2012 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Deus Ex Machina

In a testament to just how savaged the Maurel brothers' Grenache vines were in 2013, there will only be two bottlings made, the straight Châteauneuf-du-Pape and the U.S.-destined Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes. Vincent Maurel kept a stiff upper lip during our February tasting by pointing out that the 2013 Vieilles Vignes, which received the lion's share of the fruit that normally makes up the Deus Ex Machina and Combe des Fous bottlings, is an uncommonly rich and powerful rendition of that wine, and one that will reward patience: "at least a decade, to be conservative." Given the preference for extroverted, fruit-driven wines that Vincent and his brother Pascal share, it's no surprise that they're quite pleased with their 2012s, from a vintage that Vincent calls "ideal for consumers and for restaurants that want to move their wines soon after they arrive." Like so many of their neighbors, the Maurels compared 2012 to 2010, but, said Vincent, "while you need to age the '10s, holding onto the '12s is a choice, not an obligation."