2011 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Réserve, Roger Sabon, Rhône
- Red
- Dry
- Full Bodied
Ready - mature
- Robert Parker
- 90-92/100
Product: 20118015620
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.
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.
Colour Red
Sweetness Dry
Vintage 2011
Maturity Ready - mature
Body Full Bodied
Producer Domaine Roger Sabon
Critics reviews
Robert Parker 90-92/100
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
About this wine
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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