Wine Advisor
Le Clos du Caillou, Chateauneuf Du Pape La Reserve 2022
View analysis
Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Stuart Pigott
This is powerful and full-bodied, and the red fruit and Damson plum aromas are really impressive. And behind all this ripeness is a serious tannin structure that gently builds in the long, moderately firm finish. Very good savory complexity at the end. From organically grown grapes. Drinkable now, but best from 2025.
Reviewed by: Joe Czerwinski
Another strong contender for the wine of the vintage, the 2022 Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Réserve is a monument in the making. Revealing a deep, concentrated bouquet of dark cherries, violet, lilac, flowers and Indian spices, it's full-bodied, dense and deep, with structured, refined tannins and a fleshy core of rich, vibrant fruit, all leading to a long, saline finish. Deeper and more concentrated than Les Quartz, it is composed of 60% Grenache Noir and 40% Mourvèdre, handpicked on October 15th, co-fermented and matured for 14 months in large barrels.
About the Producer
Our vineyard is rich of traditional red variety, such as Mourvèdre, Syrah, Cinsault, Carignan, Counoise and also some white variety: Viognier, Roussanne, Clairette, Bourboulenc, without forgetting the Grenache, native god red and white. Grounds are worked in the respect of the nature, by regular ploughing without weedkiller and without chemical produce, using only phytosanitary treatment of sulfur and copper in a lower quantity. Grapes are picked by hand and sorting at the vineyard. Grape varieties are vinified separately to respect their own character, aromas and originality. The red vinification is usually preceded by a cold maceration during few days. Pomp-over, punch-down and delestage are made during all the maceration (1 month to 40 days depending on the vintage and the cuvee). The alcoholic maceration start naturally by the wild yeast present on the grapes. We use stainless tanks for the vinification of the white and rose wine and wooden and cement tank for the vinification of the red. Red wines are then aged in foudres and in oak barrels during one year and more, in the underground cellar, built in the safres, with a natural temperature (13 to 15°C). Foudres and demi-muids composed the maturing cellar. Natural cultural practices at Le Clos du Caillou have been started with Claude Pouizin in 1950 : regular plough, organic compost. Since the early years of the vineyard, we put all our efforts to work in a natural way. Thats is why, Jean-Denis Vacheron started the organic agriculture when he arrived on the vineyard in 1996. We got the certification on 2010 vintage. To continue our philosophy, we engage in 2007 in biodynamic agriculture. It permits to produce qualitative grapes by improving the fertility of the soils. Today, it is of major importance to give back to the soils their total vitality. These practices permitted to give to our vines a new youth thanks to the use of horn-manure and silica preparations, sprayed in the vines while respecting the rythm of the cosmos and the nature cycle.
