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Clos Saint Jean, Chateauneuf du Pape La Combe des Fous, 2016

Red Wine from Southern Rhone, France
by Clos Saint Jean
$114.99
Taxes and shipping calculated at checkout.
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One of Chateauneuf's most sought-after cuvees, from a knockout vintage, just now starting to open up. La Combe des Fous - the hollow of the fools - takes its name from the exceptionally deep galets on this parcel in La Crau, stones so thick everyone assumed vines couldn't survive there; the Maurel brothers' great-great-grandfather proved them wrong in 1905, and the old Grenache still grows there today. This is the rich, polished, prestige style Clos Saint Jean became famous for, Grenache-led with Syrah, Cinsault, and Vaccarese, from the excellent 2016 vintage. At ten years old it's approachable with a decant but still youthful and structured, with plenty of road ahead. Give it air, or cellar it and reap the rewards.

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Antonio Galloni

96 points

"Saturated ruby. An exotically perfumed, highly complex bouquet evokes raspberry preserves, smoky minerals, Moroccan spices and incense. Supple, palate-staining red and dark berry liqueur and floral pastille flavors show superb depth, sharp delineation and an energizing undercurrent of smoky minerality. Manages to be at once rich and lively and finishes with outstanding clarity, well-knit tannins and resonating floral and mineral qualities." —Josh Raynolds

Robert Parker

95 points

"From a single exposed hilltop parcel, the 2016 Chateauneuf du Pape La Combe des Fous is a blend of 60% Grenache, 20% Syrah and 10% each Cinsault and Vaccarèse. As the Syrah was aged in wood, there's a hint of campfire smoke here, plus layers of rich, voluptuous plummy fruit. Full-bodied and velvety in texture, this is more concentrated than even the Vieilles Vignes bottling, but it's not that much better in terms of overall quality or longevity." —Joe Czerwinski

Wine Spectator

95 points

"A dark and winey style, featuring intense raspberry and black currant preserve flavors coiled up with singed cedar, dried anise and rooibos tea notes. A lightly dusty, lavender-infused structure runs through the finish."

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More about Clos Saint Jean

Clos Saint Jean is the Châteauneuf-du-Pape estate that went from respected but quiet to one of the most talked-about names in the appellation in the space of a vintage or two.

Edmond Tacussel, forebear of today's owners, founded the estate in 1900 and began bottling in 1910, and in 1905 he planted Grenache on a hillside at the southern end of the La Crau plateau, where the rolled stones were so deep that the slope was thought impossible to plant. Hence La Combe des Fous, the hollow of the fools. Brothers Pascal and Vincent Maurel run the estate today, and in 2002 they overhauled the winemaking with the consultant Philippe Cambie.

There are now more than 40 hectares, most of them on La Crau's iron-rich red clay under a thick layer of galets, worked by hand without chemical inputs. Grapes are destemmed and given long macerations; Grenache is raised in tank, never wood, while Syrah and Mourvèdre see oak. Alongside the classic Châteauneuf come old-vine cuvées such as Deus ex Machina, a Grenache and Mourvèdre blend, and the magnum-only Sanctus Sanctorum, plus a little white.

Expect ripe, plush, generous Châteauneuf with real density, the kind that rewards a few years in the cellar.

Wine Details

  • Grape Variety

    Cinsault , Grenache , Syrah , Vaccarèse

  • Vintage

    2016

  • Size

    750ml

  • Farming Practice

    Organic

Flatiron's Take

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Tasting Notes & Food Pairings

Perfect Pairings

Grilled ribeye, braised beef or oxtail, roast lamb, venison, or rich mushroom and truffle dishes.

Tasting Profile

Ripe blackberry and kirsch with garrigue, licorice, and sweet spice; full-bodied and generous with firm but ripe tannins and a long, warm finish.

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