Domaine Le Clos des Cazaux Vacqueyras Cuvee des Templiers 2020

Domaine Le Clos des Cazaux was founded in 1905 by Gabriel Archimbaud — the man who was among the first to bottle and market Vacqueyras wines — and is today run by his grandsons Jean-Michel and Frédéric Vache, who between them manage 46 hectares across Vacqueyras, Gigondas and Côtes du Rhône. The Cuvée des Templiers is the domaine's flagship Vacqueyras: a 50/50 blend of Syrah from vines planted in 1958 to 1973 and Grenache from vines dating to the 1920s, grown on sandy grey clay slope soils, hand harvested, co-fermented over 21 to 28 days, then raised nine months in stainless steel followed by twelve months in concrete — unfined and with minimal filtration. The absence of oak is a deliberate statement of purpose: this is a wine built on fruit, terroir and time, not on winemaking flourish.

A beautiful, character-filled Vacqueyras, the Cuvée des Templiers delivers ripe black cherries and black olive notes alongside a medium-bodied, focused frame, with garrigue, licorice and iron adding depth — the tannins ripe and polished with a terrific finish. Lovely sweetness of bramble fruits and expressive Syrah notes of camphor, white and black pepper and game, the tannins fine and well-managed — great fruit, with real local character. Rich ruby in colour, the very aromatic and complex bouquet opens to blackberry, dark cherry and spice — unmistakeably Syrah with real substance, characterised by the generosity of the fruit and the elegance of the tannins, approachable young but revealing considerably more complexity after five or more years of ageing.