Roger Sabon, Chateauneuf du Pape Le Secret des Sabon 2010

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Reviewed by: Jeb Dunnuck

On another level, the 2010 Chateauneuf du Pape Le Secret du Sabon is insanely good and possibly up there with some of the greatest Chateauneufs ever made. Loaded with notions of black fruits, black licorice, roasted herbs and olive tapenade, it's a thrilling example of Grenache and of Chateauneuf du Pape. Full-bodied, massively concentrated and structured, it's not for those looking for immediate appeal and needs another 4-5 years in the cellar. 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

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Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.

If you can find any of the 150 or so cases made, the 2010 Chateauneuf du Pape Le Secret des Sabon represents the essence of Chateauneuf du Pape, perhaps the essence of wine. It boasts an inky/purple color as well as a fabulous, intricate nose of blue, black and red fruits, graphite, chocolate, charcoal, forest floor, spring flowers and a touch of garrigue. Unbelievably concentrated, to the point of being viscous and nearly over the top, the wine is sensationally rich and pure with a nearly endless finish. There is plenty of tannin, but it is largely obscured by the luxuriousness of the wine’s high glycerin and intense fruit. Forget this beauty for 3-5 years and drink it over the following three decades or more. This is a magnificent Chateauneuf du Pape although it is impossible to say it is better than some of the previous blockbusters made at Domaine Roger Sabon, including the 1998, 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2007 Secret des Sabon. 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. I witnessed and was profoundly touched by the following story and decided to share it with readers. One of the Sabon brothers, Jean-Jacques, died last year after a heroic fight with cancer. I knew Jean-Jacques well as he was one of the first vignerons to embrace me, and help educate me about the different terroirs, styles of wine, and the history of Chateauneuf du Pape. I remember taking a dear friend to visit the Domaine Roger Sabon in 2002. My friend wanted to visit Roger Sabon because he had just lost his beautiful wife after a long battle with brain cancer. As we were tasting in the cellars, my friend wanted to taste Le Secret des Sabon, a wine his wife thought might be some sort of miracle cure for her terminal disease. Not surprisingly, when Jean-Jacques took his pipette and poured a sample for my friend, he broke down. As Jean-Jacques and I walked to a distant corner of the cave to give him some privacy, Jean-Jacques said that never in his life had he seen a person moved so much by a wine he and his family had made. He said it gave him goose pimples, and he himself nearly lost it emotionally, as did I. It was a rare and revealing look at an extraordinary man. Jean-Jacques Sabon will be forever missed as he did so much for this appellation. As I wrote last year, the 2009s were super at Domaine Roger Sabon. Even better, the 2010s may be the greatest vintage ever produced, including the 2007 and 2005. The 2011 vintage appears to be very strong as well. There are four Chateauneuf du Pape cuvees, including the limited production (150 cases), luxurious, over-the-top Le Secret des Sabon, which comes from nearly 110-year-old vines, and is a field blend of largely Grenache and many other authorized grapes. Importer: Eric Solomon, European Cellars, Charlotte, NC: tel. (704) 358-1565

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Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.

Even more backward and tasting like dry vintage port is the 2010 Chateauneuf du Pape Le Secret des Sabon. This beauty has extraordinary intensity as well as a nose of smoked meats, tobacco leaf, kirsch, graphite, ink and something that seems to be in many of the great vintages of Le Secret des Sabon, the smell of lacquered Peking duck. Massive and full-bodied, it needs 8-10 years of cellaring and should last for 40 years or more. Assuming you can find any of the 150-300 cases produced, it should only be purchased by patient connoisseurs who can wait for its magic to unfold. Kudos to the Sabon family for producing wines of consistently brilliant quality. (Not yet released) This estate has been at the top of its game for many years and any partisan of Rhone Valley wines (especially the southern Rhone) who has not yet tried a wine from Domaine Roger Sabon should make every effort to do so. They produce four separate Chateauneuf du Pape cuvees and have hit home runs in both 2009 and 2010, the finest back-to-back vintages I have ever tasted from this 42-acre estate run by the large Sabon family, in this case, Jean-Jacques, Julien, Gilbert and Denis. They own 15 parcels spread throughout the appellation, most of them concentrated in the western and eastern sectors north of the village. The brilliant 2009s are among the finest of the vintage. Importer: Eric Solomon, European Cellars, Charlotte, NC: tel. (704) 358-1565