2019 Clos St Antonin Chateauneuf du Pape

The 2019 Châteauneuf Du Pape is another complex, layered, incredibly satisfying wine from this estate. Kirsch, blackberries, Provençal garrigue, and loads of spicy nuances give way to a medium to full-bodied, seamless, exuberant 2019 with wonderful tannins as well as a great finish. 94 Pts Jeb Dunnuck (wrote for Parkers WA for many years)

The Sabon family make some of the greatest wines made today in the Southern Rhone. Their Chateauneuf du Pape’s are pinnacle wines. Their estate Domaine de la Janasse is one of the finest wine producers in France. Parker hails Janasse as, “one of the great winemaking estates of not only France, but of the world.” These are benchmark Southern Rhone’s. Brother and sister Isabelle and Christophe Sabon are both trained enologists, schooled in Beaune and Toulouse, respectively, and they run Janasse with precision and care. Over the last quarter century, Domaine de la Janasse has become one of the most highly-regarded estates in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. What’s new and exciting is that Isabelle Sabon is heading up a new project and the Chateauneufs are spectacular. The project is Clos St. Antonin and was purchased by the Sabon Family in 2014. Small, compact and contiguous estates rarely come on the market in the Rhône, let along ones planted on the classic red clays, galets and sand typical of Plan de Dieu. The Chateauneuf they are making is being supplemented by some of the  family’s vineyards in Le Crau, some of the greatest terroir in Chateauneuf, wines like Vieux Telegraphe come to mind. Now last night I Tasted the 2019 Clos St Antonin Chateauneuf du Pape and was floored. Spent a couple of hours with it, some beef ribs that I barbequed and I was in heaven. The wine has got huge press, 97pts WE and 94pts JD and for under sixty a bottle, world class Chateauneuf that starting to show superbly with a long drinking through 2040. Southern Rhone Royalty!