2017 Le Clos du Caillou Côtes du Rhône Rouge Vieilles Vignes Cuvee Unique is sold out.

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Châteauneuf-du-Pape Quality at a Côtes du Rhône Price

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    2017 Le Clos du Caillou Côtes du Rhône Rouge Vieilles Vignes Cuvee Unique 750 ml

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    • Curated by unrivaled experts
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    • Temperature controlled shipping options
    • Get credited back if a wine fails to impress

    Marvelous Châteauneuf-du-Pape Quality at a Côtes du Rhône Price

    You won’t find Le Clos du Caillou on a map of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. It’s not an error. In 1895, the château launched as a hunting club with no interest in winemaking. When government experts dropped by to survey the land, they identified it as having the same hallowed terroir as Châteauneuf-du-Pape, and intended to include it in the appellation. However, they were greeted with drawn shotguns, and Clos du Caillou was never included. 

    As a result, the Clos du Caillou Cuvée Unique is one of the best Rhône values on the market because it’s a Côtes du Rhône in name only: the white label conceals a secret identity as a bottling of top Châteauneuf-du-Pape lineage. That’s the reason why a bottle that drinks like the nearby Château Rayas can be had today for just $26.00 in a truly special deal.

    The Châteauneuf-du-Pape terroir is immediately evident in the 2017 Le Clos du Caillou Côtes du Rhône Vieilles Vignes Cuvée Unique with its effortless power, concentrated intensity, and layered fruit. Hit “Buy” and delight in this ‘should be Châteauneuf” remarkable value, and dare we say, gulpable—old-vine Rhône red.   

    A limited-production blend, the Cuvée Unique is crafted from 45-year-old vines that deliver thrilling power and concentration, while clay and sand soils interspersed with galets and painstaking vinification lend it a light-footed grace and elegance. 

    Robert Parker has called Le Clos du Caillou a “fabulous estate” that produces “a bevy of Côte du Rhônes that are as good as many producers’ Châteauneuf-du-Papes.” The critic adds: “Bargain hunters should stockpile these superb Côte du Rhônes.”

    The domaine was purchased by the Pouizin family in 1955, inaugurating a new era of excellence. Under Sylvie Vacheron and winemaker Bruno Gaspard, the domaine has become a reference point for the region.

    Consisting of ripe Grenache and a splash of Syrah, the 2017 Cuvée Unique is hand-harvested and fermented with native yeast and spends over a year in used foudres and stainless steel tanks. The result is a generous and juicy, aromatically complex wine that is rich in the hallmarks of the Southern Rhône’s finest wines: licorice, leather, and olives, with savory herbs and cured meat notes. If not for a historical anomaly, this wine would be labeled Châteauneuf-du-Pape and sell for twice the price. But in a boon for your wallet, today history is on your side