Roger Sabon, Chateauneuf du Pape Le Secret des Sabon 2007

vinous96

Reviewed by: Josh Raynolds

Inky ruby. Exotic aromas of black raspberry, boysenberry, cassis, floral oils and incense, with notes of licorice and sassafras coming up with air. Fleshy, seductively sweet red and dark berry liqueur flavors stain the palate, with floral pastilles and succulent herbs providing added complexity. Very rich but also compellingly lithe and balanced, with superb finishing clarity and sexy floral and spice character. I'd bet on this wine being delicious throughout its life. (Eric Solomon Selections, Charlotte NC

vinous98

Reviewed by: Josh Raynolds

Saturated ruby. A kaleidoscopic bouquet of raspberry, creme de cassis, potpourri, pungent herbs and incense. Smoky minerals add energy to deep, sweet red and dark berry flavors, complicated by candied lavender, rose and a suave anise note. The finish refuses to let go of the palate, where the sweet berry and floral notes echo. Boasts amazing freshness, depth and clarity.

robert_parker99

Reviewed by: Jeb Dunnuck

One of the sexiest, most decadent and unctuous wines in the vintage, the 2007 Chateauneuf du Pape le Secret de Sabon (95% Grenache and the rest a mix of permitted varieties) boasts a youthful ruby/purple-tinged color as well as a heavenly array of black raspberries, crushed flowers, spice and incense. Despite all its size and richness, it still glides across the palate with a weightless, elegant style, and this total hedonistic turn-on is ideal for drinking anytime over the coming 15+ years.

robert_parker100

Reviewed by: Jeb Dunnuck

The 2007 Chateauneuf du Pape Le Secret du Sabon is jaw-dropping good, and tops out on my scale. Crazily perfumed and complex, with layers of kirsch, crushed flowers, incense, beef blood and garrigue, it hits the palate with massive depth and richness, thrilling purity of fruit and a seamless texture that needs to be tasted to be believed. I'd happily drink bottles today, but given its mid-palate depth and no shortage of tannin that emerges on the finish, it will have no issues evolving through 2027. A brilliantly run estate, Domaine Roger Sabon covers close to 44 acres that are spread throughout the appellation, and the wines have been made by Didier Negron since 2001. This retrospective focused on their top cuvee, the Secret du Sabon, which is a field blend of roughly (the exact blend is a "secret") 90% Grenache with the balance other permitted varieties (from 100-year-old vines), that-s aged all in 600-liter barrels. While the first released vintage was 1998, they also bottled a small amount in 1990, 1995 (the only one I've tasted? superb) and 1996. Importer: Eric Solomon, European Cellars, Charlotte, NC: tel. (704) 358-1565

robert_parker97

Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.

More closed and restrained than normal is the 2007 Chateauneuf du Pape Le Secret des Sabon. The Sabon family has always been “secretive” about the blend used for this cuvee, but they do acknowledge that about 90% Grenache is combined with a field blend from vines over 100 years of age. Yields are microscopic, averaging 8-12 hectoliters per hectare, and the wine is aged one year in used 600-liter demi-muids. In the years it has been made (the first commercial vintage was 1998, although a small amount was made for the family in 1990, 1995, and 1996), this cuvee often borders on pure perfection (i.e., 1998 and 2001). The 2007 is too backward at this stage to go that far out on a limb, but it possesses a dense plum/purple color to the rim as well as an extraordinary perfume of cedarwood, tobacco leaf, creosote, licorice, black fruits, smoke, and a smell and taste of highly-charred meat with the essence of blood. This extraordinarily full-bodied, but forebodingly backward wine is more inaccessible than the 1998 or 2001 were at a similar stage of development, but it is an enormous, massively-endowed Chateauneuf du Pape that represents the concentrated blood of an old vineyard. The finish is virtually endless, lasting well past a minute. It will benefit from 3-4 years of bottle age, and should drink well for 25-35 years thereafter. While this is one of Chateauneuf du Pape’s finest estates, it is not nearly as big as one might suspect given the market penetration they have enjoyed throughout the world. From their 42 acres of vines scattered among 15 separate Chateauneuf du Pape parcels, Roger Sabon produces four cuvees of red wine as well as a small quantity of white wines. Three of the red wines are based on old vine Grenache, and the limited production Le Secret des Sabon comes from a 100+- year-old parcel of primarily Grenache and other field varietals that are cropped at incredibly tiny yields of less than one-half ton of fruit per acre. The property is currently managed by Jean-Jacques Sabon with his son-in-law, Didier Negron, who has been the oenologist since 2001. The history of this estate is intriguing as the first estate bottled wine was made in 1921, when the property was run by Seraphin Sabon, who had three sons, Joseph (the founder of Clos du Mont-Olivet), Noel (who started the Domaine Chante Cigale), and Roger (who created this estate in 1952). All of the following offerings are traditionally made wines, based largely on Grenache, that spend 12-15 months in foudres. Occasionally, a small percentage is aged in small, 3- to 4-year-old oak barrels. The only exceptions are the Cuvee Prestige, which is aged mostly in foudres and small new oak (25-30%), and the Secret des Sabon, which is aged in one-year-old demi-muids. 2007 may be the strongest vintage across the board that I have ever tasted at Roger Sabon. Importer: Eric Solomon, European Cellars, Charlotte, NC: tel. (704) 358-1565

robert_parker100

Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.

Reminiscent of a hypothetical blend, stylistically speaking, of a 1990 and 1998, the opaque plum/purple 2007 Chateauneuf du Pape Le Secret des Sabon is off the charts. There are only 2,000 bottles of this limited cuvee, from a parcel of 100+ year old vines in the famed La Crau sector. Enormously powerful notes of grilled herbs, roasted meats, creme de cassis, blackberries, charcoal, and truffles emerge from this massive, super-concentrated 2007. A tour de force in winemaking, this is old vine intensity at its greatest and purest. Give it 5-6 years of bottle age, and drink it over the following three decades. Proprietor Jean-Jacques Sabon and the other younger family members are taking these wines to even greater quality heights than previously attained. The new vintages possess updated, more polished labels, but more importantly, the wines continue to go from what were very strong efforts in the past, to even deeper concentration, complexity, and depth. All four cuvees are now routinely outstanding, with the top two offerings, the Cuvee Prestige and the limited production Le Secret des Sabon, compelling Chateauneufs. As with many estates, the 2007s exhibit the vintage’s succulent, juicy, incredibly pure fruit and tremendous freshness and vivacity, all packed into substantial, full-bodied wines with surprisingly high alcohols given their vibrancy. One might expect such greatness in 2007 in Chateauneuf du Pape, but the Sabons have also hit the heights in the excellent 2006 vintage. Importer: Eric Solomon, European Cellars, Charlotte, NC: tel. (704) 358-1565