Clos Saint Jean CdP Deus Ex Machina 2016 (6.0L)

100 JD / 98 WA / 96 WS / 96 VM / 17+ JR

More cured meats, spice, loamy soil notes, and an incredible core of kirsch and currant fruits emerge from the 2016 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Deus Ex Machina. Deep, incredibly concentrated, multi-dimensional and long, it reminds me of the 2007 at this same point in time. This cuvée is always a 60/40 split of Grenache and Mourvèdre, brought up in tank and new demi-muids, and in top vintages, needs 2-5 years of bottle age to really shine, yet I always also fine a certain accessibility given its balance and purity. It’s capable of lasting for two decades. - Jeb Dunnuck 

Bottled just four weeks prior to my visit, the 2016 Chateauneuf du Pape Deus Ex Machina was showing no ill effects of the process. A blend of 60% Grenache with 40% Mourvèdre, it reveals intriguing notes of crushed stone, pencil shavings, black olives, tar and licorice on the nose. It's so massive and concentrated that it's almost painful to taste yet is seductive at the same time for its rich, velvety texture and incredible length. Somehow it manages all this but appears nimble and light at the same time, easily hiding what must be considerable alcohol. - Joe Czerwinski, The Wine Advocate

This is rock-solid, with a core of steeped fig, boysenberry and blackberry fruit carried by licorice root, tar and singed mesquite notes. This shows strong lines on the finish, with the fruit playing out easily while the underlying grip extends. Best from 2020 through 2036. 106 cases imported.-James Molesworth, Wine Spectator

Vivid bright-rimmed ruby. Exotic, highly perfumed aromas of red and blue fruit preserves, candied flowers, incense and Indian spices show outstanding definition and mineral lift. Fleshy, alluringly sweet and expansive in the mouth, offering deeply concentrated raspberry, cherry cola, lavender pastille and fruitcake flavors that show uncanny delicacy for their power. Smooth, spicy and penetrating on the impressively persistent finish, which is given shape by suave, slow-building, deftly interwoven tannins.-Josh Raynold, Vinous Media

More red fruit than their Combe des Foux, and stronger oak spice influence too. It's more complex as a result, with lovely spicy notes through the finish, and great fruit purity. -Richard Hemming MW, JancisRobinson