2000 Domaine Roger Sabon Châteauneuf-du-Pape Secret de Sabon

The 2000 Chateauneuf du Pape le Secret du Sabon is more open and evolved, with a perfumed, sexy style. It offers a complex array of sweet red fruits, leather, flowers, peppery herbs and spice to go with a pure, elegant, graceful style. It's more approachable than the 2001, yet doesn't quite match that vintage's core of fruit or concentration. Plan on drinking this over the coming 4-5 years. A brilliantly run estate, Domaine Roger Sabon covers close to 44 acres that are spread throughout the appellation, and the wines have been made by Didier Negron since 2001. This retrospective focused on their top cuvee, the Secret du Sabon, which is a field blend of roughly (the exact blend is a "secret") 90% Grenache with the balance other permitted varieties (from 100-year-old vines), that-s aged all in 600-liter barrels. While the first released vintage was 1998, they also bottled a small amount in 1990, 1995 (the only one I've tasted? superb) and 1996. Importer: Eric Solomon, European Cellars, Charlotte, NC: tel. (704) 358-1565

The 2000 Chateauneuf du Pape le Secret du Sabon is more open and evolved, with a perfumed, sexy style. It offers a complex array of sweet red fruits, leather, flowers, peppery herbs and spice to go with a pure, elegant, graceful style. It's more approachable than the 2001, yet doesn't quite match that vintage's core of fruit or concentration. Plan on drinking this over the coming 4-5 years. Aug 2014, www.robertparker.com

Medium ruby. Exotic roasted aromas of surmaturite: black raspberry liqueur, dark chocolate, leather and earth. Shows a thickness and sweetness verging on porty, but the appeal of this bottle was reduced by some exotic, rather odd oak notes. Can this be right? (My sample of the 2001 was too low in SO2 and showing distinct oxidation notes; I'll have to report on the finished bottle next year.)