Clos Saint Jean has a history in Chateauneuf du Pape that can be dated all the way to the very start of the twentieth century. The estate was created by Edmund Tacussel in 1900. The Tacussel family also founded what later became Domaine Moulin Tacussel. Within a decade of its creation, Clos Saint Jean was ready to begin producing, bottling, and selling their own wine, which they’ve been doing since 1910. However, Clos Saint Jean did not begin to earn fame until the 2003 vintage, which caused the famous wine critic, Robert Parker to extol the estate’s virtues, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Today, Pascal Maurel and Vincent Maurel manage Clos Saint-Jean. They brought in Philippe Cambie in 2002 as their consultant. Since 2003, the brothers have completely turned this previously unknown estate around. Clos Saint Jean Deus ex Machina is made with 60% Grenache and 40% Mourvedre. The old vine Grenache is aged in vat and the Mourvedre is aged in 100% new and used French oak barrels. The production is limited to 500 cases per year.
Much like the La Combe des Fous, the 2019 Chateauneuf du Pape Deus Ex Machina seems denser and more concentrated and powerful than the more elegant 2018. Purple fruit and dark chocolate retain a remarkable degree of freshness in this full-bodied, velvety-textured, and arguably over-exuberant puppy. There's tremendous material here, compressed into a potent ball of vinous energy that I expect will develop some more nuance and elegance over time.