le Clos du Caillou, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Les Quartz 2022 - 75cl

Le Clos du Caillou owns the best-known planning dispute in the Rhône. When the appellation boundaries were drawn in 1936, the owner refused the inspectors entry to his walled clos — he was keeping it for shooting — so the commission drew the line around him. To this day some of the estate's finest vines sit outside Châteauneuf-du-Pape and are sold as Côtes-du-Rhône. Les Quartz is not one of those. This is the real thing, from inside the appellation.

The name is literal. The fruit comes from Les Cassanets, where enormous rounded quartz stones lie over deep beds of ancient marine sand, the leftovers of the Rhône's old course. Sand gives perfume and finesse rather than power, which is why this wine tastes nothing like the brooding, heavy end of Châteauneuf. It is Grenache-led, around four-fifths, with Syrah making up the rest; the Grenache goes into large-format wood and the Syrah into old barrels, so the oak stays in the background.

The colour is deep with purple flashes at the rim. The nose is lifted and unusual — strawberry jam and a wild myrtle note, with liquorice and saffron sitting underneath. The palate runs to black cherry and darker fruit, with a wild juniper zest, and the tannins are silky rather than grippy. It is elegant Châteauneuf, built on aroma and texture instead of muscle, and it has years ahead of it.

How to Serve

16-18°C. Decant it — an hour for a 2022, which is still young and will keep unfolding across the evening. A large Burgundy-shaped glass suits the perfume better than a Bordeaux one. It will drink well for a good ten to twelve years.

Where to Drink It

Wiltons on Jermyn Street for game and ceremony. Scott's in Mayfair. Brat in Shoreditch, where the live fire suits the wine's savoury side.

Food Pairings

Roast lamb with garlic and rosemary — the obvious answer and the correct one. Slow-cooked shoulder is even better. For something less expected, try it with roast duck; the strawberry-and-liquorice combination in the wine is very good against dark poultry.