2011 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Cuvée Prestige Domaine Roger Sabon
Red | Ready, but will keep | Domaine Roger Sabon | Code: 16191 | 2011 | France > Rhône > Châteauneuf-du-Pape | Southern Rhône Blend | Full Bodied, Dry | 15.0 % alcohol
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Scores and Reviews
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JANCIS 16.5/20 |
PARKER 91-93/100 |
The Producer
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.
The Grape
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.
The Region
Châteauneuf-du-Pape is the largest and most important wine appellation in the southern Rhône. It is home to more than 3,200 hectares of vineyards and over 80 growers; more wine is produced in Châteauneuf than the whole of the northern Rhône put together. The vineyards are bounded to the west by the Rhône river and to the east by the A7 autoroute.
Châteauneuf-du-Pape was the first ever Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée established in France, in 1932. Small, rounded rocks from the ancient river bed known as galets roulés are a key aspect of what makes Châteauneuf -du-Pape wines so distinctive, with the rocks reflecting heat back into the vines at night, thus increasing ripeness and reducing acidity.
The gloriously rich red wines, redolent of the heat and herbs of the south, are enhanced by the complexity which comes from blending several grape varieties. Fourteen are permitted for reds: Grenache, Mouvedre, Syrah, Cinsault, Vaccarese, Counoise, Teret Noir, Muscadin, Picpoul Noir, Clairette, Grenache Blanc, Rousanne, Picpoul Gris and Picardin. With red Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Grenache typically dominates with Syrah and Mourvèdre in support.
White Châteauneuf-du-Pape is becoming increasingly sought-after, even though it represents less than 10 percent of the total production. Here, five grapes are permitted: Grenache Blanc, Clairette, Roussanne, Bourboulenc and Picardin.
Recommended Producers: Château de Beaucastel, Clos de Papes, Vieux Télégraphe, Château Rayas,, Domaine de la Charbonnière, Sabon, Château La Nerthe, Domaine Perrin
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The well-named Prestige has been aged in both foudre and demi-muid. Again, it is a triumph of purity and concentration. More than 95% of the blend is made from old-Grenache to which has been added Syrah and Mourvèdre, although Didier advises that there are also small amounts of both Counoise and Vaccarese. Black fruits and tapenade dominate the palate, with hints of tobacco, graphite and licorice underlining latent complexity.
Simon Field MW, BBR Buyer
The loquacious Didier Negron recognises that Grenache was plentiful in 2011, unlike the coulure-blighted 2010, but that it had to be treated with care. The juxtaposition of an impressive early flowering and a cool but dry mid-season has engendered a heterogeneous crop, rather like 2007, but in a minor key. Didier’s clever manipulation of differing sizes of container in order to undermine the oxidative nature of Grenache, has ensured the purity and definition of his wines. He is proving a most worthy successor to the great Jean-Jacques Sabon, his father-in-law, who died last year.