Region | |
---|---|
Subregion | France > Rhône > Southern Rhône > Châteauneuf-du-Pape |
Colour | Red |
Type | Still |
View all vintages of this wine | View all wines by Clos Saint-Jean
Also up with the top wines of the vintage, the 2010 Chateauneuf-du-Pape Combe des Fous shows the darker fruit and minerality of the vintage with its creme de cassis, blackberry, ground pepper, licorice and ample crushed rock-like minerality. Gaining more than one expletive in the notes, this full-bodied 2010 has thrilling purity of fruit, massive underlying structure and a rich, layered and decadent feel on the finish. As with most 2010s, it needs another 3 to 4 years of bottle age and will easily have two decades of overall longevity.
The limited production cuvee of 2010 Chateauneuf du Pape La Combe des Fous (60% Grenache, 20% Syrah, and the rest Muscardin, Vaccarese and Cinsault) is awesome. There have been many great vintages of this wine (2005, 2007, 2009 and 2011), but the 2010 flirts with perfection. One of the most complex aromatic expressions of Chateauneuf du Pape, it offers up notes of Christmas fruitcake, spring flowers, mulberries, blueberries, black raspberries, espresso beans and spice box. Full-bodied, opulent and voluptuously textured, its luxurious, lavish fruit conceals amazing levels of glycerin and alcohol. This wine possesses prodigious intensity, massive layers of fruit and an incredible 45-50-second finish. Forget it for 4-5 years, and drink it over the following 20-25 years.
The 2010 Chateauneuf du Pape La Combe des Fous (meaning "the swale of fools") comes from a 33-acre parcel of 50-55 year old vines in La Crau. Composed of 60% Grenache, 20% Syrah, 10% Vaccarese and 10% Cinsault, it has long been one of my favorite single vineyard Chateauneufs from Clos Saint-Jean. The Grenache is aged in tank and the Syrah in small barrels. It boasts a dense blue/purple color as well as copious notes of charcuterie, smoked duck, bouquet garni, spring flowers, blueberries, black raspberries, blackberries, charcoal and licorice. Full-bodied with striking intensity and richness, good acidity, and a 60-second finish, it reminds me of the youthful 2005 combined with the sweet tannin and expansiveness of the 2007. It should drink well for 25-30 years.