Le Clos du Caillou

In 1895 the famous engineer Elie Dussaud (1821-1899) bought Le Clos. At that time the place was covered by wood. The purpose of the acquisition was to use the area as a hunting lodge. Before his death four years after the purchase  Dussaud built a small cellar for wine making. He also built the mansion which later on was rebuilt and extended today and serves as the residence of the Vacheron family.
Elie Dussaud also built Clos Val Seille, the beautiful castle which serves as the mayor's office today, and if extensions today serve as cellars of Domaine Clos Val Seilles. He also owned Chateau de Beaucastel in 1865 when phylloxera paralyzed the wine production all over France.

When it was time to determine the limits of the new appellation of Chateauneuf du Pape the owner did not want to hear of such things. As the geological experts arrived at the scene to investigate soil conditions, they were met by a shotgun with a strong call to keep away from the domain and therefore only 9 ha of the domain's vineyards today became a part of the appellation. If the owner had been more intested in wine the vineyards inside the 3 km long stonewall (Le Clos) would have been included in the appellation. The best Cotes du Rhones are made from here.

The start of the domain's path from a wooded hunting idyll to a domain recognized as one of the best domains in the appellation, began when the current owner's father Claude Pouizin acquired the property in 1955. He started clearing the forest away and to plant vines instead. Most of the domain's vineyards are planted between 1955 and 1978. Winemaking and storage took place in the ancient cellars of the late 1890s. Sales of wines happened in the tank to negociants, but eventually became a larger part bottled and sold from the domain. In 1980 the first export order were shipped. In 1993 the last delivery to a negociant took place. The sale of wines was devellopped by Claude's wife Colette.

In 1995 - after 40 years of hard work to build a domain - Claude Pouizin wanted  to retire. It was only Sylvie, the youngest of his three daughters, who were interested in taking over the domain. She was married the son of a wine grower in Sancerre, Jean-Denis Vacheron. In 1996 the couple moved with their two children, the 2-year-old daughter Marilou and the newborn son Axel to Clos du Caillou and took over the domain.

The change of generation meant that the property's wines got a huge quality boost. The wine writers especially in America praised Vacheron's effort, and exports to America increased tremendously. In March 2002 died Jean-Denis Vacheron tragically in a car accident and Sylvie was left alone to take charge.

The oenologist Philippe Cambie began already in 2001 as an advisor of Jean-Denis Vacheron. Another lucky alliance was the hiring of  the winemaker at Chateau du Trignon Bruno Gaspard, who has been responsible for winemaking since 2002.

Wines accodring to website January 2021
(The wines from 2018 contains around 15% les Grenache than in normal years)

Chateauneuf du Pape Tradition
2018: 70% Grenache, 15% Mourvedre,15% Syrah.
Aged in foudres or demi-muids for 14 months.

Chateauneuf du Pape Les Safres  
2018: 75% Grenache, 25% Mourvedre, Vaccarese and Cinsault. Grencache aged in foudres Mouvedre in demi-muds for 14 months

Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc Les Safres
2019: 40% Roussanne, 30% Grenache Blanc and 30% Clairette from the lieux-dits Les Bédines and Pignan. 
Fermented and then aged in barrels for 4 month

Chateauneuf du Pape Les Quartz
2018: 85% Grenache, 30% Syrah.
Grenache aged in (90%) i demi-muids, 10% i amphora.
Syrah in barrels for 14 months.

Chateauneuf du Pape La Réserve
2018: 50% Grenache, 50% Mourvedre. 
Aged for 14 months in demi-muids (88%) or amphoras. 

Chateauneuf du Pape Les Quartz
2018: 85% Grenache, 30% Syrah.
Grenache aged in (90%) i demi-muids, 10% i amphora.
Syrah in barrels for 14 months.

Chateauneuf du Pape La Réserve
2018: 50% Grenache, 50% Mourvedre. 
Aged for 14 months in demi-muids (88%) or amphoras. 

Cotes du Rhone Le Caillou
2019: 80% Grenache, 10% Syrah, Mourvedre, Cinsault.. 60+-years-old vines. 80% de-stemmed.

Cotes du Rhone Le Caillou Rosé
2019: 70% Grenache,30% Cinsaul, Mouvedre, Syrah. Direct press.

Cotes du Rhone Le Caillou Blanc
2019: 50% Viognier, 20% Clairette, 15% Roussanne, 15% Grenache Blanc

Cotes du Rhone Le Bouquet des Garrigues
2018: 70% Grenache, 15% Syrah, 15% Carignan, Mourvedre, Counoise.
Aged in demi-muids or foudres for 14 months.

Cotes du Rhone Rosé Le Bouquet des Garrigues
2018: 55% Mourvedre, 30% Grenache, 15% Syrah

Cotes du Rhone Blanc Le Bouquet des Garrigues
2019: 40% Clairette 30% Grenache Blanc, 15% Viognier,15% Roussanne.

Cotes du Rhone Esprit Nature
2019: 80% Grenache, 20% Syrah.

Cotes du Rhone Les Quartz
2018: 80% Grenache,20% Syrah. 60-years-old growing in the same type of soil as Chateauneuf du Pape Les Quartz. Aged in wooden tank, foudres or demi-muids for 14 months.

Cotes du Rhone La Réserve
2018: 75% Grenache, 25% Mourvedre. 
Aged in demi-muids or amphoras (10%) for 14 months.

Cotes du Rhone Blanc La Réserve
2019: 100% Clairette
Vinification in new demi-muids (55%) or in steel tank. Matured here for 5 months.

An apartement is for rent at the domain

Sylvie Vacheron at Marché aux Vins in Cairanne 2014

Bruno Gaspard at the domain July 2018.

Marilou is working at the domain as export manager.
Photo from Les Printemps in Chateauneuf du Pape 2018.

Axel are still during further education but will surely return to the domain