This is rock-solid, with a core of steeped fig, boysenberry and blackberry fruit carried by licorice root, tar and singed mesquite notes. This shows strong lines on the finish, with the fruit playing out easily while the underlying grip extends.
Reviews:
- Wine Advocate: Bottled just four weeks prior to my visit, the 2016 Châteauneuf du Pape Deus Ex Machina was showing no ill effects of the process. A blend of 60% Grenache with 40% Mourvèdre, it reveals intriguing notes of crushed stone, pencil shavings, black olives, tar and licorice on the nose. It’s so massive and concentrated that it’s almost painful to taste yet is seductive at the same time for its rich, velvety texture and incredible length. Somehow it manages all this but appears nimble and light at the same time, easily hiding what must be considerable alcohol.
- Vinous: Vivid bright-rimmed ruby. Exotic, highly perfumed aromas of red and blue fruit preserves, candied flowers, incense and Indian spices show outstanding definition and mineral lift. Fleshy, alluringly sweet and expansive in the mouth, offering deeply concentrated raspberry, cherry cola, lavender pastille and fruitcake flavors that show uncanny delicacy for their power. Smooth, spicy and penetrating on the impressively persistent finish, which is given shape by suave, slow-building, deftly interwoven tannins.
Producer Information
Clos Saint-Jean is a prestigious Châteauneuf-du-Pape producer based in the famous lieu-dit La Crau. The winery gained critical recognition in the early 2000s and is now in the top echelon of quality southern Rhône producers.Saint-Jean produces five red and one white Chateauneuf-designated wines from the permissible regional grapes, of which Grenache is the most prolific. The Clos saint Jean Chateauneuf-du-Pape Blanc is produced from Grenache Blanc, Roussane and Clariette.Clos Saint-Jean practices sustainable farming, complete destemming and is known for long maceration periods. For Grenache, there is no ageing in oak but the other red varieties, Syrah and Mourvèdre spend around 12 months in oak. The estate has 44 hectares (108 acres) in La Crau with 1 ha set aside for the white Châteauneuf grapes.
