1999 Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Pierre Sabon describes 2000 as "a great complex year, like '98, with outstanding aging potential. There are plenty of tannins but the wines are round and seductive. It's a year chaleureux et puissant with all the qualities. The wines were wonderfully aromatic from the start: when we walked by the fermenting vats, we were hit with a blast of red fruit aromas." Sabon referred to 1999 as "ma petite cherie a very good vintage but a bit rustic." This vigneron calls himself a chauvinist: he made a point of telling me that he does not seek out other Chateauneufs, much less wines from other regions, and admitted that he makes wines in the traditional style, with blinders on. The Mont-Olivet wines are rarely showy on release, but in the strong vintages are capable of long and profitable aging in bottle. (A Peter Vezan Selection; importers include Ideal Wines, Medford, MA; Michael Skurnik Wines, Syosset, NY; and North Berkeley Imports, Berkeley, CA)

"A very good, robust vintage, with excellent acidity and strong tannic structure-a slightly rustic wine for very long aging" is how Pierre Sabon describes this estate 1999 Chateauneuf du Pape. In comparison, he adds, 1998 is rounder and fatter. "We've had a great series of vintages in '98, '99 and 2000," he told me, "better than the '88, '89 and '90 trio." The '99 was about to be moved from stainless steel into foudres at the time of my visit. Sabon said that there may be a special Cuvee Papet from this vintage, but that it was too early to know for sure. This domain, which typically bottles in several installments, sometimes over a period of years, bottled most of its '98 Chateauneuf in May due to the very strong demand for the vintage. (A Peter Vezan Selection; importers include Ideal Wines, Medford, MA; Michael Skurnik Wines, Syosset, NY; and North Berkeley Wines, Berkeley, CA)