Winemaker Notes
This wine has a pretty bright color with carmine red reflections. The nose is vibrant, marked by the minerality of the Quartz, bringing notes of silex and pencil lead. The flower of Syste is well present with black cherry aromas. The palate of Les Quartz is smooth, full-bodied, with flavors of black plum, licorice, cocoa beans and marmalade of black cherry. This wine combines power, generosity, freshness and elegance.
Pair with milk-fed veal with morels, duck brochette with quince, ribs marinated in orange and honey juice, with artichokes and royal couscous with 7 hours grilled lamb.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2019 Côtes Du Rhône Les Quartz offers more medium to full-bodied richness and depth as well as notable complexity in its red and black berry fruits, peppery herbs, game, and violet-like aromas and flavors. Cotes du Rhone doesn’t get much better, and this beauty is perfect for drinking over the coming 5-7 years or more.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2019 Cotes du Rhone Les Quartz smells like the sun-baked stones typical of the region, coated in herbal essences and then immersed in crushed black cherries. It's full-bodied and dark-fruited, expansive in the mouth, yet given structure by a dusting of coarse tannins. It looks to be another fine vintage for this cuvée.
Barrel Sample: 90-92 -
James Suckling
Although this has a full body that’s packed with black and blue-berry fruit, plus a slew of ripe-plum character, this Rhone red manages to have appealing crispness at the long finish. From organically grown grapes.
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Wine Spectator
Ripe, with a focused beam of cherry purée and red licorice framed by a subtle note of singed vanilla. Good length. Grenache and Syrah. Drink now.
—Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate
From robust Côtes-du-Rhône to memorable Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Clos du Caillou wines arguably represent some of the finest values 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. The estate’s Chateauneuf terroir borders the impressive domaines of Chateau Rayas and Beaucastel.
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 Chateauneuf-du-Pape.
In 1996 Jean-Denis Vacheron took full control of the viticulture and élévage at this estate. Under his stewardship, the wines of Caillou steadily gained stature, and today are benchmarks for the appellation. He understood that temperature-controlled fermentation and a cool, clean cellar are necessary to craft wines with refinement and true complexity.
With bold fruit flavors and accents of sweet spice, Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre form the base of the classic Rhône Red Blend, while Carignan, Cinsault and Counoise often come in to play. Though they originated from France’s southern Rhône Valley, with some creative interpretation, Rhône blends have also become popular in other countries. Somm Secret—Putting their own local spin on the Rhône Red Blend, those from Priorat often include Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. In California, it is not uncommon to see Petite Sirah make an appearance.
Typically thought of as a baby Chateâuneuf-du-Pape, the term Côtes du Rhône actually doesn’t merely apply to the flatter outskirts of the major southern Rhône appellations, it also includes the fringes of well-respected northern Rhône appellations. White wines can be produced under the appellation name, but very little is actually made.
The region offers some of the best values in France and even some first-rate and age-worthy reds. Red wine varieties include most of the Chateâuneuf-du-Pape varieties like Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre, Cinsault, and Counoise, as well as Carignan. White grapes grown include Grenache blanc, Roussanne and Viognier, among others.