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98 WA.
"With its more discreet oak and layers of complexity, the 2017 Chateauneuf du Pape Deus Ex Machina is my favorite release here this year. Layers of dried spices accent raspberries and cherries in this full-bodied, rich and velvety wine. It's more complex and complete than either the Combe des Fous or the Sancto Santorum, longer on the finish and supremely elegant. Pascal Maurel was reasonably happy with the 2018 vintage when I visited him in June 2019. "It's fine, elegant, feminine, not powerful like '15, '16, '17, but another side of the appellation," he said. His estate also controlled the mildew reasonably well, averaging yields of 25 hectoliters per hectare. The Maurel brothers have made a 2018 Sancto Santorum, but it wasn't available for tasting on the day of my visit. The 2017s have once again emerged as some of the finest wines in the appellation. "We were afraid [of the tannins] in the beginning," he said. "But after the élevage, we [found] the structure [to be] something very fine and well balanced." In addition to the 2017s and 2018s, we tasted three cuvées from 2009. "It wasn't the greatest vintage," Maurel said. "But it has some common points with 2017." While the regular bottling should be drunk up, the Deus Ex Machina still looks young, with plenty of life ahead of it." Joe Czerwinski, Wine Advocate Interim, Aug 2019 |