2012 Clos Saint-Jean "Deus Ex Machina" Ch̢teauneuf-du-Pape

Brilliant ruby. Complex, highly perfumed nose evokes fresh blackberry, cherry, spicecake and violet. Juicy, seamless and sweet on the palate, offering nuanced flavors of dark fruit liqueur, succulent herbs and candied flowers. Densely packed but also lithe and precise, with slow-building tannins giving shape to the wine's exuberant fruit on the long, sappy finish. (JR)