2017 Châteauneuf-du-Pape

The historic and expansive domaine Château Mont-Redon is a long-time favorite of fans of old-school Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Pierre Fabre has been making the best wines ever produced here. Fabre began taking over vineyard and winemaking duties in the late 2000s and assumed full control of his family’s 150-hectare estate in 2017. With over 100 hectares of the Fabre and Abeille family’s vineyards sitting in Châteauneuf itself (the other 50 comprise 30 in Lirac and another 20 in AOC Côtes-du-Rhône holdings adjacent to the Châteauneuf-du-Pape border), this domaine has long been a major player in the region, notably producing a single red Châteauneuf, and a white wine, which is extremely rare here. In 2016, Fabre produced a one-off bottling, le Plateau, sourced from vines that were planted in 192. There was very little made of Le Plateau, but it is a stunning wine and well worth the hunt. It is one of the most impressive wines of that excellent vintage. The 2017 and 2018 here are quite elegant examples of their years, and they are definitely approachable, with expressive bouquets and relatively gentle structure. But my experience with forward vintages here is that they age extremely well on their balance, so losing a few bottles in the cellar might yield some very pleasant surprises down the road.

This venerable domaine, the largest single land owner in the appellation, is comprised of 186 hectares (just over 100 of them planted to vines) in one of the prime sectors of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Since the 2016 vintage, Mont-Redon has been under full control of Pierre Fabre, whose branch of the family has amicably separated from their Abeille cousins as far as the day-to-day decision-making at the estate. Fabre told me that he has set a very clear and, admittedly, ambitious goal, which is “to be at the very top of the ladder in the region, no matter what it takes.” That won’t be a cheap undertaking, he admits, “and it won’t happen overnight, but the potential is there, so it’s really just a matter of vision and focus,” he said. “And money, of course,” he wryly added. His 2016 is probably the best young wine that I have ever had here, and the 2017 is shaping up to be a knockout as well.