2011 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Réserve, Roger Sabon, Rhône

2011 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Réserve, Roger Sabon, Rhône

Product: 20118015620
Prices start from £186.00 per case Buying options
2011 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Réserve, Roger Sabon, Rhône

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Available by the case In Bond. Pricing excludes duty and VAT, which must be paid separately before delivery. Storage charges apply.
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6 x 75cl bottle
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Description

Cuvée Reserve is made up of 70% Grenache, 20% Syrah and 10% Cinsault, aged and blended in foudre. The 2011 is concentrated and ripe, marked by sweet blackberry and cerise fruit and fleshy tannins with hints of spice, bay and garrigue in support.
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.

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Critics reviews

Wine Advocate90-92/100
The 2011 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Reserve (70% Grenache, 20% Syrah and 10% Cinsault from 70-year-old vines aged primarily in foudre with some of the Syrah in demi-muids) is a sleeper of the vintage. One of the strongest 2011s I tasted, it possesses a surprising level of concentration and intensity. Its dense plum/ruby/purple color is followed by copious notes of garrigue, licorice, cassis and kirsch. Rich and forward, with low acidity as well as sweet, ripe tannin, it can be enjoyed over the next 7-8 years.

This has long been one of my favorite estates in the southern Rhone. Like many of the old families of Chateauneuf du Pape, the Sabons have been estate bottling since 1921. They own nearly 44 acres of vines divided among 15 different parcels, with some of their most significant holdings in the famed La Crau sector of the appellation. The style here is a brilliant combination of the best traditional techniques married to a handful of modern nuances.
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate #204, Dec 2012 Read more
Robert Parker90-92/100
The 2011 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Reserve (70% Grenache, 20% Syrah and 10% Cinsault from 70-year-old vines aged primarily in foudre with some of the Syrah in demi-muids) is a sleeper of the vintage. One of the strongest 2011s I tasted, it possesses a surprising level of concentration and intensity. Its dense plum/ruby/purple color is followed by copious notes of garrigue, licorice, cassis and kirsch. Rich and forward, with low acidity as well as sweet, ripe tannin, it can be enjoyed over the next 7-8 years.

This has long been one of my favorite estates in the southern Rhone. Like many of the old families of Chateauneuf du Pape, the Sabons have been estate bottling since 1921. They own nearly 44 acres of vines divided among 15 different parcels, with some of their most significant holdings in the famed La Crau sector of the appellation. The style here is a brilliant combination of the best traditional techniques married to a handful of modern nuances.
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate #204, Dec 2012 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.

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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.

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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.

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When is a wine ready to drink?

We provide drinking windows for all our wines. Alongside the drinking windows there is a bottle icon and a maturity stage. Bear in mind that the best time to drink a wine does also depend on your taste.

Not ready

These wines are very young. Whilst they're likely to have lots of intense flavours, their acidity or tannins may make them feel austere. Although it isn't "wrong" to drink these wines now, you are likely to miss out on a lot of complexity by not waiting for them to mature.

Ready - youthful

These wines are likely to have plenty of fruit flavours still and, for red wines, the tannins may well be quite noticeable. For those who prefer younger, fruitier wines, or if serving alongside a robust meal, these will be very enjoyable. If you choose to hold onto these wines, the fruit flavours will evolve into more savoury complexity.

Ready - at best

These wines are likely to have a beautiful balance of fruit, spice and savoury flavours. The acidity and tannins will have softened somewhat, and the wines will show plenty of complexity. For many, this is seen as the ideal time to drink and enjoy these wines. If you choose to hold onto these wines, they will become more savoury but not necessarily more complex.

Ready - mature

These wines are likely to have plenty of complexity, but the fruit flavours will have been almost completely replaced by savoury and spice notes. These wines may have a beautiful texture at this stage of maturity. There is lots to enjoy when drinking wines at this stage. Most of these wines will hold in this window for a few years, though at the very end of this drinking window, wines start to lose complexity and decline.