2012 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Prestige, Roger Sabon, Rhône

2012 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Prestige, Roger Sabon, Rhône

Product: 20128024253
 
2012 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Prestige, Roger Sabon, Rhône

Buying options

Available by the case In Bond. Pricing excludes duty and VAT, which must be paid separately before delivery. Storage charges apply.
You can place a bid for this wine on BBX

Description

Older vine Grenache, which makes up 70% of the blend, holds the key here. The balance is shared between Syrah and Mourvèdre. Didier is pragmatic when it comes to élevage, using a combination of demi-muid, barrique and (mostly) foudre to match the specific requirements of the vintage. Accomplished and long, with plush fruit in the middle, this is an outstanding Prestige.
Simon Field MW, Rhône Wine Buyer

Didier Negron places 2012 between 2010 and 2011 stylistically, praising its structure and finesse. A little rain in August was helpful for the grapes, ensuring equilibrium, with both yields and pH levels lower than normal.  There are four red wines, the first three selected primarily on perceived merit and the final, Le Secret, more site-specific and made in very small volumes.

wine at a glance

Delivery and quality guarantee

Critics reviews

Wine Advocate94/100
Another step up in quality (but not by much, and its a step up in price as well), the 2012 Chteauneuf du Pape Cuvee Prestige is one of the top efforts in this outstanding vintage. Mostly Grenache, with 20% Syrah and 10% Mourvedre and other permitted varieties, it offers classic black raspberry, cassis, licorice and smoked-meat-like aromas and flavors. Full-bodied, concentrated and with a stacked mid-palate and sweet tannin, it builds on the palate and will have 15+ years of overall longevity.
Jeb Dunnuck - 31/10/2014 Read more

About this WINE

Domaine Roger Sabon

Domaine Roger Sabon

Roger Sabon is described by Robert Parker as "one of the more intellectual vignerons in Châteauneuf du-Pape".

His vineyard holdings are surprisingly small, around 14 hectares, which are divided between his properties in Lirac, Chateauneuf-du-Pape and Cotes du Rhône. The Châteauneuf vineyards are well situated in Les Cabrieres, La Crau, Courtherzon and Nalys and the average age of his vines is unusually high with some of them dating back to the early 1900s.

The general cepage is made up of 70% Grenache although this is reduced in his top two cuvées, the Cuvee Reservee and he Cuvée Prestige. Roger Sabon is a traditionalist and prefers to age his wines in small oak piece, none of which are new, for six months following a sojourn en cuve. He places great emphasis upon elegance rather than power in his wines and in youth his wine can be deceiving.

With time, however, they grow and gain in depth and complexity and are some of the finest Châteauneufs being produced today.

Find out more
Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Châteauneuf-du-Pape

The most celebrated village of the Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape is the birthplace of the now indispensable French Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée system – imperfect though it may be. Compared to the Northern Rhône, the vineyards here are relatively flat and often feature the iconic galet pebbles – the precise benefits of which are a source of much debate. Minimum alcohol levels required by the AOC are the highest in France, but at 12.5% it is well below the natural generosity of Grenache, which only achieves its full aromatic potential when it is fully ripe and laden with the resultant high sugars. Syrah and Mourvèdre contribute the other defining elements in the blend, adding pepper, savoury spice and structure to the decadent Grenache. There are a further 10 permitted red grape varieties which can be used to adjust the “seasoning”. Of the five white varieties permitted, it is Grenache Noir’s sibling – predictably perhaps – Grenache Blanc, which dominates, though Roussanne shows a great deal of promise when handled well, notably at Château de Beaucastel.

Find out more
Southern Rhône Blend

Southern Rhône Blend

The vast majority of wines from the Southern Rhône are blends. There are 5 main black varieties, although others are used and the most famous wine of the region, Châteauneuf du Pape, can be made from as many as 13 different varieties. Grenache is the most important grape in the southern Rhône - it contributes alcohol, warmth and gentle juicy fruit and is an ideal base wine in the blend. Plantings of Syrah in the southern Rhône have risen dramatically in the last decade and it is an increasingly important component in blends. It rarely attains the heights that it does in the North but adds colour, backbone, tannins and soft ripe fruit to the blend.

The much-maligned Carignan has been on the retreat recently but is still included in many blends - the best old vines can add colour, body and spicy fruits. Cinsault is also backtracking but, if yields are restricted, can produce moderately well-coloured wines adding pleasant-light fruit to red and rosé blends. Finally, Mourvèdre, a grape from Bandol on the Mediterranean coast, has recently become an increasingly significant component of Southern Rhône blends - it often struggles to ripen fully but can add acidity, ripe spicy berry fruits and hints of tobacco to blends.

Find out more