clay and sand. If you love classic Cotes du Rhone wines, or would like to experience a wonderful expression from this renowned region, this is one of the best, at a fantastic price.  The 2016 is bright, loaded with minerals and offers vivid red fruits, toasted spices, and wild rose.  Robert Parker’s review below is on their lower tier Cotes du Rhone, not the VV (old vines) which is even better… Trust me on this one… You’ll be glad you did.
 
CLOS Du CAILLOU
2016 COTES Du RHONE
CUVEE UNIQUE VV
 
Your Price: $29.99/btl
 
Robert Parker’s Review on the Regular Cotes to Rhone (The VV is Even Better)…  “The estate’s entry-level wine, the 2016 Cotes du Rhone Le Caillou is a stunning value, offering gluggable cherry and blueberry fruit, ample weight and a velvety texture. This Grenache-dominated blend should drink well for the next 5 years.” 90 Points 
 
Customers that enjoy Le Clos du Caillou Cotes du Rhone VV may also enjoy these two terrific French Reds…
2014 Lavau Gigondas
 2013 Paul Jaboulet Aine Gigondas
LAVAU
2014 GIGONDAS
RHONE VALLEY, FRANCE
 
Your Price: $29.99/btl

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From Vinous: “Youthful violet. Aromas of fresh black and blue fruits are complemented by suggestions of peppery spices and pungent flowers. Sweet and open-knit, offering jammy blueberry and cherry compote flavors that tighten up slowly in the glass. Finishes smoky and long, with harmonious tannins coming in late.” 90 Points
PAUL JABOULET AINÉ
2013 GIGONDAS
PIERRE AIGUILLE
 
Your Price: $27.99/btl

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From Vinous: “Limpid ruby. Perfumed aromas of ripe red berries, peppery spices and potpourri, complicated by a woodsmoke nuance. Silky, expansive and gently sweet, offering concentrated raspberry liqueur and lavender pastille flavors and an allspice quality that builds on the back half. Finishes sweet, sappy and persistent, with firming fine-grained tannins adding grip.“ 90 Points