Spicy and perfumed, the 2005 Roger Sabon Châteauneuf-du-Pape Le Secret des Sabon is forward and accessible for the vintage, yielding gorgeously complex aromas of spiced red fruits, garrigue, flowers, and licorice that give way to more masculine aromas of iron, and dried blood over the course of the evening. These characteristics carry over to the palate where the wine is medium to full bodied, possessing an elegant, silky texture, perfect balance, and a very long, classy finish where more depth and structure emerge. While drinking beautifully now (there’s no harm in opening bottles now), this has the structure and balance to allow it to age gracefully for 15 to 20 years.

An extremely limited cuvee of around 2,000 bottles, the Chateauneuf du Pape Le Secret du Sabon is, year in and year out, one of the top ten Chateauneuf du Papes produced. From vines well over 100 years old, mostly from the sector of Chateauneuf du Pape known as La Crau, Jean-Jacques Sabon is not sure what the actual blend is, although it is mostly Grenache, because at the time of the original planting it was common practice to mix in many different varietals. The 2005 Chateauneuf du Pape Le Secret du Sabon has turned out to be a sublime wine. With the essence of beef blood intermixed with Provencal herbs, creme de cassis, blackberry and raspberry, the wine is dense, full-bodied, elegant, but at the same time very powerful, masculine, and rich. It is certainly one of the vintage’s most compelling wines, and needs a good 5-7 years of bottle age. It should last for 30 or more years. Sadly, these wines are very limited, but should you latch onto a bottle, these are great classics of France and of the Rhone Valley.