2016 Roger Sabon Châteauneuf-du-Pape Le Secret des Sabon

Community Tasting Notes (7) Avg Score: 95.3 points

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  10/15/2023 - Crunge wrote:

  PnP at cellar temp. Sour cherries on the nose and not much else. Muted flavors at first, and my wife and I both agreed it needed to warm up. It really needs air at this point; after an hour it started adding weight. Smooth tannins and sour cherry flavors with the slightest hint of earth. It may have the stuffing there, but wasn't showing it tonight. Hold or give a long decant.

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  12/27/2022 - FoinZap Likes this wine: 95 Points

  PnP, dark purple in color. Nose is black fruit, leather, bay leaf, spice. Palate is blackberry, black cherry, strawberry, spice, pepper, hint of black licorice. Nicely complex and balanced. Full bodied, relatively tannic, slight clip on the finish. Delicious, well-made wine. Likely to improve with age.

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  11/29/2021 - Jon Harrison Likes this wine: 94 Points

  (Imported by Eric Solomon/European Cellars)
  This is a special cuvée from the Sabon family (since 1540 in CDP). From 100-year-old vines near Courthézon, planted by Seraphin Sabon. Said to be 95% old-vine Grenache. Tiny production. One 600L demi-muid? (65 cases). "Le Secret" is a bit of a secret. This tastes to me like it has a dollop of old-vine Syrah in it. But it could just be extremely ripe Grenache.
  _______________
  
  Color: Very dark ruby. Distinct. Especially for a Grenache cuvée.
  
  Nose: Deep, dark pool of of blue/black fruits and Rhone spices. Black damson plum, violets, southern Rhone spices. Hard to believe this is 95% GR.
  
  Palate: Full body (15% alc), mouth-filling, lush, glossy (glycerin), and very concentrated. Loads of black cherry, black damson plum, and Rhone spice. Long finish. Big noticable tannins. But they are not green.
  
  Obviously this is late-harvested fruit. The wine has a very dark color and almost Port-like dark fruit aromas, flavors and mouth feel (sur-maturité). Dark and brooding.
  
  From the great 2016 vintage.
  
  Optimum drinking widow? The '16 Sabon "Le Secret" is drinking well right now: big, lush and dark. It is sort of caught between being a young great wine and a mature great wine. Hopefully, this will develop more aromatic complexity by 2025.
  
  93: now
  94: 2025-2035 (from a cool proper cellar).
  
  JGH sommelier CMS-III, San Francisco/Bay Area

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  10/9/2021 - happy712 Likes this wine: 95 Points

  Very closed for first hour. Decant 3 hours for best experience. Will improve with a couple more years. Light and fruity, yet complex. Strawberries and black pepper. Superb with peppered steak and parmesan.

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  8/3/2021 - DrX Likes this wine: 97 Points

  Epic Grenache. Extremely dark and full bodied. Flavors loiter for an extended period after a sip.

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