93

Josh Raynolds

Vinous

Opaque purple. Explosive aromas of candied black and blue fruits, incense and lavender, with suave mocha and Indian spice nuances adding complexity. Lush and expansive but very lively, offering intense black raspberry and boysenberry flavors and a strong floral pastille quality. Supple tannins add shape to a strikingly long, seamless and floral finish. 01/2013

96

Robert M. Parker, Jr.

Robert Parker/Wine Advocate

An absolutely profound offering, the 2010 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Prestige requires 5-6 years of cellaring given its massive concentration and tannic structure. The wine was relatively closed the day I tasted it, but it did display an inky/purple color along with hints of camphor, graphite, creme de cassis, kirsch, licorice and espresso beans. Full-bodied and moderately tannic with gorgeous freshness, glycerin and a skyscraper-like texture, this superb cuvee should be at its finest between 2018-2030. 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.