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Medium brick-red in colour. A lovely perfumed nose with red and black berry fruit with floral notes. Medium bodied with silky tannins that are, in part, derived from the sandy soils of Lirac. Lovely elegant fruit taste with a touch of spice and pepper for balance and a long finish.
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This wonderful, family-run wine domaine was founded by Roger Sabon in 1952 from family vineyards that date back to 1560. Responsibility for the domaine passed over to Roger’s three sons, Gilbert, Jean-Jacques and Denis in 1976.Today they are joined by Denis daughter, Delphine who runs the commercial side of the winery and his son, Julien who works with him the vineyards. Jean-Jacques son-in-law Didier Negron is in charge of the winemaking, having previously worked at other prestigious domaines in Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
The domaine cultivates 46 ha (117 acres) of vineyards, of which 18 ha are in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, 12ha are in Lirac, 6 ha are in Côtes-du-Rhône and 14ha designated as Vin de France. The Châteauneuf-du-Pape vineyards are spread over 14 plots of quite diverse terroir. The reds are therefore, not just blends of different grape varieties, but blends of different terroir which no doubt explains part of the complexity of these wines.
The domaine produces the three different red Châteauneuf-du-Pape cuveés: “Les Olivets”, “Réserve” and “Prestige” which reflect differing blends on grape varieties, terroir and vine ages.
In certain vintages, the domaine bottles very limited amounts of a fourth cuveé called Le Secret de Sabon which is produced from low-yielding vines over 100 years old.
The domaine also produces small quantities of a delightful white Châteauneuf-du-Pape cuveé call “Renaissance” which is fermented and aged in a new 2500 litre oak cask that gives a hint of oak complexity to the wine.
The wine styles are traditional with delicate touches of modernity that do not comprise the unique expression of their terroir. The Châteauneuf-du-Pape reds are fermented in concrete vats. This, and a long maceration on the skins provides for good extraction of colour and tannins without the need for punching down of the skins (“pigeage”).
Large oak barrels (“foudres”) are used for the reds to round out the tannins without imparting oak flavour, thus allowing for a fuller expression of their terroir in the wines.
Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate (RP)
2019 vintage (93 points): Even better than his 2016 (!), the 2018 Lirac by Roger Sabon starts off perfumed and floral, backed by delicate berry notes. Medium to full-bodied, it’s creamy and supple, with a long finish. Even after blind-tasting 40+ Liracs, I described this in my notebook as “electrifying stuff.” It should drink well for close to a decade.