Cailloux ‘les Quartz’ 01’-Pop, decant for sediment, pour back in. Deep, opaque, nice aromatics of gravely Raspberry, horse, Really ripe Strawberry and stone. Moderate acidity and somewhat monolithic. I thought maybe these wines would awake by now, but no. Second day the garrigue kicks up, Dark blueberry with that cotton candy nose that Grenache can get. Whiff of white flower with vanilla, it’s slowly opening up and I don’t think the second half of the bottle is going to see tomorrow. Really impressive underlying material, it just needs to shed all of it’s structure, this is not a ‘fruit forward’ CNP by any means.
I have, for the most part, sworn off CNP. I’ve grown tired of it, but every once in a while I get a bottle with all of those traits that made me obsessed with the region to begin with and this bottle was it.
I’m glad I have a few more, because this wine has another 10 yrs, easy.
I’ve had two bottles of the '00 in the past few months, and your note describes that one to a T, as well. This wine is just loaded with structure, and I think they must require at least 15 years to start strutting. Thanks for the note.
This seems to be about the first note I have seen that accurately describes the 2001 Caillou Quartz. I cracked a few of these early on and was really struck by how backward they were. I felt guilty at one point for having talked a friend and colleague into bringing one to dinner, so it showed so little. As you say, best to wait on these…
By the way, I think it should be 2001 Clos du Caillou les Quartz. There is another wine from Brunel called les Cailloux (but this one is far from long-lived, unlike the Quartz)…
You are correct on the Brunel (so much for writing notes late at night), but I would hesitate to label Bunel’s CNP as not being long lived.
Yes they are a bit more ‘oaky’ and fruit forward but they seem to add a ton of weight and grip with time.
A couple of years ago we opened a 90’ (regular cuvee) and it was so rich and thick it was unbelievable.
I was able to ask Brunel if the style had changed, with a shrug he said’ some people write my wines off, but give them 15 years and they will see.’
Yes, I figured that description of Brunel’s les Cailloux might get some response. My main experience has been with the 2000 and 2001, which showed great for a while, and then a number of bottles turned south. Anyway, I figured if they could not produce a wine in 2001 that was long lived (at least from what I had in the cellar), then they may have even changed styles a bit from the 1990s.
I’ve been basking in the glory of a 2001 Clos du Caillou ‘les Quartz’ [CNDP] the last couple of nights. This mostly grenache blend is 14.5% abv, medium/full bodied with great density / concentration but avoids any heaviness. The nose is full of Luxardo liqueur, wet slate, and roast peanuts. The orange edges suggest full maturity, but this holds up well after being open 36 hours. The palate is full, rich with berries and thyme, with clean red fruit and then fennel. Some sediment near the end. Really a superb example of aged Chateauneuf, from a reputed moderniste Vacheron. This bottle was purchased on/near release from Premier Cru (!) and as one can see from the pictures this was NOT via one of the usual US importers, North Berkeley, and looks like a grey market import by way of Denmark. At some point in the last week or so here, there were queries on the board about the merits of NB’s ‘cuvee unique’ or ‘cuvee special’. I think this is the first time I can think of having a chance to taste of ‘their’ portfolio, but from a different channel, although not side by side / simultaneously. This was from the era of the 80’s and 90’s when Premier Cru was playing a non scammy role in the market by bringing in wines for less than the ‘official’ importer. Anyways I got a kick out of seeing the back side label, as I had mostly stopped dealing with PC when voluptuous Darcy left around the 2005 era. The ‘les Quartz’ earns an easy solid A in my ledger, and might be even better. I suspect it’s on the downswing though, even though owners may still have 5-10 years of leeway there. Better to enjoy it while triumphant rather than fading. EDIT: note that to comply with the ‘Real Names Policy’ I clarified the subject line of this so its not confused with the Les Cailloux bottling of another producer.
The 1990 Les Caillou, CdP, is a fabulous wine, without doubt, one of the great efforts of 1990. I believe it is primarily grenache, full bodied with another 15+ years, properly cellared! Even better, is the 1990 Centenaire, clearly a 100 pointer+!!! Drinking fabulously!!!
My issue with Clos du Caillou is that the wines can be quite variable, nearly binary: when it’s on, it’s superb, when it’s off, it’s really off. I’ve had the variability issue with both the Quartz and Reserve bottlings, across numerous vintages (2000, 2001, 2005, 2007 and 2010). Oddly, the Cotes du Rhone bottlings seem to be more consistent, at least in my experience.
I recently had a bottle of the 2017 Caillou Les Quartz, it was a beautiful wine…lots of fruit, but so balanced and pure. The 17 was so easy to drink, just a great bottle of wine. I have one more bottle left, I will let that one sit for a few years to see how it evolves…
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