2017 Le Clos du Caillou Chateauneuf-du-Pape Les Safres 750 ml

Our Rhône collector pal always attempts to hide the Clos du Caillou from us every time we come over. We “feel bad” opening such a low-yielding (aka rare) Châteaneuf-du-Pape treasure, but we also can’t get enough of the producer’s trademark balanced refinement that also delivers the power and depth that’s so unique to the Southern Rhône. Especially in a great vintage like 2017, when Rhône expert Jeb Dunnuck said the estate’s Les Safres “shows the sunny, sexy style of the vintage.” 

After all, “seamless, sensational” double 94-point Châteauneuf-du-Pape that “shines on all accounts” from a producer the Wine Advocate calls “always one of [its] most-anticipated visits” doesn’t usually come in a $50 package. Not least a rare bottling like 2017 Le Clos du Caillou Les Safres, named for the very terroir that put neighboring legend Château Rayas on the map. When you consider the aggregated critical score for the average bottle of Rayas (also 94 points) and its relative price ($900+), it’s easy to understand why shrewd Châteauneuf collectors secure Caillou by the case—on the rare occasions when it’s actually available.

Ripe red berry and blackberry aromas draw you in, while a deeper inhale reveals a delicate but intoxicating bass note of incense and white pepper. The dense palate unfolds with raspberry, pepper, and anise, accented with a floral lift. Lush, silky, and driven by a mineral verve on the finish, 2017 Les Safres is already fresh and approachable, but could probably have also kept that Rayas company in our friend’s cellar for 15 to 20 years. Luckily, it was so good that night, he didn’t seem to mind.

Les Safres is named for the compacted sand that characterizes the terroir of Clos du Caillou’s Les Bédines vineyard—just north of Château Rayas’s similarly endowed Grenache fields. Flecked with marl and quartz, these unique soils impart a silky delicacy to Caillou’s Grenache, which is made all the more complex by its extremely low-yielding 60-70 year-old vines.

The property, which dates back to 1895, was not originally valued for its well-draining sandy soils but for its surrounding forests, back when the estate operated as a hunting lodge. In 1936, when the new governing body of the fledgling Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC approached Caillou’s owner with the intention of including his property in the designation, the officials were met with obstinate refusal and (literally) raised guns—he had no desire to join the governing ranks of anything, let alone a wine appellation. 

The end result can still be seen on today’s maps, in the carved-out chunk of Châteauneuf’s border, which—to this day—continues to be an “unclassified” section in what is otherwise some of the most prized vineyard land in the AOC. Caillou’s Les Safres bottling lies just within the Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC boundaries, but we get a kick out of the rebellious legacy of this estate every time we see that abrupt inlet on the appellation map. 

The transformation into one of Châteauneuf-du-Pape’s greatest domaines began in 1955 when Claude Pouizin acquired the land, recognizing its superb vinicultural potential, and planted vines, making Clos du Caillou a household name for premier Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Today, Pouizin’s youngest daughter Sylvie carries on his brilliant legacy at Clos du Caillou with the help of leading winemaker Bruno Gaspard and the Rhône’s most legendary consultant (and former rugby star) Philippe Cambie, a Robert Parker Oenologist of the Year recipient.