2012 Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Thierry Sabon told me that he views his 2012s as "a bit like the 2008s, but with more spiciness and floral character and less earthiness." This is one of the region's most consistent producers of elegant, traditionally styled wines that age remarkably well on their balance. Speaking to the 2013 vintage, Sabon said that the fact that so much Grenache was missing means that many Châteauneufs "may not show as much red fruit character as people are used to." But he finds that the wines are well-balanced and thinks that they could turn out to be modern-day versions of the 2000s, with similar dark fruit character and the ripeness that came from a late harvest (even later than in 2000) and fully mature fruit.

Generational shifts and typical French inheritance turmoil have forced this branch of the extended Sabon family to move operations into a new (for them) cellar across the road from the old family house.It has also caused the paring down of a number of Clos du Mont-Olivet's vineyards, "mostly from the Cotes-du-Rhone," Thierry Sabon told me in November.While the process was stressful, Thierry is relieved that by scaling back the politics he can now "be even more focused on the vines and cellar" than before.In his opinion, 2012 is a fruit vintage."The wines have good but not too much structure so it's not necessary to drink them too young, but their biggest asset is fruit intensity, which will make them approachable early."He added that his 2011s have been a surprise:"they became richer as they got closer to bottling."While Sabon still thinks that they emphasize freshness, they also have the concentration and balance to allow at least five to seven years of positive development in the cellar.