2015 Domaine Le Clos des Cazaux Vacqueyras Cuvee des Templiers 750 ml

Bottled Rhône Sunshine

You’ve heard about the show-stopping 2015 vintage in the southern Rhône—and the 2015 Domaine Le Clos des Cazaux is your chance to discover its sun-drenched pleasures firsthand. “This beauty is just more evidence for how good 2015 was for Vacqueyras,” wrote Jeb Dunnuck, praising the “outstanding notes of blackcurrants, thyme, leafy herbs and hints of pepper.” Decanter gave the Templiers 92 points, lauding an effort that “rocks with energy.” A flawless growing season coerced fine, black-fruited berries out of Domaine Le Clos des Cazaux’s 50-year-old Syrah vines, making for a silky soft red that thrills from the first sip. With autumn just around the corner, this gorgeous Vacqueyras from a Rhône vintage rated as “outstanding” by Wine Advocate will keep the sun shining for any Rhône lover—at just $24.99 on 12 or more bottles. Shipping included on 4.

The Vache family of Domaine Le Clos des Cazaux has a history that goes back to the very founding of the village of Vacqueyras, and their domaine reaches back to even further: to the 12th century when the property was owned by the Knights Templar, the historical order that lends this cuvée its name. In the 19th century, the family planted vines in their poorest soils of the property for the purpose of making wines for their own consumption. Eventually, their ancestor Gabriel Archimbaud became the first man to sell wine labeled with the Vacqueyras name. In the ensuing decades, the village became increasingly known for its full-bodied and rich wines, and in 1956—when frosts wiped out nearly all the olive and fruit trees—wine became the village’s sole focus.

Perhaps it should have been all along: The land wasn’t great for fertile crops but was practically custom-designed for the cultivation of Syrah, and the vines took to the “sun traps” on the east-facing slopes, where their roots settled deep into the low-vigor clay soil. The plants grown there yield few clusters, but those that do develop enjoy a wide diurnal swing: their sugars rise with the heat of the sun, and when cool night falls, invigorating acids develop. Intimately acquainted with the terroir, the Vache family treats the vines with the greatest respect, performing the fieldwork by hand. Vinification is simple: the wines are aged in stainless steel, then concrete, and are not fined or filtered.

In the Southern Rhône, the abundant sun of the 2015 vintage ripened grapes beautifully, and the heat was tempered by cool summer nights and timely rains. Harvest occurred under bucolic conditions. 2015 was truly a tide that lifted all boats in the region, but the season may have been extra kind to Vacqueyras: “If anything could go wrong for Vacqueyras,” wrote Vinous in their Rhône vintage report, “it didn’t.”

They called it a “picture-perfect growing season” whose wines “provide plenty of drinking pleasure, both for those who enjoy drinking southern Rhône wines on the young side for their fruit and for patient collectors as well.” In other words, whether you are an early drinker or are looking for something to cellar for a few years, this vintage is for you. In the 2015 Domaine Le Clos des Cazaux Vacqueyras, a perfect vintage shines brightly.