In old French, Claux was how the modern-day Clos would have been spelt. Claux comes from the Latin ‘Clausum’ meaning ‘closed’, which designates an enclosed vineyard. The vineyard can be enclosed by a wall, river, sea, lake, or cliff; in this vineyard, it is enclosed by a cliff. This 1.8-hectare vineyard, mentioned in the first vineyard land registry records of 1902, was due to be pulled out in 1914. it was, therefore, already quite old and was planted after phylloxera, probably between 1870 and 1880. However, the men went off to fight the war in August 1914, and the vineyard was not uprooted due to a lack of manpower. In 1918, after four years of war, both money and men were lacking, and Louis’ grandmother lost two brothers, so she kept the Le Claux parcel. Fortunately, the vineyard still remains today. Its soil of clay and limestone marl from the Miocene in the Font des Papes alluvial fan, with small sharp gravel on the surface, produces the estate’s most ‘Burgundy-style’ Gigondas with hallmark finesse and freshness with sour cherry aromas.