“I know it will shock long time readers, but yes indeed, Clos Saint Jean has again made some of the wines of the vintage in both 2017 and 2018. Enough can’t be said about the quality coming from the team of Vincent and Pascal Maurel, as well as consultant Philippe Cambie, and these wines possess that rare mix of incredible power and richness pared with a sense of weightlessness and elegance.” Jeb Dunnuck

Clos St. Jean Chateauneuf du Pape Vieille Vignes 2018

Sale $49.99 / Buy six or more Pay $44.99

93 pts Jeb Dunnuck / 91-93 pts Wine Advocate – 75% Grenache 15% Syrah / 10% (Mourvedre, Cinsault, Vaccareze, & Muscardin) from 50-100 year old vines. The Grenache is aged entirely in tank, while the other 25% varieties are aged 12 months in New French oak. The partial oak aging of the wine plants a foot firmly in the “modern” style – rich, lush fruit, a seamless texture and immediate accessibility – while the Grenache component leaves a foot in the “old-school” – allowing for notes of garrigue, spice and earth to balance out the seductive fruit. Bottom line? This is a tour de force Chateauneuf at a more than reasonable price!

One of the aspects of St. Jean I find particularly compelling is how approachable the wines are now, yet how much stuffing and substance there is for aging. I know I won't be able to keep my hands off a bottle of this now... braised lamb shank just screams at me for young Chateauneuf. And when my lamb shank screams at me, I listen!

“The 2018 Châteauneuf Du Pape Vieilles Vignes showed beautifully, with plenty of classic Clos Saint Jean meaty black fruits, dried spices, garrigue, kirsch liqueur, and smoky earth-like aromas and flavors. These all carry to a medium to full-bodied, seamless Grenache that offers beautiful tannins, no hard edges, and a great finish. It’s already drinking great today yet will easily evolve for 10-12 years." JD

Clos St. Jean Deux Ex Machina Chateauneuf du Pape 2018 – Sale $109.99 – 95-97 pts Wine Advocate  / 95+ pts Jeb Dunnuck – “As always, the 2018 Châteauneuf Du Pape Deus-Ex Machina checks in as a blend of 60% Grenache and 40% Mourvèdre that saw the Grenache aged all in concrete tanks and the Mourvèdre new barrels. This richer, full-bodied, meaty 2018 boasts a fabulous mid-palate as well as a complex nose of cured meats, toasted spices, peppery garrigue, loamy earth, blackcurrants, and blackberries. It certainly displays the more forward, seamless style of the vintage, yet still brings plenty of power and richness as well as length on the finish. It’s beautifully done yet unquestionably a more forward, approachable vintage for this cuvée. Give bottles 1-2 years in the cellar and enjoy over the following 15 years or so.” JD

"A 60-40 blend of Grenache and Mourvèdre, the 2018 Chateauneuf du Pape Deus Ex Machina features scents of brandied cherries and caramel. Full-bodied, plush, velvety and seductive, with tremendous length, this fits the mold of previous vintages, even if it's (a tiny bit) smaller scaled." WA

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