Wine Advisor
Clos St Jean, Chateauneuf du Pape La Combe des Fous 2015
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Joe Czerwinski
A healthy 25% of this cuvée is Syrah aged in new oak, which impacts the aromas and flavors of the 2015 Chateauneuf du Pape La Combe des Fous in a substantial way. Baking spices and vanilla are apparent, but there are plenty of bold red-fruit flavors to balance them out. The one wobble is that the alcohol (a whopping 16%) shows through a bit on the finish. I'd opt for drinking this plush, voluptuous wine over the near term.
Reviewed by: Jeb Dunnuck
The 2015 reds from these two brothers are some of the gems in the vintage. The 2015 Châteauneuf du Pape La Combe des Fous is another sensational wine. Full-bodied, gorgeously concentrated and yet with the ever present elegance and finesse this cuvée always possesses, it offers layers of black raspberries, crème de cassis, white flowers, licorice and cured meat-like aromas and flavors. It will certainly be one of the top handful of wines in the vintage.
Reviewed by: Josh Raynolds
Opaque ruby. Intensely perfumed aromas of ripe dark berries, candied lavender, cola and white pepper, accompanied by a hint of musky earth in the background. Juicy and broad on the palate, offering alluringly sweet black currant, cherry liqueur and spicecake flavors that pick up a refreshingly bitter edge with air. The dark berry note repeats strongly on the youthfully tannic finish, which clings with superb persistence and lingering florality.
About the Producer
Clos Saint Jean is a family estate founded in 1900 by Edmund Tacussel. In 1910 he started to bottle wines with the name Clos Saint Jean. Since 1991 when the owner Guy Maurel died his two sons Pascal and Vincent have carried on at the property. The oenologist Philippe Gambie has since 2003 been assisting at the estate and something has happened: two-three famous special cuvées have merged and all the production became bottled at the domain.
