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 Chateauneuf du Pape is made from 75% Grenache, 15% Syrah, 4% Mourvedre, 3% Cinsault, 2% Vaccarese and 1% Muscardin.
Deeper and more concentrated than the 2018, the 2019 Chateauneuf du Pape is as impressive as I can remember this cuvée ever being. Dark in hue, overflowing with dark fruit, full-bodied and velvety in texture, with a long, licorice-tinged finish, this looks very promising.