2016 Clos Saint Jean, Chateauneuf-du-Pape Rouge, Rhone Valley, France.
The 2016 vintage in Chateauneuf du Pape is going to be remembered as a legendary year and the wines are stunning, especially the cuvee normal bottling from Domaine Clos Saint Jean, which is not only a fantastic wine, but a stellar value with deep flavors and density giving intense drinking pleasure. The wines at Clos Saint Jean always present themselves on the palate with impressive mouth feel and concentration with this one very much continuing this style and delivering a profound Chateauneuf experience. This fantastic Clos Saint Jean is full bodied and distinctly layered with black raspberry, boysenberry, juicy red plum, cherry and pomegranate fruits along with an array of accenting elements including delicate earthy tones, snappy black licorice, creme de cassis, mocha, pepper and a lingering chalky/stony note. With air things get even better and robust food adds further enjoyment allowing more details to shine through with beautiful florals and the tannin tames into the background with opulent grace. The estate vines at Clos Saint Jean are located primarily in the Le Crau zone, a plateau that widely believed to be the most iconic terroir of Châteauneuf-du-Pape with its iron-rich red clays topped with those magnificent river stones. I am a big fan of these Clos Saint Jean wines and while I love the more subtle vintages, this is impossible to resist and makes me want more, every sip brings a new smile.

Clos Saint Jean is a family estate founded in 1900 by Edmund Tacussel, whio In 1910 started bottling the estate’s wines with the name Clos Saint Jean, with the property now run by the Maurel brothers, Pascal and Vincent along with famed oenologist Philippe Gambie that has been a consultant here since 2003. Vincent Maurel’s Clos Saint Jean Chateauneuf du Pape Rouge is made with mostly Grenache, but with small amounts of Syrah, Mourvedre and Cinsault, plus in some vintages there can be a tiny bit of Vaccarèse and Muscardin too, all grown in this classic terroir. The vines are set on clay and limestone with the famous galets (the round stones that litter the vines, sourced from plots in and around the famous (as mentioned) Le Crau cru, which famously provides the fruit for Vieux Telegraphe. All grapes are de-stemmed before fermentation and the maceration usually goes for about month to extract allow the regions character and ferment to total dryness. The Grenache for this Chateauneuf is aged in only concrete vats for 12 months, while the remainder is aged in used demi-muids of French oak. The Grenache at Clos Saint Jean is treated with kid gloves and with holy respect, sustainable in the vines and ultra gently handling in the cellar to capture every nuance and this 2016 shows it in its best possible light making for a giving, hedonistic and transparent wine.
($45 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

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