Roger Sabon Chateauneuf-du-Pape Le Secret des Sabon 2020
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Winemaker Notes
Le Secret des Sabon began as an experimental cuvée which has evolved to be one of the top wines of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. With only about a single demi-muid produced each year, from presumably old vines with their correspondingly low yields, there isn’t much to go around. It is quite startling to taste Secret after the Cuvée Prestige, as one normally expects the “top” win of the estate to be the biggest, but this is a red herring. While there is an unmistakable glyceryl weight to Le Secret, it is more high-toned than you would initially expect. Red fruit predominates with stony and herbal accents that hint at a long life ahead.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The full-bodied 2020 Chateauneuf du Pape le Secret de Sabon offers up stunning aromas of roses, raspberries, black cherries, pine sap and garrigue. Silky and elegant, it finishes long and mouthwatering. Almost entirely Grenache from a couple of old-vine parcels on sandier sites than the majority of the domaine's offerings, it's a beautiful wine by any measure.
Barrel Sample: 94-97 -
Jeb Dunnuck
Last of the wines from bottle, the 2020 Châteauneuf Du Pape Le Secret Des Sabon is a field blend of mostly Grenache that sees a touch of stem inclusion and aging all in oak tronconique tanks. A candidate for the wine of the vintage, it has a similar bouquet to the Prestige and has beautiful red and black fruits (even some blue fruits), flowers, garrigue, and spice. This carries to a full-bodied 2020 with a layered, seamless mouthfeel, moderate acidity, no hard edges, and a great, great finish.
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Decanter
Full-bodied and powerful, but not over the top and with a great sense of freshness. It's expansive, with gently sweet, vibrant black cherry and kirsch notes within soft, pliable fruit tannins and a long finish. A remarkably precise and balanced wine, not the most powerful this year, but one of the most drinkable. Mostly grown on sand, fermented in stainless steel then aged in tronconic wooden vats.
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Wine Spectator
Exuberant blackberry and boysenberry flood the palate in this lush, polished red. Shows impressive density, and though ripe and decadent, this has a refreshing beam of iron and menthol notes that bring balance. Offers baked cherry pie, fruitcake and salty black licorice accents that add interesting detail through the powerful, nicely framed finish.
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Vinous
The star of the show from this year's tasting at Domaine Roger Sabon is the 2020 Châteauneuf- du-Pape Le Secret de Sabon. Made from 95% Grenache and other permitted varieties, it opens with enticing aromas of glossy red and black fruits, dried lavender, licorice, crème de cassis, white- pepper, a wide array of exotic spices and a hint of menthol. Expanding vertically on the palate, it shows outstanding complexity and an intricate web of ever-so-velvety tannins. It is a deep wine with stunning precision, showing-off a sapid finish that lasts for well over a minute. Like in 2021, only 3,000 bottles were produced.
Other Vintages
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Domaine Roger Sabon was founded in 1952 and is currently run by Roger’s sons Denis and Gilbert. A third son, Jean-Jacques is deceased but his son-in-law Didier Negron is the current winemaker. Denis and his son Julien oversee the farming while Gilbert and his niece, Delphine run the office. It is quite the family affair!
The size of the domaine has grown slowly over the years with 18 hectares in Chateauneuf du Pape, 8 hectares in Lirac and 8 hectares in Côtes-du-Rhône. Most of their holdings in Chateauneuf-du-Pape are located in the northeastern part of the appellation, where the soils are sandier with a high concentration of limestone. They also own a few parcels in Le Crau famous for its red clay under a deep layer of galets deposited from the alps eons ago. These two soil types combine to make wines that are equally rich and nuanced.
Since 2001 Didier Negron has made the wines at Domaine Roger Sabon, but recently he’s begun to move away from demi-muids and barriques in favor of aging his family’s wines in concrete and large French oak foudres. While the terroir of Roger Sabon, with its high concentration of sand and limestone, has always been inclined to a more ethereal and delicate style of Chateauneuf, Didier’s changes in the cellar have amplified these qualities – the wines have never been more engaging and lovely.
While Grenache is the mainstay at the Domaine, they also grow Syrah, Mourvedre, Cinsault, Terret Noire, Counoise, Vaccarèse Muscardin, Roussanne, Clairette, Bourboulenc and Grenache Blanc. They own some fairly old Syrah, about 60 years old, located on limestone soils which is an important component in the Prestige bottling. Their oldest vines, topping 100 years old, are located in two plots near Courthézon, and are the source for the Secret des Sabon. While details are sketchy and the Sabons are shy about divulging any information about this cuvée, it is safe to assume that these vines are primarily Grenache. In the cellar there is a single demi-muid in the shadows which is presumably the Secret des Sabon, but once again polite inquires are met with a Gallic shrug."
With bold fruit flavors and accents of sweet spice, Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre form the base of the classic Rhône Red Blend, while Carignan, Cinsault and Counoise often come in to play. Though they originated from France’s southern Rhône Valley, with some creative interpretation, Rhône blends have also become popular in other countries. Somm Secret—Putting their own local spin on the Rhône Red Blend, those from Priorat often include Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. In California, it is not uncommon to see Petite Sirah make an appearance.
Famous for its full-bodied, seductive and spicy reds with flavor and aroma characteristics reminiscent of black cherry, baked raspberry, garrigue, olive tapenade, lavender and baking spice, Châteauneuf-du-Pape is the leading sub-appellation of the southern Rhône River Valley. Large pebbles resembling river rocks, called "galets" in French, dominate most of the terrain. The stones hold heat and reflect it back up to the low-lying gobelet-trained vines. Though the galets are typical, they are not prominent in every vineyard. Chateau Rayas is the most obvious deviation with very sandy soil.
According to law, eighteen grape varieties are allowed in Châteauneuf-du-Pape and most wines are blends of some mix of these. For reds, Grenache is the star player with Mourvedre and Syrah coming typically second. Others used include Cinsault, Counoise and occasionally Muscardin, Vaccarèse, Picquepoul Noir and Terret Noir.
Only about 6-7% of wine from Châteauneuf-du-Pape is white wine. Blends and single-varietal bottlings are typically based on the soft and floral Grenache Blanc but Clairette, Bourboulenc and Roussanne are grown with some significance.
The wine of Chateauneuf-du-Pape takes its name from the relocation of the papal court to Avignon. The lore says that after moving in 1309, Pope Clément V (after whom Chateau Pape-Clément in Pessac-Léognan is named) ordered that vines were planted. But it was actually his successor, John XXII, who established the vineyards. The name however, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, translated as "the pope's new castle," didn’t really stick until the 19th century.