Le Clos du Caillou Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Quartz 2020

	Mostly old sticks of grenache with a small part of syrah
	Ripe, sultry, grenache-driven style
	Serious storage potential

Les Quartz from Châteauneuf du Pape

"A brilliant, age-worthy Châteauneuf du Pape that's loaded with Provencal charm and character!" — Jeb Dunnuck, February 2020

The wines of Clos de Caillou are characterized by a striking freshness for a region as warm as the southern Rhône. This is mainly due to the sandy soils on which the grapes are planted. For lovers of a sultry Rhône style, however, Les Quartz is the wine. Still refined, but in a very ripe, fruity style.

Les Quartz is mainly made of grenache from old sticks, with a small part of syrah. Where syrah provides structure and pepperiness, it is the grenache that provides sultry, ripe fruit and a full body. The grenache is also planted on a sandy soil covered with 'galets'. These are the typical flat round quartz stones that you see a lot in the southern Rhône. During the day, these stones store solar heat, which they then release at night. This ensures optimum ripeness of the grapes, and gives the wine richness and storage potential.

The grapes are harvested by hand and carefully selected. Then the grapes fermented together in a special conical wooden barrel, with the help of yeasts present on the grapes. The wine then matures for fourteen months on demi-muids (600L barrels), half new, half used.

The end result is more than impressive. This Châteauneuf is sensual, opulent, rich, powerful and complex. Add to that a serious aging potential of at least ten years, and we couldn't see why you shouldn't put a box of this wine in the cellar.