2016 Le Clos du Caillou Cotes du Rhone Rouge Vieilles Vignes Cuvee Unique 750 ml

Châteauneuf-du-Pape in a Côtes du Rhône Disguise

This wine would cost $95 instead of $26 if the estate was 1 mile to the west. The 2016 Le Clos du Caillou is a generous and juicy, aromatically complex Côtes du Rhône that is rich in the hallmarks of the southern Rhône’s finest wines: licorice, leather, and olives, with savory herbs and cured meat notes. Which leads us to why this French red punches so far above its price point: It’s a Châteauneuf-du-Pape wearing Côtes du Rhône clothing.

In fact, the Wine Access team has already claimed five cases of this wine since it landed stateside.

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—they had no interest in winemaking. In 1936, when government experts dropped by to survey the land for inclusion within the new Châteauneuf-du-Pape designation, the visitors were not welcomed warmly, but confronted with drawn shotguns. They retreated and drew a blank on their maps.

To this day, the relatively uniform Châteauneuf-du-Pape zone has a conspicuous bite taken out of its east side, a declassified parcel nearly as famous as the appellation that surrounds it. and it comes from a southern Rhône vintage that is causing massive excitement. Global Rhône authority Jeb Dunnuck praised 2016, saying “readers should buy with abandon.”

Those who look beyond the label know that the legendary Châteauneuf-du-Pape terroir is evident in the Clos du Caillou Côtes du Rhône bottlings, which are marked with effortless power, concentrated intensity, and layered fruit. The 2016 vintage—which Vinous says resulted in “exuberant ripe fruit, harmonious tannins and an overall impression of generosity and lushness”—boosted the Caillou even further.

Due to its proximity to some of the most spectacular Châteauneuf terroirs, Le Clos du Caillou is one of the best-performing Côtes du Rhône bottlings year in and year out, and a year like 2016, the result is something special: A red-fruited blockbuster with gorgeous spice and white pepper aromatics and savory Southern Rhône complexity.

Consisting of ripe Grenache and a splash of Mourvèdre, the 2016 Cuvée Unique hails from vines that average 45 years of age, planted in clay and sand soils that boast the same iconic galets roulés—large, round river stones—as the vineyards of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Hand-harvested and fermented with native yeast, the wine spends a year in used foudres and stainless steel tanks, before being bottled unfined and unfiltered.

If those surveyors hadn’t been turned away 80 years ago, this wine would be labeled Châteauneuf-du-Pape and sell for twice the price. But history is on your side. Stock up.